On your own letterhead, write or print a notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the defaulting customer. Explain that you have tried to contact them without success. Notify that they must contact you to reach a resolution on their pending payments.
List the vehicle in question along with its VIN number.
Provide an end date on which all past due payments are due (labeled “last payment date”) and the amount due to recover payments (labeled “amount due now”). Explain that:
“If you pay the amount due before the last payment date, you can continue with the contract as if you were not in default. If you do not pay before that date, we can exercise our rights under the law, including involuntary repossession of the vehicle in the that we have a security interest. “
Remember that as time passes until the due date, more payments due may accumulate. Include in the letter that by the due date these payments will also be due and list each payment by amount and normal scheduled due date, that is, “Due date_______ Amount _______”
After listing these payments that will accrue by the final due date, explain that:
“To fully cure your account and to avoid exercising our legal rights under the law, the payment or payments listed above must ALSO be paid in full on or before the last due date for payments”
Please report that even if the account recovers, you still have the right to take action in the event that payments are delayed again within a designated period of time:
“If you are late again in the next ____ weeks to make your payments, we can exercise our rights, including recovery, without sending you another notice like this one.”
Explain your rights to collect the additional money owed under the link contract:
“The rights that we can exercise under the law include the recovery of the motor vehicle that guarantees this debt. If the motor vehicle is repossessed, either voluntarily or involuntarily, it can be sold and you can owe the difference between the net proceeds of the sale. and the remaining balance due under the contract. “
Ask the customer to contact you immediately if they have any questions.
Close the letter with:
“If we do not hear from you within___ days, we will have no choice but to issue a REPOSSESSION ORDER on the vehicle.”
Sign it and have it notarized.
Send the registered letter with the delivery confirmation and the requested return address. This way, you have 2 ways to confirm and prove that you received the notice in case legal questions arise after recovery.
You also get any forwarding addresses if the customer has moved so you can more easily locate the vehicle. The requested return address will send you the letter if they have moved instead of being forwarded to them.
If payment has not been made and you are ready to get the vehicle back, you must write or write a RECOVERY ORDER. This will indicate the following:
Retrieve order
Buyer:
[Name]
[Address]
[Phone number]
Breach of contract
[vehicle year, make, model, VIN]
Net settlement balance: [Total bottom line balance owed]
Buyback fee: [$ amount of the repo fee you charge]
Couta of storage: [$ amount of the storage fee you charge]
Hurt: [$ amount of any damage known to be done to the vehicle] You can also write TBD or To Be Determined here
Total: Add up all these amounts and enter the total here
The designated buyer is in default on the installment loan agreement and payment is made in accordance with the uniform state and local commercial codes that cover the installment agreement.
We accept to indemnify and save [your name/business name] harmless from and against all claims, damages, losses and actions that result or arise from our efforts, except that they may be caused by negligence or unauthorized acts by our agents representing us.
Distributor authorizing recovery
[your name/business name, address, and phone number here]
Notarize at the bottom
-Make a copy of the order for your records and give the order to your repossession agent (the person who does the actual purchase of the vehicle).
Note that –
* If you follow these steps you will have made a legal recovery.
* Many people do not send a notification letter because many times a customer will try to hide the vehicle once they have received a letter like this, especially if they do not intend to pay.
* Most people are unaware of their rights when it comes to the recovery of a vehicle, so they generally do not inform someone that they have not followed the proper procedure, however, if you do not send the registered letter notifying them of your breach and giving them opportunity to make the payment, they have reason to report it to the state DMV Dealer Services and the state Attorney General, which can result in a fine and in court for violating recovery laws.
* Please note that some states do not allow a repossession to take place on private property if the repossession agent is asked to leave (some states require you to leave and you obtain a court order).
* Some states have no restrictions on public property.
* Some states prohibit recovery from taking place at the customer’s workplace.
* Be sure to check the recovery laws specific to your state.
