Consumer complaint received 2024-06-05
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem — 
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC. (PA)

XX/XX/XXXX Wed. 
The external transfer of {$10000.00} was initiated by me through my Santander checking account. I requested these funds be moved from my online account at XXXX XXXX to my checking account at Santander. 

XX/XX/XXXX Thurs I received the following confirmation from my XXXX XXXX  account below XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX   - {$10000.00} The following transaction was posted to your account on XX/XX/XXXX for the amount shown : Amount : {$10000.00} Description : XXXX XXXX XXXX  Friday I received the below email from Santander : Your transfer could not be completed From : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Your transfer could not be deposited into the Santander Bank, XXXX, SIMPLY RIGHT CHECKING account ending in XXXX We'll return your {$10000.00} to your XXXX XXXX  account ending in XXXXPlease check your XXXX XXXX account regularly in the coming days to confirm your returned transfer. 
Transfer details : Item # : XXXX, Amount : {$10000.00}, Send Date : XX/XX/XXXX From : XXXX XXXX XXXX To : Santander Bank, XXXX, SIMPLY RIGHT CHECKING XXXX Thanks for being a Santander customer. 

XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX. 
I called Santander, spoke to XXXX different people, and was told by the last person I spoke to that the transaction had indeed failed and that the funds should have 'bounced back ' to XXXX XXXX XXXX She did not know " why '' this failure had occurred. I was told to check back on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX Monday I checked my accounts and the {$10000.00} is STILL missing from Santander & XXXX XXXX So, I called Santander and was informed per their XXXX XXXX ; there is nothing pending, and they're not showing any incomplete transaction or failed attempts, despite the fact that I had received an email from Santander telling me that very thing on XX/XX/XXXX. I told the rep about the confirmed {$10000.00} being deducted from my XXXX account on XXXX XXXX and that the funds continue to be missing from my XXXX account as of this morning. The XXXX told me to call XXXX XXXX to find out where the funds are. 
I CALLED XXXX XXXX and they informed me there has been no communication from Santander bank regarding a transaction failure and nothing is pending on their end. NO FUNDS HAVE BEEN RETURNED to them. XXXX XXXX rep told me to call Santander for further assistance. 
I Called Santander again ( spoke to XXXX ). He reiterated XXXX shows no pending incoming transfer. The money would have 'bounced ' back to its origin - XXXX XXXXXXXX if the transaction had truly failed on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX. Why then did I receive an email from Santander telling me they were 'unable to complete ' transaction, and that they would return the money to my exterior bank in the coming days?! I spoke to XXXX XXXX again and was told that the {$10.00} XXXX they transferred to Santander on XXXX did not 'bounce ' back to them as of this morning XX/XX/XXXX. They still have had no communication from Santander. 
I called Santander again and spoke to a supervisor, reiterated that they have no record of the transaction failing, but perhaps the 'error ' will be fixed and now I should be getting the deposit by XXXX the XXXX - All of this info seems to be speculation. No one from Santander seems to know anything for certain, and at this point I feel like I'm running around in circles. I don't understand what is going on and am extremely stressed out over the missing funds. 

XX/XX/XXXX Wednesday There is still no record of XXXX XXXX  receiving the funds return. Since I had been calling only the Santander Support Dept and not getting anywhere, I called my branch in XXXXXXXX XXXX. I gave XXXX a brief description of the situation. She later called me back and informed me that she has looked into this issue every way possible. She does not see the {$10000.00} transaction coming into my account, and no record of the 'failed ' transaction from XXXX XXXX XXXX She apologized that I am going through this, and said that I must contact XXXX XXXX, as they are the only ones who can trace the money. 
So here I go with another round with XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ). He said, though it should have come right back to them as it was rejected by Santander, it may have ended up in the XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. This would mean the return of XXXX XXXX  could take XXXX business days from XX/XX/XXXX ( the date of the email from Santander above )- which would be Friday the XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX Friday XXXX is still no record of the {$10000.00}. I called XXXX XXXX to open an XXXX Dispute as instructed by Santander. This rep seemed unfamiliar with that term, and asked me to call back in XXXX hours, as their headquarter are ( XXXX ). 
I Called XXXX back XXXX hours later, and was put through to Bank operations, who told me they could only trace an ACH DEBIT that had been initiated through XXXX. This particular transaction was initiated through Santander. As such, XXXX XXXX can NOT trace the {$10000.00}. 
So now I must call Santander again and request the whereabouts of the {$10000.00}. I called Santander asking for a supervisor. After some time, she was able to find out that the {$10000.00} is on HOLD within Santander 's XXXX XXXX and that the transaction had failed, thus was not completed. Rep : XXXX XXXX said she put a XXXX 's escalation on the hold and now I must call XXXX to make a claim to either release the money back to my XXXX account or send it to Santander. I said, based on the info given by XXXXXXXX XXXX - they are unable to trace this money, but okay- I'll try again. 
I called XXXX and, as anticipated, the rep reiterated that they could not help. XXXX can not dispute an XXXX DEBIT nor file any claims to retrieve or release the money because the transfer was initiated by Santander. XXXXXXXX XXXX would have tracing abilities only if they had initiated the XXXX DEBIT. 
I reached out to a Santander XXXX. She told me a form was completed today with regard to the {$10000.00} HOLD and I should be hearing back from the Santander XXXX XXXX. The XXXX is checking further with her team while I hold. She came back on the line and told me I need a DEBIT REVERSAL FORM from XXXX XXXX because the XXXX DEBIT not only failed coming into Santander, but it also failed when they tried to send it back to XXXX XXXX. She said that the funds are in a kind of LIMBO, thus, Santander does not have access to the money. 
I called my branch again to ask their assistance with the proper handling of this XXXX Debit Reversal Form. She clearly did not wish to assist with this issue any longer and said I'm working with too many people. 
I then called XXXX Bank and told the rep I need them to retrieve the money with a DEBIT REVERSAL FORM. He told me the issue I am currently having is highly unusual and is checking with another department to see what they can do. The response was : XXXXXXXX XXXX needs a Debit Reversal Form faxed to them at XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Saturday I called Santander, a supervisor answered the phone. He tried to help, but as it was Saturday, the " back office '' was unavailable to submit the form via fax to XXXX. I gave him the fax number and the name of the form and while I was on the phone with him, he emailed the info to someone at Santander that could get this done asap. 

