Consumer complaint received 2017-08-29
Company: SANTANDER BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: PA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with cash advances

Complaint:
Santander Bank solicited me to open a credit card account with their bank. They claimed that it was a no fee credit card. No fees for balance transfers and most particularly for cash advances. I was immediately approved for a card with a {$10000.00} limit with a {$3500.00} Cash Advance limit. First, on XXXX XXXX, 2017, I went to Santander Bank, where I have had an account for about 5 years, and I asked for a cash advance on THEIR credit card. They informed me that they no longer do cash advances bank wide and told me I had to go to any other bank to get the cash advance that I needed. So, I went to another bank and requested a {$3000.00} cash advance. That bank attempted to process the transaction and it came back denied. I called Santander customer service for the credit card, and they informed me that I had to use my pin and only could take a cash advance from an ATM using their card, and only in the amount of {$350.00} per day. They claim that the bank does that as a security measure to ensure someone does not get ahold of my card and take the full cash advance amount. At this rate it would take me almost 10 days to get the cash advance I need which does absolutely NOTHING for an emergency situation. In addition, they start charging interest the day the cash advance is taken, so if I take {$350.00} every day, then I am being charged interest separately on each transaction. I have been a member of their bank for YEARS and I have never opened a credit account with them because they did n't have anything available that I did n't already have. Then they advertise to me about this new wonderful NO FEE card that I can get and approve me for a {$3500.00} cash advance limit, that in reality is not there because I ca n't get the money in the amount that I need when I need it! I feel their advertising was deceptive, and the card is pretty much useless to me because it does nothing any other card I have would n't already do. I did not need another credit card, and on top of that now that I have it, I ca n't cancel it without causing damage to myself. Canceling it is not what I would want to do now that I have it anyway. The customer service agent on XXXX XXXX, 2017, suggested that I 'MAY ' be able to go to another bank that would process the cash advance as a debit charge and give me the full amount. She did n't even know for sure that that would be possible. I called about 15 banks ... .none of them process cash advances as debit transactions. I called Santander back today, XXXX XXXX, 2017, and informed them of the updated situation and that I thought their advertising was fraudulent since I could not access the money that I was approved for. Their answer was, well you can always just charge what you want to purchase. I informed them that was not an option. I asked to speak to a supervisor that said basically the {$350.00} per day allowance was a policy that nobody can change, which in my opinion negates the purpose of approving a cash advance limit of {$3500.00}, because people do not go take a {$350.00} cash advance from their credit cards. I asked for a higher level supervisor and was told that there is not one available but they could have one call me back in 24-48 hours. I did get a phone call in about a half hour from a supervisor named XXXX XXXX who informed me that they are documenting the complaints about this policy and she indicated that there are more than just my complaint but as of now, the bank 's policy is what it is for fraud protection. I think it is that way more for the bank 's protection than it is for my own so I do n't believe the bank is being honest about their intentions, just as their advertising was not honest. There are truth in lending laws which require banks to inform you of everything in detail, yet in this instance there was not information stating, " while we may approve you for a {$3500.00} cash advance limit, you wo n't be able to access all of that money at one instance and will only be able to withdraw {$350.00} per day ''. If that was the case, I would not have even applied for the card. One of the most ridiculous things about this situation is that I do have a debit card with Santander and I can and have taken that debit card to an ATM and withdrew {$1000.00}, on several occasions, so their 'we limit this to protect you from fraud statement '' is complete XXXX. My bank account is not limited, but the credit card is despite the approval amount. An approval means the money is available. If I ca n't access the money and take what I was approved of, then the money is not available and there was no truth in the lending practices that enticed me to apply for the card. It 's that plain and simple. The bank needs to be forced to abide by their approvals and written contracts, and they need to be forced to disclose ALL the terms prior to anyone applying to them, not have consumers find out later that they did n't get what they were told they have.

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