Consumer complaint received 2023-08-02
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC.
State: CT
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Santander has fumbled assistance in every way possible and caused egregious stress and heinous amount of work for me to keep up with their ineptness. 

AFTER ALREADY EXPERIENCING ISSUES, I started keeping a conversation log of my discussions with Santander XXXX XXXX. Here are the payments and actions amde over the lifespan of the mortgage Date paid Amount XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Forebearance. Deferral option " time stop '' no activity on account no fees no penalties no negative impact. 
XXXX Given 3 month windows to reassess situation. Full 12 months were allotted plus constitutional 6 months for XXXX total. 
XXXX XXXX principal XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX started initiating conversation with XXXX but asked to wait XXXX weeks for paperwork XXXX XXXX Re-initated conversation since they were clearly disorganized or lost. 
XXXX Started taking notes on calls to protect ourselves XXXX Continued trying to re-initiate XXXX Continued trying to re-initiate XXXX Continued trying to re-initiate. Made " good faith '' payments to help them re-initiate mortgage. XX/XX/XXXX we were accepted into " trial period '' ... because good faith payment was XX/XX/XXXX it was NOT counted XX/XX/XXXX This one was NOT counted towards " trial period '' XX/XX/XXXX This one WAS XXXX XXXX Balance of XXXX to equal XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX This was " processed '' on their side in XXXX and so they canceled the trial period incorrectly. I have screenshot from XX/XX/XXXX showing payment and resceipt by XX/XX/XXXX as well as a phone call. 
XXXX XXXX NOT counted. No paperwork disclosing where this money went. 
XXXX Instructed to await response. Instead were met with foreclosure lawsuit paperwork XXXX Had to prove payment. XXXX into new " trial period for XXXX '' XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX trial period " completed successfully '' Modification plan submitted but with increased rates and increase term. 

We were offered a deferral / forbearance option to deal with the fact that I lost my working capacity due to an injury at work. Then my XXXX was postponed by XXXX restrictions. By the time I got XXXX, the damage was significantly worse. Recovery time was added and I tore my calf 6 months into rehab. It had atrophied. 

I was promised ( double- and triple-confirmed ) that this would act like a " Time STOP '' and that we would be able to resume payments. I was also offered three options upon reinstatement.

1 ) pay lump overdue amount and resume as normal 2 ) take that lump amount and push it to the back end of the mortgage, due upon maturity 3 ) " flex modification '' that would extend the mortgage to a new 40 year term to drastically lower payments. 

To reinstate, we had to chase Santander around the block! We called and called and tried to reinstate. Finally, we got sick of the runaround and declared to them that we would start making " good faith payments '' for {$1500.00} starting XX/XX/XXXX. We made another in XXXX when they finally accepted us for a " trial period '' to show that we were willing to pay since we had missed so many ( even though we had been trying for MONTHS to resume. ) I successfully paid XXXX payments of XXXX. I called in XXXX to confirm that we were reinstated. I was told to wait for XXXX weeks while they process this information and prepare a new flex mod option. 
I waited and they slapped us with foreclosure proceedings!!! 
I called back and they halted foreclosure and started a new trial period, saying we had missed a payment on XXXX deadline ( I have screenshots of the payment confirmation and a confirmation call to them to assure we had not. This was XXXX! ) New Trial Period was confirmed for XXXX for a new higher amount. We paid on the first day possible of every month to avoid any discrepancies. 
Now we are slapped with " Terms and Conditions of Modification '' that must be returned with 15 days ( we were promised negotiation, specially which type of reinstatement, but also that we could work with a processor to figure out length and terms, etc ). 
Within this document there are ridiculous fees including : 1 ) PMI ( we owed XXXX on a XXXX AKA 33 % equity while only 20 % is needed ) 2 ) Escrow estimations of XXXX + XXXX when our actual monthly costs are XXXX XXXX ) " Property Preservation Expenses '' for the foreclosure proceedings that were initiated BY THEIR ERROR and they want to charge to us {$2200.00} 4 ) The principal balance is listed at {$250000.00} even though our " time stop '' amount was {$260000.00} and we've paid {$13000.00} 5 ) They promised there would be no penalties or late fees although we've seen them on our statements and they used these good faith amounts to pay off phantom fees! 
6 ) And now XXXX XXXX, the processor on the account, has promised us callbacks by Friday night, by Tuesday, and by Today yet called exactly 0 times. 

We have tried to resume payments and do their work for them at every step of the way. We have had to take loans, pay interest, pay phantom penalties, pay their mistake fees, all while under the DURESS of losing our home. This has been the worst consumer experience of my life, and it's not close! They should not be allowed to do this... 
Time lost, time off, and opportunity cost of effort I estimate the total time I've spent with them on phone calls alone to be worth upwards of {$7000.00}. If that is extrapolated to the mortgage term and adjusted for inflation, would be worth ~ {$100000.00} in 40 years...

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