XX/XX/XXXX Wednesday : There continues to be no record of the missing funds in either of my bank accounts. It is now the XXXX day since I'd initiated the ACH Transfer from Santander to XXXX. 
I called XXXX to see if they've received the DEBIT REVERSAL FORM via fax from Santander. They have not yet received the fax. 
I called Santander to inquire about the fax. After much holding, I was connected to a Santander XXXX ( XXXX ). She told me that the {$10000.00} is in fact still on HOLD and that she will resolve this issue by opening a ticket and faxing XXXX Bank with a request to release the funds. Ticket XXXX XXXX  will be faxed to XXXX XXXX via XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Tuesday : It has now been XXXX days since the {$10000.00} has been 'on hold '. I called XXXX Bank to inquire about the XXXX  Santander had sent to them on XX/XX/XXXX requesting that XXXX release the funds. I spoke to XXXX and gave her the ticket number from Santander and the XXXX XXXX number that they used. She placed me on hold to find out if the issue is now in process of being resolved. XXXX told me they do not have record of receiving this fax to date I called Santander XXXX XXXX... He confirmed the XXXX  was sent on XX/XX/XXXX. He said the {$10000.00} is on HOLD in Santander 's Compass system because Santander reversed the transaction? Apparently, the return of funds transaction had failed prior to receiving the money, thus XXXX must release the funds. 
So, I called XXXX back, and spoke to XXXX ( XXXX ). She physically checked the document retrievals from that fax number. XXXX had not received the fax in question- nor have they received any communication from Santander since transferring the {$10000.00} on XXXX. Also, she wanted to know what document ( XXXX ) were supposed to have been faxed to them. I told her all a knew, that a ticket was created on XX/XX/XXXX with a request for XXXX to release the funds. XXXX told me that XXXX will need the confirmation date and time of that FAX. She also stated that XXXX Bank fulfilled their obligations precisely. The issue arose on Santander 's side. She recommended that I inquire with Santander about the cause of the failure. 
I contacted Santander for confirmation of the fax, including its date and time, and told them that XXXX is prepared to resolve this issue as soon as they receive a formal request from Santander. I reached out to Santander once more for the information, but the XXXX department had closed for the day. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Santander and spoke to a supervisor ( also named ) XXXX, who told me that the fax was sent on XX/XX/XXXX to XXXX ( not XXXX ). According to XXXX, this is a XXXX party operation between banks, and that this XXXX party was responsible for stopping the {$10000.00} transaction on XX/XX/XXXX. Again, I asked WHY this occurred - XXXX was unsure. I held while she spoke to Santander 's tech dept for updates. She confirmed that the necessary documents were sent from XXXX to XXXXXXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX, along with a formal request to release the funds from hold. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after seeing no action had yet been taken, I reached out once again to the XXXX from XXXXXXXX XXXX. She checked and said there has been no correspondence from XXXX to date, but she assured me that XXXX will expedite the filing of the document upon receipt. 

It is XXXX XXXX XXXX days since XXXXXXXX XXXX transferred {$10000.00} to my Santander account. I still do not have my money in either account. I'm now calling the supervisor, XXXX, from XXXX Bank who told me to call her personally should the issue not be resolved within the next few business days. XXXX confirmed that XXXX Bank has not received the documents that I was told by Santander, were sent to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX. 
I called Santander, asked to speak with XXXX XXXX. or XXXX, XXXX. Before rep 's attempt to transfer me to a supervisor, she looked at the ticket info on my account, and said that a fax with documentation was sent to XXXXXXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and documentation was also sent to XXXX on or around XX/XX/XXXX. I told her XXXX XXXX  has not yet received any documentation to date with regard to this issue from Santander nor XXXX. I was placed on hold and we were disconnected.