Consumer complaint received 2022-09-15
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Problem with fees charged
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC. (TX)

I've had an auto loan with Santander Consumer USA since XX/XX/XXXX. I called their office on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with XXXX ( ID # XXXX ) after noticing the credit reporting for my account hadn't been updated since XX/XX/XXXX. I requested a review of my account because I've been charged {$30.00} late fees and reported 30-59 or more days past due since XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, even though I'm still making full payments each month. During COVID our family suffered some of the same hardships as others ( job loss, eviction from our home of 10 years... ). I maintained periodic contact with Santander during this time but eventually requested to be on the " no-call '' list due to excessive daily collection calls from auto-dialers and Santander representatives. I briefly lost contact with them during our move at the end of XX/XX/XXXX until receiving an email notice that my car was in repossession status. I immediately contacted Santander to discuss options to bring the account current but was again refused assistance and reminded of the previous 11 extensions, most of which were COVID related. I expressed feeling it was unfair for them to penalize their customers for extensions granted during COVID but was told they aren't guaranteed and they're not obligated to do so. I continued making payments as best I could but also recall having repeated, lengthy discussions with Santander representatives in which I was asked to disclose invasive, personal details about my life as to why the account continued to be delinquent. I continued to request assistance during each of these calls to no avail. In XX/XX/XXXX, I requested a more thorough review of my account by Santander 's executive office because I felt the payments I had made to date were being improperly allocated by the computer system following the interest rate reduction. During these discussions, I also brought the ongoing inaccurate credit reporting to their attention and discussed my continued inability to bring the account current without assistance. After spending countless hours on the phone giving repeated explanations to multiple representatives across several days, I was finally able to speak with someone from the executive office. She agreed there may be some unresolved issues with the account, so she requested a manual review by their legal department. The conclusion of this review was that the account needed some adjustment, however, they only agreed to waive {$200.00} of the late fees that had accrued. I don't recall the specific amount of the adjustment but it was only enough to remove the vehicle from repossession status, not bring the account current, and they advised they still could not grant any further extensions. I've continued to make full monthly payments since then but the account remains in a delinquent status. I've had this loan for approximately 51 months and have paid Santander in excess of XXXX XXXXXXXX for this vehicle but also still owe over XXXX  XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I reviewed my credit monitoring through XXXX and XXXX for the account and it hadn't been updated since XX/XX/XXXX. Santander insists they update their reporting to the credit bureaus monthly and blames them for not updating the accounts within 30-45 days. As previously stated, Santander 's charged {$30.00} late fees and reported me 30-59 days or more past due each month since XX/XX/XXXX due to their ongoing refusal to provide any assistance, while also receiving full payments each month per the contract. I believe this to be an intentional, regular practice by Santander to entrap their customers by preventing them from being able to refinance or purchase another vehicle elsewhere. Santander knowingly puts their customers in a " no choice '' scenario... either continue paying us double or more of the vehicle 's fair market value with high interest or risk certai! n repossession after paying us for years... THERE'S NO WAY OUT! They prey on consumers with credit issues knowing there's a high probability of default going into the contract. Santander sets the payments and interest so high that a large majority of their customers aren't ever able to pay off their loans. How much more money does Santander intend to milk out of this XXXX XXXX mother of XXXX on a fixed income for this XXXX old car? They've been held accountable for some of the same deceptive practices in 34 other states but not in Texas? ENOUGH IS ENOUGH... why is Santander being protected more than Texas consumers?