Consumer complaint received 2021-04-01
Company: Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.
State: OH
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account information incorrect

Complaint:
Dear Sir / Madam, I am writing today to formally complain about the business practices I have been subjected to by Santander Consumer USA. In XX/XX/XXXX I purchased a car at XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX Ohio. Because of my bad credit score I was told that the only lender that would work with me is Santander at an interest rate at around 18 % on a {$25000.00} loan. I was told that in order to get the car, Santander required me to purchase an extended warranty, otherwise they would deny me the loan, which I have recently learned is not true and often is a scam. 

The total cost of the loan was to be {$45000.00} and was based on 66 monthly payments of {$680.00}. I ended up ( based on Santanders payment history that was sent to me ) making a total of 82 payments for a total of approximately {$59000.00}, which included all fees, resulting in an overpayment amount of {$14000.00} of the agreed upon amount. The agreement states that the late charge is to be no more than 5 % of the monthly payment, which is approximately {$35.00}. If I were late every month that would still only amount to {$2800.00}, leaving almost {$12000.00} unaccounted for in miscellaneous late fees that are not stipulated anywhere in the original contract. 

On XX/XX/XXXX a payment of {$700.00} was made. NONE of the payment went to the remaining {$450.00} principle, but was entirely applied to Misc fees. This was the only time in the history of the loan that this happened. The next day, XX/XX/XXXX the vehicle was traded and Santander was notified of this. Again on XX/XX/XXXX, Santander called and was informed that the vehicle was traded and the dealership, XXXX XXXX of XXXX Ohio, was sending the payoff amount as agreed the day before. On neither of the calls did the Santander customer service representative inform me of any late status, nor did they inform me that the {$450.00} remaining principle wasnt paid, despite receiving a payment from me on the XX/XX/XXXX. 

The very next day, XX/XX/XXXX, Santander flagged my account with the credit reporting agencies as Charged Off in the amount of {$450.00}, with a {$1800.00} balance. Im assuming the {$1800.00} balance was made up of some of the {$12000.00} in miscellaneous fees. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Santander received the payoff and applied the amount to my loan, effectively paying it off. When I called Santander to inquire about the charge off they told me that the loan wasnt paid and as such they couldnt change the record. 
Not satisfied, I wrote and mailed 5 letters to different Santander addresses explaining my situation and asking them to correct the credit report and remove the charge off now that it has been paid, only to receive 5 form letters stating that their reporting is correct and can not be changed. 

I then decided to start a dispute with Experian to investigate, however it appears XXXX efforts are going unanswered as well. 
Currently, 2 months later, my credit report still shows an unpaid charge off from Santander, and they also have entered the incorrect loan term on the account, showing that it was 89 months and not the contracted 66 months. 

In my online research trying to find out how to best approach this issue, I learned that Santander was the subject of a CFPB lawsuit and forced to rectify the accounts of customers that were subjected to circumstances similar to mine. I am not looking for any financial reimbursement, I simply request that my credit report be corrected to remove the charge off and show the account as paid in full or completely remove the Santander account from all public credit reporting agencies. 

My family struggled financially for 7 years because of the inability to get out of this loan and now to charge off my account after receiving {$14000.00} over and above the agreed upon terms of the loan, in addition to knowing that the vehicle had been traded in the day before was unbelievable to me considering I spoke with Santander the two days before and was not informed that this was about to happen. 

Ive attached documentation showing the extended warranty I was forced to purchase, the payment schedule on the contract, the total cost of the loan, the payment history as provided by Santander, my letter requesting they correct the credit report, a screenshot of the erroneous credit report, the addresses to which my letters were sent and Santanders generic response to my request. 

Please let me know if there is any further information you need. 

Thank you for your assistance.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation