Services / Register 03
Claim the surplus left after a bank auction
When a secured creditor sells for more than the debt, the balance belongs to the borrower
A borrower whose property has been sold in enforcement usually assumes the matter is closed against him. Where the sale realised more than the secured debt and costs, that assumption is wrong.
How the asset gets here
Section 13(7) of the SARFAESI Act, 2002 requires the secured creditor to apply the proceeds of enforcement first to its costs and the secured debt, and to pay the residue to the person entitled to it.
In practice, the residue is often retained in a suspense account because the borrower has moved, the borrower has died, or nobody has asked. The obligation to pay does not lapse because the entitled person is silent.
The work is document-led: obtaining the demand notice, the sale certificate, the account statement, and the enforcement costs, and reconciling them to establish that a surplus arose and what it amounted to.
What recovery involves
We establish the enforcement history and identify the secured creditor and the sale outcome.
We reconstruct the account to determine whether a surplus arose and quantify it before making a claim.
We make demand on the secured creditor with the reconciliation attached, and pursue escalation where it is not honoured.
Where the borrower has died, the succession position is settled first, on the same basis as any transmission matter.
What we need from you
- Loan account number and the identity of the secured creditor
- Demand notice and possession notice, if held
- Sale certificate or auction notice relating to the property
- Account statements covering the enforcement period
- Identity and succession evidence, where the borrower has died
No charge for the initial assessment, and no fee unless a recovery is made. Regulatory position reviewed 9 September 2026; we confirm the rules applicable to your matter at the time of filing.
Open a new entry
Ask us to look.
Tell us what you were told, or what you suspect. We will check the registers and reply with whether there is an entry worth pursuing. There is no charge to ask.