Consumer complaint received 2021-04-12
Company: Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.
State: FL
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Title loan
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan

Complaint:
Santander Consumer has set the sale of my car for XX/XX/XXXX. 

My research shows Santander Consumer has 2119 open, unresolved complaints against them for deceptive, unfair actions at the XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) website. The Santander Consumer has a C+ rating at the XXXX. They lost a class action court case, just last year, in XX/XX/XXXX, for unfair, deceptive, and misleading lending practices in 34 States. My complaint is for the same actions, business processes and procedures the court said Santander Consumer was to stop. 

The following are Santander Consumer actions : Harassment ( Calling me daily, several times a day. Ignoring my requests when I tell them they are harassing me asking them to stop. ) Lying ( Making a verbal agreement for resuming my car payments. Then beginning repossession without my knowledge. Today Santander tells me my account was too new and I did not qualify for payment arrangements. ) Refusing to verify agreements in writing. The company party line is that the Santander process does not send anything in writing. 
Changing my account selection from paperless to paper without my knowledge. 
Stopping me from making payments on my account. 
Failing to provide proper validation. 
Refuse to provide me itemized accounting of the fees. 
Refuse to reinstate my loan. 
Removing my car at XXXX. 
Repossession of my vehicle without my knowing about the repossession activity. 

Santander 's actions and repossession of my car are against the following State and Federal laws : State of Florida Statute Chapter 537 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Federal Trade Commission - FTC Act The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act or E-Sign Act The following is an account of Santanders actions that resulted in repossession of my car : My account has been treated improperly and the result is without my knowledge of the lender doing repossession actions my car was repossessed on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. Santander claims to care about folks impacted by Convid-19 yet their actions do not reflect this. For me I believe the company has equity in my vehicle and they are trying to swindle me out of my deposit and vested interest in the car I purchased. The following are the wrong actions by Santander : In XX/XX/XXXX I asked Santander to stop calling me every day. This calling is a form of harassment. In XX/XX/XXXX realizing I was going to have problems completing my car payments I called Santander and made them aware that my job had been impacted by the events that are impacting many Americans due to Convid 19 and that I could see I would have financial difficulties for the next few months. Santander staff claimed they understood yet the harassing calls began. Santander would call me several times a day, by different people, asking me for a payment. At first, I tried to work with Santander and allow them their process. But the calling got worse. In XX/XX/XXXX I asked the company to please stop calling me every day ; this calling is a form of harassment. That I am working on a problem that is somewhat out of my control. I expected to resume my payments in XX/XX/XXXX. The Santander staff said they understood and the company would have to wait for me to be able to start making my payments in XX/XX/XXXX. The people who call and make agreements refuse to give a written confirmation of the call. They say it is company policy not to email or send confirmation in writing. This lacks validation of the loan and loan terms. In XX/XX/XXXX, Santander refused my request and continued to harass me with repeated calls so I stopped answering the phone as much. I could not work and talk to Santander all day about the same information. In XX/XX/XXXX, Santander arbitrarily changed my paperless account to a paper account. Then began repossession actions by mailing me a letter for their intent to repossess my car changing my request that all notifications and credit information be provided in a paperless format. I was unaware Santander had changed their mind and were proceeding to repossess my car. When a customer chooses a paperless digital account method a company must send legal documents both to the physical address and to the digital address. Santander refuses to acknowledge any wrong doing. They claim they only send the repossession letter to the physical address that is different than my agreement with the company when I selected the paperless option from their website ( please see attached screenshot of the paperless selection for my account ) The law states the lender must send the legal document to both my physical and my digital address. In XX/XX/XXXX, I went to make my payment and I can not. Santander deactivated my account without making me aware a problem exists. I am unaware Santander began repossession orders on my car. Santander deactivated my account without any message on the sign in page to make me aware there is a problem. I thought there was a technical problem with the website and my account, so I began to email and text the company using my normal methods of communication. Santander claims never to have received my emails or texts. And, a few Santander staff claim they never answer email. Normal communication with Santander is that when you have a question you can ask via email and get an answer. Santander chose not to answer my payment inquiry email. The company chose to not tell me there was a problem for me to make an online payment ; my normal and customary method I had always used. The emails and texts were never returned to me as undeliverable by the web page so Santander did receive them. Not only did the company ignore my requests to make a payment the staff lied by telling me they do not have those emails. When I tell them I have the copies, they tell me this is not so. By their actions I believe the Santander staff wants to make money and nothing else matters. I have been told by most of the staff I spoke to, this is only business. We must make a profit. Yet there is something called ethics and morality in ones business dealings which means you can not lie, cheat or steal from your customer. The staff believes they are in complete legal right to repossess my car. I tell them I am being swindled out of my car by their actions to not inform me they are beginning repossession after we had an agreement when they agreed they would wait. Stopping me from making my payments by deactivating my account and not communicating with me the problem is against the laws and statutes for creditors lending to American consumers. When I hung up with the company rep. in XX/XX/XXXX, I thought Santander and I had an agreement that they would wait until the next month, that was XX/XX/XXXX, for me to begin making my payments. Not once during these, sometimes daily talks, did anyone from the company say my car could be in jeopardy to be repossessed. Not once did the company send me digital communication to my Santander web page portal, my email account or my phone text of their intent to begin repossession actions. When Santander repossessed my car on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX I had no knowledge of the repossession proceedings. **Please see the attached screenshot of my account Statement and Email notification that shows I have always had paperless billing. This screenshot confirms that my notification with Santander is to be emailed to me for payment information and any other account information. On XX/XX/XXXX I called Santander to make my payment by phone. Talking to Santander I found out they repossessed my car. I had not made a payment by phone because the phone payment has a fee. On XX/XX/XXXX, I decide that even if I have to pay the phone payment fee to make a payment, I will do so, because the company is not answering my emails. I am already angry because of the late fees the lender has added to my late payments. Santander claims there are many options for making a payment. I tried without success to explain to Santander they had not communicated to me the repossession problem on the account, and I was trying to make a payment under the assumption of our XXXX agreement that I would return in XXXX and resume my payments. Santander NEVER communicated with me there was a possibility for a repossession problem. On the morning of XX/XX/XXXX I am 4 months late because of my inability to complete the XXXX payment. On XX/XX/XXXX I make payment arrangements to pay the XXXX payment now, the XX/XX/XXXX payment and the remaining {$330.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX. This would have brought my account to 2 months in arears. Then I planned to pay the additional two months in XX/XX/XXXX. When I am going to make a payment the customer service rep. stops our process informing me there is a repossession note on my account. She claimed not to know information about the repossession process. Before I make a payment I should speak to the repossession department. This was the first I had heard about the repossession. I look outside and my car is gone. On XX/XX/XXXX, at approx.. XXXX, the tow truck, who is from my area, very much aware we are in a Convid-19 hot zone, said he was ready to complete the car repossession but there was a closed order from Santander ; he could not complete the transaction. My car was still on the truck. The tow truck driver said if he did not get the order he was happy to release the car and would not charge me for his trouble of placing the car on his truck. I called Santander repossession department and told the manager this information. I explained I was unaware of the repossession order. I asked the manager to work towards our common goal for Santander to get paid and me to have my vehicle. That I was making the payments that would bring the account 2 months behind and next month I should be caught up on my car payments, the financial hardship I experienced these last few months and to please not add more fees to this problem by completing the repossession. The manager refused. She hung up on me and expedited the second order for the tow truck driver. When I spoke to the tow truck driver he confirmed he received the second order and that Santander was his customer. The next day Santander refused to re-instate my car loan. I am told to retrieve my vehicle I must pay off the entire principal amount plus fees by XX/XX/XXXX. Since the repossession, several staff have asked why I was not given a payments option to stop a repossession. I thought they had. Santander NEVER documented any of our agreements. Even with the repossession they still fail to give me a copy of the accounting for the fees they have tacked on and the final loan payoff amount. Today the company says they do not offer payment options to new accounts. The staff only speaks the party line and that is the company does no wrong ; business is business. The Santander staff knew I would be late on payments and no one ever said anything about a repossession. Today I am told that in XXXX when I talked with Santander they had not begun repossession on the car. Very convenient for Santander to say the agents do not know. The Santander staff harassed me for the first two months with constant calls asking me everyday when I would make a payment. After taking my vehicle Santander says those people were not aware of the repossession. And, they could not make a payment arrangement on my account. Anyone who calls from Santander is a representative of the company and I should be able to trust their words and actions. The fact is Santander changed my method of communication from paperless to paper in XX/XX/XXXX at the moment they began repossession actions. I NEVER received a digital communication alerting me to a problem, possible repossession, with my account. Then sneakily began to repossess the car without informing me in the normal and customary way I have always communicated with the company ; that is stated in my account web page. Since the first day I spoke to the repossession department they said there were 2 options : 1 ) they would keep the car under repossession. And 2 ) I would have to pay off the car loan if I want to get my vehicle back. When I called the next day to make the necessary payments to re-instate the car loan I was told I do not qualify for a re-instatement ; I must pay the entire balance by XX/XX/XXXX or they sell my car. I spent approx. 15 hours talking to various Santander employees trying to figure out the reason why they refused to re-instate the loan when the car payments are a quarter of my income. My monthly income now is {$1700.00}. and the car payments are {$320.00}. Due to Convid-19 my income is not 100 % yet. I hear many excuses, and none make business sense. I had not had a problem with my account before. Convenient for Santander to take my vehicle and not allow me to pay the loan then try to profit from the improper handling of my account. The company actions from the beginning is suspect. There is equity in my new car. Santander stands to make money on keeping the car instead of allowing me to make the payments that would complete our loan agreement. Everyone at Santander pretends they care about people affected by Convid-19. Yet the late fees, harassing calls and now things like repossession of the car at the not normal hour of XXXX plus all those fees that are attached to the problem show the company actions do not match their words. Throughout the entire time I have felt something is off by the actions of the Santander company. I called the Sheriff to ask him what is customary in this situation. The Sheriff told me most of the time the lender allows the tow truck to leave the vehicle and the person must pay the tow truck for their time ; this is customary for our Florida auto loan laws. Santander has been unfair, deceptive, and misleading in their actions towards my car loan. They want to cheat me out of the equity in my car. I consulted an attorney. If I can not get my vehicle back I will see Santander in court. The opportunity to fix my car loss still exists. With the goal that I get my car returned and Santander honor the payment arrangements I made on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX. I kept my word with the Santander staff. I returned in XXXX to resume my payments. Not once was I notified the car was in danger of repossession because the company would renege on their agreement. Now the company wants to feign ignorance and keep my car. I like many Americans was financially hurt by the National pandemic. Santander should not try to gouge Americans in their time of need. The Convid-19 problems were beyond our control. As a company the Santander staff choose not to understand this and continue the party line ; business is business they say this often. I need to trust the people I do business with. My experience so far on this newer car loan does not make me feel trusting of the Santander Consumer company. My research reveals the complaints and Federal level legal problems for this company confirm what I think is true that the company has improperly handled my account. Going forward I want all my communication on this loan written in my account. If Santander and I have payment arrangements I want them logged into my notification or inbox section. I see absolutely no reason not to have clear communication on a bill owed. I have not experienced this level of hidden fees and operation with any other company I have ever done business with.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation