Consumer complaint received 2020-09-22
Company: Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.
State: GA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Auto debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
OnXX/XX/XXXX the account with Santander Consumer USA Holdings was added to my credit report. Originally I agreed to be the Co-Signer for the XXXX XXXX XXXX Vin:XXXX. At that time I was not present. The documents were mailed to me and I signed all documents as a Co-Signer and my mother XXXX XXXX signature was documented as the owner. Santander Consumer USA Holdings made me the sole owner of the car without my permission. There's no way I would have taken a loan out for a car when I had my own car loan out for my XXXX XXXX, which I'm now the owner of. I was advised that I was the owner of the car in XX/XX/XXXX when I began receiving phone calls about a late car payment. 
XX/XX/XXXX Santander Consumer USA Holdings settled with 33 states and the District of Columbia. It agreed to pay {$65.00}  million to customers affected by the practices, as well as waiving {$470.00} million worth of outstanding loan payments. It also agreed to pay {$7.00} million to states to cover restitution claims.

The states argued that the Santander division violated consumer  protection laws by allowing subprime customers to borrow money for car purchases, even though these customers were at a high risk of defaulting on the loans. The loans were made between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 
They also accused the lender ofturning a blind eye to dealer abuse and failing to meaningfully monitor dealer behavior.

In a statement, Santander Consumer USA Holdings described the allegations asa legacy underwriting issue.The settlement wasanother key milestone in addressing issues related to that time period, it added, and would not affect its operations or ability to serve customers. 
The company said : Over the last several years, we have strengthened our risk management across the board improving our policies and procedures to identify and prevent dealer misconduct, and tightening standards to ensure affordability. 
Santander is barred from requiring dealers to sell ancillary products, such as vehicle service contracts Santander will also implement steps to monitor dealers who engage in income inflation, expense inflation, power booking, and Santander will enact additional documentation requirements for those dealers. Further, whereas Santander previously allowed these problematic dealers to waive documentation requirements on income and expenses, Santander no longer will allow such exceptions. If Santander has to use a default mortgage or rent payment value, the amount input must reasonably reflect the payment value for the geographic location. Finally, Santander will maintain policies and procedures for deferments, forbearances, modifications and other collection matters that all employees must follow. 
The states joining in the settlement led by Illinois Attorney General XXXX are the attorneys general of California, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington, who comprise the executive committee ; as well as the attorneys general of Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. 
The charge-offs on my credit reports are due to the negligence and malpractice of Santander and I request that it be removed from all credit bureaus. Attached you will find supporting documents. 

Regards, XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation