Consumer complaint received 2024-09-25
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Billing problem
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC. (IL)

I am nearing the point of all of my interest on my car loan with Santander Bank being paid as they take all of the interest upfront, as all subprime lenders do, then they try to either gouge you for excessive fees, try to find a reason to take back your car or get you to take out another car note to repeat the cycle of making money off of you. I know as I used to manage a finance company in my desperate days when trying to raise my child alone as a twice-widowed parent, before I went to work for the county, state, and federal government. I did NOT however know my loan was being placed with a subprime lender when I took out my auto loan in XX/XX/XXXX with XXXX. I had very good credit all of my life up to the point that I fell sick and was taken off work from my state job so fell behind on my prior car note and loans as I was not paid while off and on XXXX XXXX. My four-year note at that time was two months from being paid off with XXXX XXXX who are also a bunch of crooks and instead of giving me time to pay threatened to repo my car. I then traded it into XXXX and they now are trying to do the same, except they also more than doubled my interest rate and have been gouging me for fees, as did XXXX XXXX once all upfront interest had been paid, at which point I should be paying nothing but the principal, but instead Santander keeps padding my bill with fees to keep me from paying the loan off. I always let them know if I will be late and am only late if there is an unavoidable reason, as I know how they are now after reading all reviews online, they have a 1 out of 5 score on their reviews. I also watch my account closely. Many online are complaining of the same issues, massive and hidden fees, which is what they are doing to me. I pay the full amount showing due on my screen every single time, and the payment is taken immediately as I am paying by debit card. I also make it clear when I call to set up a payment to include any late fees in the payment amount as I don't want any lingering late fees on my account!! Yet I just paid them several payments to catch up and should owe nothing until my next payment but then I looked at my account yesterday and it shows I owe {$100.00} in fees again. I then paid it right away, which now made me late on another bill, and used my debit card so the payment was taken right away, but it did not show paid on my screen and the amount still showed due. It sent me the payment receipt and my bank sent me notice of payment clearing my account, but they left the same amount owing on my account screen, but when I called the automated line it said I had made a {$510.00} payment on XX/XX/XXXX yesterday ( not accurate as that payment was made on XX/XX/XXXX ), and it did not mention my {$100.00} payment I just made on XX/XX/XXXX if they are lagging three days between posting payments that will cause many to be late again or incur additional late fees too. Then I called and talked to emp # XXXX Mgr and she was beyond rude talking over me the entire time and making excuses and saying when I make my next payment ( which was not even due yet but due until XX/XX/XXXX, before I changed my due date yesterday ), that the late fee you just paid will fall off. That makes NO SENSE. I just paid the amount, it needs to come off my balance right then not when I pay my next payment not even due until a week from now. At one point I could not even set up autopay or get into my account when I was behind a payment two weeks ago. She had me so upset my XXXX was acting up and I am off work for XXXX XXXX XXXX with XXXX symptoms. Then I told her I would reach out to you for help and she then tried to act like she was more than happy to help and started denying her lack of help, so I told her I needed to let them know I would make my next payment on XX/XX/XXXX when I can and explained I am going to be three weeks behind each month if they do not adjust and move my due date out three weeks as I am only paid one time a month now and have to make sure they put the payment through after my money is in my account. She then claimed she had to transfer me to do so and sent me to emp # XXXX ( they don't give their names only employee numbers ). He then was going to push my payment forward a month but also was reading off a legal notice that they would be applying additional fees and it would take longer to pay off the note and he would not tell me how much the interest would be or costs of all. I then told him I did not want to get into that trap and asked him to just move my due date, he said he could move it to the XXXX and I asked him if that meant I would not have to pay my XXXX payment until XX/XX/XXXX and he said yes. So, I did told him that would be fine and I would then set up autopay going forward. He also told me that the {$100.00} payment I made for fees should update and fall off overnight and show I paid them. I looked at my account today and again received notice the amount for those fees was paid, but it still shows I owe {$100.00} in fees, yet also at the same time in my transaction history it shows I paid that amount yesterday, but it went to my principal. When I calculated the prior balance less the fee payment it is also not coming out correctly but there is over a {$10.00} difference in the balance before and after they posted the amount I paid of XXXX yesterday and that money is nowhere, so it is like money is just being taken from my payments and not applied to the balance and they are also not applying it to the fee balance which is what it was paid for yesterday as that was the only thing due {$100.00}. So, now this fee balance still shows due and my balance on the account is also incorrect. This is intentional fraud. I am including a copy of the payment history I had her send me and the screen-shots, this history was pulled after I made the {$100.00} fee payment yesterday but does not show it, so that too needs to be deducted from my balance, then come my prior balance to that balance and you will see what is going on. People online are saying some of them paid double what the original loan was as they kept gouging them for more and more fees and had hidden fees on the account and later put them at the end of the note, there is fraud going on and I want them to send you all of my loan records and all associated fees, and make them deduct this payment off my screen for fees that I paid yesterday and correct my balance and STOP gouging me for fees. I am XXXX XXXX XXXX and consider this elder financial abuse!! I think they are leaving these late fees as showing due until your next payment so they can then charge you another late fee for the late fees. My next payment is not due until XX/XX/XXXX. I owe them NOTHING and paid the fee balance of XXXX as well, yesterday, which still shows I owe it so it is like they set it up to continually show I owe that amount!! I would also like to note I worked in commercial and investment banking for most of my career before working for the government and can clearly see what they are doing. I have had several auto loans in my lifetime and never had anyone gouge me as they have been doing and continually have reasons to add more fees other than XXXX XXXX who has also been in trouble with the law and sued by the regulators repeatedly.