Consumer complaint received 2021-10-20
Company: Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.
State: NY
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Title loan
Issue: Vehicle was damaged or destroyed the vehicle

Complaint:
I submitted a complain before trying to get Santander to work with me because of the loss of my job and my total XXXX and instead they sent someone to my sick mother 's house in XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX 3 times. Banging on her door scaring her half to death, when she didn't get to the door fast enough they went to the side doors with the tenants banging on their door as well as the neighbors. Telling them they came to get a car. They also left repo papers with the neighbor saying they will be back. There was no contact number or email. I spoke to a lawyer just find out that this happened, In XX/XX/XXXX, a coalition of attorneys general opened a multistate investigation into Santander the largest subprime auto financing company in the country after receiving an increase in the number of consumer complaints related to subprime auto loans. Following the investigation, the coalition alleged that Santander through its use of sophisticated credit scoring models that could forecast the risk of borrower default knew that certain groups of consumers were predicted to have a high likelihood of default. Santander exposed these borrowers to unnecessarily high levels of risk through high loan-to-value ratios, significant backend fees, and high payment-to-income ratios. The coalition also found that Santanders aggressive pursuit of market share led the company to underestimate the risks associated with loans by turning a blind eye to dealer abuse and failing to meaningfully monitor dealer behavior. Many dealers did nothing to ensure consumers were reporting accurate information including the amounts specified as incomes and expenses and Santander did nothing to minimize the risks of these false reports. Finally, the coalition alleged that Santander engaged in deceptive servicing practices and actively misled consumers about their rights and risks of partial payments and loan extensions. 

Under todays settlement, Santander will be required to provide relief in multiple ways to consumers, will be required to help repair consumers ' credit reports, and, moving forward, will be required to factor a consumers ability to pay a loan into its underwriting. First, Santander will pay {$65.00} XXXX to New York and the 33 other participating states so that restitution can be paid to certain subprime consumers who defaulted on loans between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. New York will specifically receive {$2.00} XXXX to reimburse consumers. 

Next, Santander will be required to give consumers with the lowest quality loans those who defaulted as of XX/XX/XXXX and who have not yet had their cars repossessed the titles to their cars and will waive any balance on these consumers loans, up to a total value of {$45.00} XXXX in such waivers across the nation. 

The settlement also includes a significant amount of relief for consumers by way of waiving any debt or balance still owed even after Santander had consumers vehicles repossessed, otherwise known as deficiency balances. In total, Santander has agreed to waive such deficiency balances for certain consumers who have defaulted with approximately {$430.00} XXXX in immediate forgiveness of debt still owned by the company, including {$23.00} XXXX for New York consumers. Further, Santander will need to attempt to buy back additional deficiency waivers the company no longer owns, which could possibly increase the nationwide total to {$660.00} XXXX and {$33.00} XXXX for New York consumers. 

Finally, Santander will pay up to {$2.00} XXXX for the settlement administrator who will administer restitution claims, and pay an additional {$5.00} XXXX to the states. 

In an effort to repair consumers credit reports, Santander will be required to reach out to credit reporting agencies ( for example : XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX ) and request the deletion of any negative reports for Santander consumers who are receiving waivers on their loans or are receiving deficiency relief. 

In addition to monetary relief and the repair of credit reports, going forward, Santander will have to take a number of specific steps to minimize the risks of consumers defaulting on their loans, including refusing to extend financing to consumers that have no income remaining after taking into consideration a list of actual monthly debt obligations. Santander will also be required to test all loans that default in the future to see if the consumer at the time the loan was initially made had any income remaining after taking into account such monthly debt obligations and other estimated expenditures. If the loan is found to have been unaffordable and the consumer defaulted within a certain amount of time, Santander will be required to forgive that loan. 

Santander is barred from requiring dealers to sell ancillary products, such as vehicle service contracts. Santander will additionally implement steps to monitor dealers who engage in income inflation, expense inflation, and power booking for loan applications, and the company will enact additional documentation requirements for those dealers. Further, whereas Santander previously allowed these problematic dealers to waive documentation requirements on income and expenses, the company will no longer be able to make such exceptions. If Santander must use the value of a default mortgage or rent payment to calculate monthly debt obligations, that amount must reasonably reflect the payment amounts for the geographic location. Finally, Santander will ensure policies and procedures are in place for deferments, forbearances, modifications, and other collection matters that all employees must follow. 

A new website has also been created to allow consumers to learn more about the settlement and the relief available to victims of XXXX fraudulent behavior. 

https : XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation