Consumer complaint received 2023-07-15
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC.
State: PA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Charged fees or interest you didn't expect

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern I am respectfully presenting to your offices for evaluation a pattern of fluctuating interest amounts charged by Santander month to month. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted and spoke to XXXX XXXX, of Santander Banks Executive Offices. 

I informed XXXX XXXX that before calling her that I ran an amortization schedule ( See attachment 1 ), from the inception of the loan XX/XX/XXXX, including a change to accommodate the additional principle amount of {$49.00}, XX/XX/XXXX, which I requested, for a total monthly payment of {$400.00}. 

Contractually, each month, I am required to pay a total of {$350.00} which I agree with consisting XXXX interest and principle. ( See attachment 2 ) Of the monthly contractual {$350.00} ( interest/principle ), I asked XXXX XXXX why XXXX monthly statements contain small inconsistencies in which the interest and principle amounts fluctuate, whereby sometimes more interest is charged, followed by less interest charged the next month. ( See attachment 1 ) I pointed out that the amortization schedule which I ran, as referenced above attachment 1, indicates that less principle is owed than Santander acknowledges. I asked XXXX XXXX to please provide me with an amortization from the Bank. for my comparison. 

I reviewed the following data from several monthly statements with XXXX XXXX, excluding XX/XX/XXXX, which was not yet received by me reflecting the inconsistency in interest charges. Immediately afterward I sent her the data as an XXXX spreadsheet  ( See attachment XXXX ). 

XXXX of the {$350.00} the interest was reduced from the month before to {$57.00}. 
XXXX of the {$350.00} the interest was increased from the month before to {$60.00}. 
XXXX of the {$350.00} the interest was reduced from the month before to {$59.00}, then XXXX of the {$350.00} the interest amount increased from the month before to {$62.00}, XXXX of the {$350.00} the interest amount was reduced from the month before to {$57.00}, XXXX of the {$350.00} the interest amount was increased from the month before to {$64.00} I also discussed with XXXX XXXX that I have reviewed the loan contract and could see no reason to explain the fluctuation of interest that occurs month after month in small amounts. Since the first payment, my monthly payments are tendered automatically, paid on time. 

Effective XX/XX/XXXX, Santander has notified customers that it is no longer mailing statements to customers, my concern is that it does not alter its content because when one goes online the statement shown is an overview, which does not contain the monthly interest and principle components of the monthly amount due as it does on the mailed statement. ( See attachment XXXX which can be compared to attachment XXXX XX/XX/XXXX statement ) While this is a concern, the primary concern is the inconsistent interest amounts charged without clear explanation. 

Since my conversation with XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, is like others in the past, Santander has been unresponsive. My subsequent calls to XXXX XXXX have not been answered nor have I received her response to my query or the amortization schedule as she promised, whether by telephone, email or mail. 

I appreciate resolution not just for myself as a non-collateral loan recipient but for others that may also be experiencing this without realizing or if they realize without response insofar as Santander is an unresponsive organization until an agency reaches out to it. 

Thank you,

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation