Consumer complaint received 2024-10-21
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease — Unable to receive car title or other problem after the loan is paid off
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC. (TN)

In XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX I purchased a used vehicle from the local office of XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

They arranged for a car loan via Santander Consumer USA -- a company that I had never heard of before. The salesman and his manager at XXXX said that, because of my previous poor credit history, Santander was the only choice available. ( I felt that it was a pressure tactic, but I bought the vehicle anyway. ) For two years, I had an above-average payment history with Santander. Usually, I paid about {$60.00} per month above the minimum payment. My goal was to pay off the vehicle early and to improve my credit score. I was on-track to do both. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I was in a vehicle crash. The vehicle was a total loss. My car insurance company made an error in processing my claim. ( About a month after the crash, the adjusted phoned me. She said that she had closed out my case in someone else 's name. That error caused a " domino effect '' regarding my loan payoff. ) During that same month, I had tried several times to contact Santander about the GAP insurance coverage and claim processing. There were several problems with Santander. 

1. The method for notifying them about a vehicle loss is very " clunky ''. A customer must search around on their Web site to find the correct page. 

2. They have a " Contact '' page by which a customer can send a message. I sent several messages, but no one ever replied. Eventually, someone replied and basically said, " Phone us. '' 3. I made several phone calls to Santander. Some of them were not even answered. When someone did answer, they were in XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX They were very difficult to understand, and they had an attitude that I was in the wrong -- before they even knew the facts of the case. 

4. After about four such phone calls, I asked for a supervisor. The customer-service rep continued to give me the run-around and ask questions. Eventually, after I had to shout into the phone, I was transferred to a supervisor. 

5. The supervisor was a well-spoken American. She seemed helpful. She told me that they had all the information for a GAP claim on her screen, and that she didn't know why the claim had not been filed. She confirmed that it was Santander 's responsibility to file the claim. She also said that she would track the case to make sure that it was filed. I told her that I was concerned about my credit score. She told me not to worry, because she would track the claim, and that it would be processed before my next payment due date. BUT, that never happened. 

6. In early XXXX, having grown weary of the run-around, I decided to put a little bit of public pressure on Santander. I found their XXXX address and sent them a XXXX. Someone replied within about two hours, and they asked me to send my account number and other specifics via direct message. I did so. ( Account XXXX  XXXX ) That got " standard reply '', but no real action on my case. 

7. I posted another XXXX to Santander. This time, I copied it to a local " problem solver '' TV news reporter. Within two days, I got a phone call from a woman named XXXX, who said that she was with the " executive council '' of the company. She apologized for the fact that they had not filed a GAP claim. She also confirmed that it was their responsibility to file it. She then twisted things by saying that I had not filed any information with them about the accident nor the total loss. I replied that I had not only sent them all information required on their ( hard to find ) Web page, but also I had already sent them ( via their Web site ) the total loss report from my car insurance company ( XXXX ). 

XXXX. XXXX changed her tone and " suddenly '' was able to find all of that information on her computer screen. She also then SPECIFICALLY STATED that Santander had ALREADY FILED the gap insurance claim, and that the matter should be resolved soon. She then went on to say that I could help " expedite matters '' by reaching out to the gap insurance company from my end. She sent me an e-mail with the name and contact information. 

9. I reached out to the gap insurance company XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ). It turned out that NO CLAIM HAD BEEN FILED by Santander. ( I know this because the first step in the process was that they did a search by the VIN. The XXXX is a very specific piece of data. No claim had been filed regarding my vehicle. ) I became very irritated. 

10. I sent a message to XXXX at Santander and made a legal demand for them to promptly pay off and close my loan account. I also demanded treble damages as punishment for their bad-faith actions. 

11. About two days after that demand, a woman named XXXX phoned me. She had been assigned by XXXX to handle my case. After some initial discussion, I asked XXXX if she was calling to offer me a settlement. She replied, " No, I'm calling to clear up any confusion on **your** part .... '' That was NO confusion on my part. Dealings with Santander have been difficult at best. They have operated in bad faith, and XXXX flat-out LIED to me about having filed the gap insurance claim. 

I am filing this complaint with the CFPB as a means of exhausting my available administrative remedies before filing an action in Federal court. Thank you for your attention. I look forward to your reply.