Consumer complaint received 2021-01-20
Company: SANTANDER BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Trying to get out of forbearance with Santander has been a nightmare. On XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for forbearance with Santander Bank, due to COVID and my hours being cut. I was approved for the forbearance from XXXXXXXX XXXX-XXXXXXXX XXXX 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called and submitted a request online to have my forbearance end and my mortgage be deferred. I started making monthly regular payments as of the month of XX/XX/XXXX through now. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a follow up email and call regarding wanting a deference plan, and again on XX/XX/XXXX. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I received confirmation from Santander Executive Office, that my Loan ModificatioXXXX request was received. I continued to call and sent requests for information on the next steps. I would call and be on hold for up to 45 minutes at a time, and I would leave messages however, I would get no answer. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, per conversation with a SantanderXXXX Customer Service rep, I was told my file was being worked on, and since I wanted to do a deferment, I did not need to complete the Mortgage Assistance Application noted on the Loan Solutions Center website. In this same conversation, I reiterated that I was interested in a deferment beginning as of XX/XX/XXXX, and having my forbearance end on XX/XX/XXXX ; whereas the months I have missed will be placed at the end of my mortgage end date. 

A few days afterwards, I received letters and notices stating that I would need to complete the Mortgage Assistance Application. However, when I contacted customer service through the phone for clarification, I was told I did not need to complete the forms. However, the notices that I did need to complete the form kept coming. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I called again and sent an email to get clarification and to follow up on the status of my deferment process. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received another notice that said I needed to submit the Mortgage Assistance Application, so I completed the forms. I ended up submitting all the documents, only to find out at the end I did not need to submit them, so it was all a waste of time and effort. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for a HELOC, however it has been placed on hold because Santander still has not updated my account in their system. As of today, almost 4+ months after my initial request back on XX/XX/XXXX, Santander Bank still has not updated my account to show the dates I went out of forbearance, and they do not have my account as current. Because of this, I am close to losing the HELOC. I am out of my wits end at this point, and not sure what else to do. At this point the time and effort spent on my behalf to get my account updated is ridiculous. I feel that I have been more than patient in this whole process. I understand due to COVID there are delays, but I submitted my request to end forbearance back in XX/XX/XXXX and have continuously contacted Santander/XXXX for information only to have been just ignored when I go through the Loan Solutions Center, given bad information, or received no clear answers when I go through customer service. 

I am completely dissatisfied with the service I have received from Santander in trying to resolve my previous forbearance issue. I feel that I am being held financially captive by Santander, with no clear resolution of when my account will be brought current. 

Note that throughout the initial forbearance process I was never in touch with an actual person, everything was done through the customer service call center with prompts, or online. I wish there was a person that could have warned me of this process and how it would impact me. I feel that Santander has really dropped the ball on my account, and I fully regret having Santander be my mortgage lender.

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