Notice of Right to Cure on my auto loan

This notice

The paper is often titled Notice of Right to Cure. Some lenders say Notice of Default, Notice of Intent to Repossess, or another state-form heading that lists a cure amount and a date to pay before they take the vehicle.

That letter is an earlier clock than a post-repo sale notice. You still have the car, or the lender has not yet sent the Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property. Cure first. Sale paper later.

Recent CFPB complaints describe the same held letter from Westlake Financial, Credit Acceptance, Bridgecrest, Wells Fargo Auto, Toyota Motor Credit, America’s Car-Mart, and similar auto lenders. Some people got a statutory “Notice of Right to Cure” with a dollar amount and deadline. Some paid that amount on the deadline day and still saw a tow. Some said they never received any cure or intent-to-repossess letter and only learned after the car was gone. Some later held a separate Notice of Sale.

The CFPB page What should I do if I can’t make my car payments? says to contact the lender or servicer as soon as you cannot pay, and to get any new deal in writing. For leases, that page explains a contract or state-law right to “cure” or reinstate after a missed payment, with a notice and a short window to catch up. The CFPB page What happens if my car is repossessed? says some states require a notice before repossession that lists missed payments and gives time to make them up, while many other states allow a tow without that warning.

This is not a mortgage Notice of Default. It is not a student-loan wage-garnishment order. It is not the later Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property after the vehicle is already gone. Those are different papers and different clocks.

Official path

1. Save the Notice of Right to Cure (or Intent to Repossess / Notice of Default), the envelope, and every text or portal alert. Circle the cure amount, the deadline, and the account number exactly as printed. Do not invent a longer window than the notice gives.

2. Call the lender or servicer the same day. Ask how to post the cure payment so it stops any tow order, whether electronic payment counts the same day, and whether personal property rules apply if a recovery is already scheduled. The can’t-pay page says to contact the lender as soon as you know you cannot make the payment.

3. Pay the cure amount shown on the notice if you can, using a method that creates a receipt, or ask in writing for a written payoff of the exact cure figure and the date the lender will treat the default as cured. The same CFPB page says to get repayment or reinstatement agreements in writing. If your contract or state law is what creates the cure right, confirm that path with your state attorney general or consumer protection office when the notice is unclear.

4. Write the lender before the printed deadline. Quote the notice title and date, state the amount you paid or will pay, demand written confirmation that repossession is canceled, and keep a copy with proof of delivery. If you already paid and a tow still happened, say so in the same letter and attach the receipt.

5. Watch for a later Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property if the vehicle is taken anyway. That sale notice is a different paper. Switch to the plan-to-sell path for redemption, personal property, and sale accounting. The repossession page explains the separate right to be notified before a public or private sale.

6. Submit a complaint at Submit a complaint if the lender repossessed after a timely cure payment, never sent a required pre-repo notice your state or contract required, or refuses to confirm the cure in writing. Attach the notice, payment proof, and your letter. The Bureau’s Bulletin 2022-04 flags harmful repossession practices for auto finance companies.

What people reported

Often helps

• Paying the exact cure amount on the notice the same day it arrived, then emailing or mailing the receipt and asking for written cancelation of any recovery order.
• Keeping the statutory “Notice of Right to Cure” next to the app payment confirmation when a lender claimed the payment posted too late.
• Asking the state attorney general or consumer protection office when the notice heading cited a state cure statute the lender later ignored.

Often fails

• Waiting past the printed cure date for another phone promise, then arguing only after the tow.
• Treating a later Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property as if it were still the cure window. After repo, the sale and redemption clocks on that later paper control.
• Assuming every state requires a cure letter. CFPB narratives also describe people who got no pre-repo notice in states that allow a tow after missed payment.

Community outcomes here come from CFPB complaint narratives, not from invented usernames. Forum tip-trading is not statute.

Template

[DATE]

[LENDER / SERVICER NAME]
Repossession / Cure desk
[ADDRESS ON THE NOTICE]

Re: Notice of Right to Cure, account ending [LAST FOUR], [YEAR/MAKE/MODEL]

I am writing about the Notice of Right to Cure (or [OTHER TITLE ON THE PAPER]) dated [NOTICE DATE]. The notice states I must pay $[CURE AMOUNT] by [DEADLINE ON NOTICE] to cure the default and avoid repossession.

On [PAYMENT DATE] I paid $[AMOUNT] by [METHOD / CONFIRMATION NUMBER]. Please confirm in writing that the default is cured, that any repossession or disablement order is canceled, and that you will not take the vehicle based on the amounts listed in that notice.

If you say the payment did not post in time, send the posting timestamp, the recovery-dispatch time, and a copy of every pre-repossession notice you claim you sent.

Reply to this address. Enclosed are copies of [NOTICE / PAYMENT RECEIPT / PORTAL SCREENSHOT], not originals.

[FULL NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE]
[EMAIL]

Enclosures: [LIST]

Stop here if…

• You already hold a Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property, Notice of Intent to Sell, or other post-repossession sale notice—use the plan-to-sell guide; that is a later clock.
• You were served a lawsuit, summons, or post-judgment wage garnishment about the auto loan or a deficiency. Court deadlines are not the same as a cure letter.
• The only paper is a mortgage Notice of Default or foreclosure sale notice, not an auto-loan cure or intent-to-repossess letter.

FAQ

Is this the same as a Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property?

No. A Notice of Right to Cure (or similar pre-repo cure / intent-to-repossess paper) arrives while you still have the vehicle, or at least before the sale clock. A Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property is the later UCC-style sale notice after repossession. Use the plan-to-sell guide if that later paper arrived.

How many days do I have to cure?

There is no single federal day count on the CFPB pages for every auto loan. Use the deadline printed on your notice. The CFPB can’t-pay page says that if your contract or state law gives a lease cure right, you would generally get a notice after a missed payment and have one to two weeks to catch up. For loans, the repossession page says some states require a notice before repossession so you can make up missed payments. If the notice is silent, check your contract and your state attorney general or consumer protection office.

I paid the cure amount and they still took the car. What now?

Save the notice, the payment receipt or app confirmation, and any call notes. Contact the lender the same day in writing, demand release or reinstatement, and ask for the repo authorization file. The CFPB repossession page says to contact the lender immediately if you believe the repossession was an error, and to submit a complaint if you cannot resolve it.

Can they repossess with no warning at all?

The CFPB repossession page says many states allow repossession without a warning or court order after a missed payment, while other states require a notice first. Active-duty servicemembers have separate SCRA limits on repossession without a court order for contracts entered before military service. Your notice, contract, and state rules control what had to be sent.

Should I only call, or also write?

Call the same day, then put the cure payment, the notice date, and the account number in writing. The CFPB can’t-pay page says to get repayment or reinstatement deals in writing so you can dispute later miscommunications.