Debt types — Texas
Auto Loan Deficiency Balances
After a repossession, the lender sells the vehicle and bills you for the difference between what it sold for and what you owed — the "deficiency." Sometimes that sale happens without the notice the law requires.
Notice before disposition
Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §9.611(b)–(c)
Before selling repossessed collateral, a secured party must send a reasonable, authenticated notice of the disposition.
Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §9.614
For consumer-goods transactions specifically, that notice must include prescribed content — this isn't a general courtesy notice, it has specific legal requirements.
What to do
- Request a copy of the pre-sale notice the lender sent you — or their confirmation that none was sent. This is a factual request, not a legal claim, and it's worth asking for regardless of your situation.
- If you never received proper notice, that's worth raising with a consumer attorney — the strength of that argument depends on your specific facts and isn't something this page can evaluate for you.