Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to know about the current state of car repossessions since, according to the Massachusetts Democrat, President Trump “has kneecapped” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Warren on Thursday launched a “probe” into the auto financing and repossession industries to seek information on “harmful anti-consumer practices as auto repossessions skyrocket to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.”

On Wednesday, Warren also sent a dozen letters to industry associations, auto lenders and buy-here, pay-here dealership companies demanding details by Feb. 16 about:

—What steps the company takes to ensure that its agents only repossess the correct vehicles

—What steps the company takes to identify and address wrongful repossessions

—What practices and policies are in place for when a consumer and a company disagree about the legality of a repossession

—Data and trends on the prevalence of repossessions — including wrongful repossessions — in the company or industry

The letter recipients included Ally Financial, Capital One, Chase Auto, GM Financial, Toyota Financial Services, America’s Car-Mart, Byrider, CarHop, DriveTime, as well as the American Financial Services Association, the American Recovery Association and the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association.

According to a news release distributed by the Senate Banking Committee, “Warren is launching the probe as Donald Trump’s attacks sideline the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has historically conducted oversight and taken action to protect Americans from illegal auto repossessions.”

In each letter, Warren got even more vehement about her endeavor.

“Car repossession is a devastating disruption to someone’s life — and it is inexcusable when that repossession is in error,” Warren wrote.

The ranking member of the committee continued: “While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has historically engaged in oversight of illegal auto repossessions, the Trump administration has kneecapped the agency’s ability to protect consumers from auto repossession errors. To understand the impact of these actions by the administration, I write to request information on (the company’s) practices to avoid errors and information on errors from the last four years.”

Late on Thursday, NIADA sent this statement to Cherokee Media Group.

“On Feb. 4, NIADA received a letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren requesting data on auto repossession rates. NIADA staff is reviewing the request and will respond to the Senator.  As the leading advocate and voice of the independent automobile dealer in Washington, D.C., NIADA will continue its work to educate lawmakers on the important role and contributions independent dealers make to local economies across the country while advocating for a commonsense regulatory framework,” the association said.

Ignite Consulting Partners owner Steve Levine has seen a similar “probe” unfold. The compliance expert and dealership consultant recollected some of his past experiences with Cherokee Media Group on Friday morning.

“It will be up to each letter recipient to confer with qualified experts and decide how to respond,” Levine said. “While it is certainly desirable to take an amicable approach when dealing with a U.S. Senator, it is important to note that this is a request, not a subpoena.

“Also, to my knowledge, the letter provides less than two weeks to respond to requests that in my former life in litigation would be objected to as an ‘overly broad fishing expedition.’ Further, while Senator Warren is the ranking committee member, she is not the chairman, which is a position now held by Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina,” Levine continued.

“I was involved in a similar situation several years ago when a senator used these types of tactics to attack GPS devices. At that time, my client chose to share information on its practices that were sufficient to familiarize the senator with the subject, while not providing data or producing the requested documents,” Levine went on to say. “At that time, we also worked with NIADA to meet with the senator’s staff and discuss their concerns.

“I can only hope that Senator Warren is willing to take an amicable approach and be open minded to learning the subject matter instead of attacking hard working businesses that choose to take on business risk that is foreign to most,” Levine added.