Consumer complaint received 2016-07-19
Company: SANTANDER BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: UT
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
My ex-husband and I have a mortgage with Santander/Sovereign Bank. For the past 10 years or more, we have been receiving a statement that says we owe over {$5000.00} in mysterious " Financial Fees ''. These are in addition to the mortgage payment, late fee charges, tax fees, etc. For years my husband and I have been trying to get Santander to explain what the fees are for. After hundreds of calls and certified letters requesting explanations for these fees, we have never received a response. Each time we call, we are put on hold or transferred over and over again. Usually, we just get hung up on. My husband and I recently got divorced and I am trying to re-finance our home through another company. This morning, with the phone on speaker so my loan manager at the new bank could hear, I called Santander/Sovereign again. I was put on hold and transferred over 5 times. Finally, a woman named " XXXX '' was able to tell me that some of it was attorney fees dealing with our bankruptcy over ten years ago. The other {$4000.00}, she admitted she could n't explain. She then transferred me to a woman named " XXXX XXXX '' that is supposed to handle all questions dealing with bankruptcy fees. I have called this woman numerous times and I always get her message machine asking to leave a name, phone number and short message. I have left numerous messages asking her to call me back. I have not received a response from her. Our bankruptcy was paid off and finished over ten years ago, and never was there ever anything about bankruptcy fees from Sovereign/Santander in any of the documentation. Also, when talking to " XXXX '', I asked her when my payment was due each month and how long of a grace period until a late fee was charged. At first she told me ten days then she changed her mind and told me fifteen days. Then she backtracked and said ten days again. When I asked her to make sure so that I could send it early enough, she got mad and said it does n't matter when I send the payment, it 's when they accept it. I have been paying electronically each month on the XXXX of the month. She says that Santander has n't been receiving it until the XXXX or third of the next month. She 's claiming that it must take over 15 days for the electronic payment to go through! My bank that I pay from says that it only takes XXXX5 days. Yet Santander keeps charging me a {$30.00} late fee each month. I ca n't win with them. I think everything they are doing is dishonest and possibly illegal. I am on disability/social security with a fixed income. The woman, " XXXX '' told me that if I wanted answers to what the " mysterious fees '' were, I would probably need to " seek legal counsel ''. I do n't have the money to do that. They should be able to provide me with that information upon request. I should n't be responsible for paying for fees, that even they can not or will not explain.

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 monetary relief