Consumer complaint received 2016-03-23
Product: Consumer Loan — Vehicle loan
Issue: Taking out the loan or lease — 
Company: Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (WA)

I originally bought my car through a dealership that said all I qualified to purchase/finance my car through Santander Consumer USA at XXXX % interest. I was told by Santander that my payment was due on the XXXX of each month starting on XX/XX/XXXX. I have usually paid by the XXXX, but when I have not, I noticed excessive fees. After continuous conversation with many different Santander representatives over now 3 years, the truth has gradually come-out. One of the most disturbing pieces of their undocumented information they do not supply their clients is : Is that if your payment is due by the XXXX of every month, you have to pay 3-5 days before ( even if you pay online through their website the same day on due date ) that not only XXXX per diem ( high interest ) but a second per diem is added to the payment and overall loan ( if not paid ). With that said, the whole time that I was paying by the XXXX of every month, I was incurring a separate per diem of high interest, on top of my 19 % ( related to my payment ), & if not paid after the XXXX, a double per diem ( from the first per diem, plus 19 % ) is added to the payment. I feel this is predatory! Also, the high payment I had been paying, including undisclosed XXXX & XXXX separate high interest per diems, plus late fees if after the XXXX, none of the payment that I had been paying ( even at 19 % ), had not one-cent of any principle deducted from the balance. The original financed amount was {$22000.00}. After paying {$530.00} ea. mo., for over 3 years ( of course some months I was late-as referenced above ), and paying over {$16000.00} dollars, the balance is {$22000.00}, plus an outstanding balance of {$5000.00} interest only, as from XX/XX/XXXX ( onxe figured-out & complaining to them for nor briefing on this grave information, or supplying a consumer finance handbook, or stating all the pertinent associated high interest fees, per diems, not paying XXXX days before actual payment due date, and no principal whatsoever ) I decided to go into default with them. I continued to ask Santander Consumer USA why all this has come-out over three years time and not up-front in the beginning stages of the original relationship, but they remain silient on these very important and crucial issues. Currently I have paid {$16000.00} in three years, my balance of my financial loan is {$22000.00}, plus {$5000.00} dollars in default payments, XXXX add-on high interest per diems, plus late fees, and now damaged credit, with the value of the vehicle at {$11000.00}, and with tried breach of force/violence repossession by independent contractor tow company, ( I have XXXX separate police reports on file as the independent tow contractor tried to complete repossessions in a " breach of peace '' manner through physical contact and violence. At this time, I refuse to pay {$5000.00} more dollars of none agreed interest only payments to be in good standing with Santander Consumer USA because if my balance is {$22000.00}, I 've paid {$16000.00} over three years of the agreed 72 month contract with non agreed no principal, my actual loan balance is {$38000.00} dollars only in 3 years, not including the remainder four years still due for the life of the loan. This I feel is devastating. Its fraud. It is predatory practices for gain of superior profit to the lending institution. I feel that even if I were to submit to the repossession of my vehicle, that after it goes through the auto auction process, the institution, Santander Consumer USA will then still make me responsible for the balance of what the vehicle will be sols for on the auto auction block, approx : XXXX-XXXX dollars, I will be still be required to pay the difference of yet another approx : {$12000.00} dollars or more, regardless of what I have already paid. This is completely unfair. It has destroyed my credit on top of all this current problem. A solution would be to hold the predatory lending institution accountable.