Consumer complaint received 2020-12-26
Company: Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.
State: TX
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan
Sub-issue: Loan balance remaining after the vehicle is repossessed and sold

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX I purchased a XXXX XXXX XXXX from a XXXX dealer in XXXX XXXX Texas. The lender is Santander.From the start I struggled to pay the loan, my paychecks were only {$560.00} sometimes less and the payments were {$520.00} I believe. I did not make anywhere near enough to make payments on this car from the start, especially with a 22 % interest rate. I managed to make my payment on time every month until right after my XXXX. My paycheck was dwindling and I even tried making partial payments just so I could stay caught up but by XX/XX/XXXX I just couldnt do it anymore. Santander sent me some very nasty ugly and threatening letters about being behind and essentially bullying me to make payments I couldnt afford. I had absolutely no money and fell behind on payments completely. I called them and tried to work out a payment plan and they claimed they would lower the payment to help me but when they told me the amount it was ghastly. My original was {$520.00}, they still wanted {$470.00}. When someone says theyll lower the payments for you, you really believe it but with them knowing my situation and me explaining it over and over again they just didnt get it. At times I had less than {$1.00} in my checking account, I was only getting scheduled 15-20hrs a week and we were in the middle of a pandemic and theyre still demanding almost {$500.00}. It came to the point where I called them and told them to take the car, I couldnt do it anymore. I had no money, i was unbelievably stressed and wasnt sleeping because of this situation. I was getting no hours at work and my bf ended up buying me a used car so I could get to work and try to make a little money. They knew my situation clear and well.. I had to have XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX, I was not working from XXXX thru XXXX. I was living off of short term XXXX and my paycheck was only {$200.00} every 2 weeks. With a 22 % interest rate and only making around {$500.00} biweekly and a payment that is more than what my paycheck is at times with no money left over how do they expect someone to stay caught up. They know exactly what they are doing. They are preying on people like me. Its not even about my credit, its about principal. How on earth can you approve a loan where said persons paycheck is not enough to cover a car payment and have money left to survive. I would be out on the street if it wasnt for my bf. I would be homeless right now and Im very fortunate especially being in the middle of a pandemic. When we bought our house in order to get approved our combined income had to be 2 times our monthly payment. Youd think car loans would be to, if it was a legitimate, honest lender. They have you sign off so much paperwork, they in short terms describe what it is but everything goes so fast that youre not even thinking about that. When I voluntarily gave up my car, I had to choose car or house. I chose my house because I didnt want to be homeless because I was nearly there, I had absolutely no money even though I was working it still wasnt enough to barely scrape by. Santander sent me a statement that says the balance is XXXX. Still to this day they are trying to make me lose everything. They picked up the car in XX/XX/XXXX. Theyre settlement is {$3800.00}. Where is that going to come from? I dont have that kind of money and nowadays nobody does.it has been almost a year and now they send me a letter still demanding money. I dont even know what the amount of the auction for the car was, they just sent me the supposed balance. Something needs to be done about this because still to this day they are trying to put me on the street. They know clear and well I dont have the money but they consistently demand it. Its just unbelievable that these loan sharks do this to unknowingly people like me. A 22 % interest rate, no matter how many payments Ive made it didnt even make a dent in the loan balance, but yet I was on time until my XXXX and then the pandemic hit shortly thereafter which affected scheduled hours tremendously. Because of riots the store I worked at closed 3 times. Thats more lost money. With business struggling to make sales thats less hours too. Nobody can survive on 15-20 hrs a week, with a mortgage and utilities and other financial responsibilities. I chose to save my house and give up the car. I was not going to be homeless. That was the choice I made. I am putting this out there because I dont want anyone else going through the tremendous amount of stress and anguish Ive been through because of this car loan. From the start I was broke and they knew that. What I still cant grasp to this day is how they approve people with financial standings as myself when my income is not enough to make payments and survive thereafter. Its unbelievable and I dont want anyone else to experience nor go through what I went through with Santander. I also am contacting the FTC, XXXX and state and local governments about Santander and how they prey on people with frivolous and outrageous car loans. Again, I cant say it enough about the anguish and financial hardship Ive been going through, still to this day. As of right now Im just trying to stay afloat and scape by so I can at least close me eyes at night. Unlike Santander lenders, I dont know how they sleep at night preying on people as myself. Something has to be done as especially with the way things are, this can not happen anymore. This has got to stop, they are absolute predators. They know the loan will never be paid off with a outrageous 22 % interest rate. I was essentially throwing my money into their pockets while the balance didnt go down. Please, all I ask is you make these lenders accountable. They have got to stop approving loans for people that do not have the income to cover payments at a ridiculously high and outrageous interest rate. Bad credit or not its not right to do that to someone that is trying to build their credit. Please put this to a stop. 
Thank you XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation