Consumer complaint received 2020-06-15
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Getting a loan or lease — Confusing or misleading advertising or marketing
Company: Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (CA)

Deceptive Sale Practices/Switch & Bait, Fraudulent Attempt to Sell a Vehicle and Unauthorized Access to Consumers Credit Report   XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Also Known as : XXXX Dealership Persons of contact include : Sales Manager - XXXX XXXX Sales Representative- XXXX XXXX Appointment Time : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX Product to be sold : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Coupe VIN : XXXX Stock : XXXX Date of Occurrence : XX/XX/XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I began an online search for a new XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with a sunroof to present to my husband as a XXXX XXXX gift. I found several XXXX vehicles listed online in the price ranges of {$71000.00} - {$98000.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX I found a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX advertised on XXXX for sale by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX located at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX. The price advertised by the dealership was {$71000.00} ( please see attached XXXX XXXX  and XXXX advertisements ). Being the most affordable option, I decided to give XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX ( also known XXXX ) a call at ( XXXX ) XXXX at approximately XXXX XXXX to inquire about this particular vehicles availability and to confirm the dealers purchase price. I was connected to XXXX at XXXX and XXXX informed me that the vehicle was currently listed at {$71000.00}, but the vehicle was not on their sales lot and that the vehicles delivery to the dealership had been held up due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and told me that he would check the status of the vehicle with his manager and call me back. XXXX returned my call at approximately XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and told me that the vehicle would arrive to the dealership in 2 weeks. At this point in our telephone conversation, I expressed a serious interest in purchasing this particular vehicle and informed XXXX that I recently obtained a pre-approval for financing through Chrysler Capital in the amount of {$64000.00}. XXXX asked if I would like to come to the dealership to start the purchasing process and I agreed to visit XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  to purchase the vehicle. 

My husband XXXX XXXX and I arrived at XXXX dealership at about XXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX and was greeted by XXXX. After we arrived and were meeting with XXXX at his desk, I gave XXXX my drivers license to copy as he requested and showed him the pre-approval email I received from Chrysler  Capital which included reference number XXXX and listed a finance amount of up to {$64000.00}. I then informed XXXX that I would be paying cash to make up the difference of {$6300.00} of the purchase price and that I would be putting an additional amount down on the vehicle. XXXX then asked me if he could have the finance department at XXXX call Chrysler  Capital and request the exact sales amount of {$71000.00} to be financed. I specifically asked XXXX that he only inquire to Chrysler Capital as I already had a pre-approval and XXXX agreed. I also informed XXXX that I had participated in XXXX   Quick Online Application process prior to gaining a pre-approval from Chrysler  Capital. XXXX  ( the dealership ) website stated that ONLY a soft inquiry would be performed ( please see attached web archive ). My husband and I continued to wait at XXXX desk while XXXX finance department contacted Chrysler Capital. After 10-15 minutes of waiting, a gentleman who appeared to be a salesman or possibly a financial associate approached my husband and I and said, the finance department is trying to get you another {$3000.00} plus another {$23000.00}. After hearing this I was quite shocked and alarmed and did not understand what he was referring to. I replied to this gentleman, why is the finance guy trying to get an additional {$26000.00} in financing and who authorized it?. He replied to me that I needed at least {$90000.00} and that my current financing offer was not sufficient. I then replied, {$90000.00}, what do I need {$90000.00} for, the car is listed on your website at {$71000.00}?. He then stated that the car I was trying to purchase was {$90000.00} and then he said, let me go check. At this point in time I became very curious as to what was going on and me and my husband proceeded to walk to the finance desk and ask them what was going on. Just prior to approaching the finance desk, I received a text message on my cell phone from XXXX which is a credit monitoring product I am currently using. The text message stated that a recent inquiry into my credit file had been placed 3 minutes prior. I stopped the gentleman as he was walking away and said, what are you guys doing over there? I just received a text alert that my credit had been accessed and that my credit score dropped 59 points. He then replied, 59 points? Theres no way, we only inquired once. 

This is when I approached the financing departments desk and began asking questions about what they were doing checking my credit and also stated that I never authorized anyone to check my credit. While I was at the finance desk speaking to XXXX XXXX the sales manager, I received another text alert on my cell phone from XXXX about 7 inquiries that just hit my credit report. XXXX went on to say that I didnt have enough financing to cover the cost of the car and that Chrysler Capital only approved me for {$54000.00} and that it didnt matter that I had a pre-approval for {$64000.00} and that Chrysler Capital could have only approved me for {$10.00} for all he knew. I looked at the sales guy XXXX and said, why did you come over here and ask them to run my credit with all of these banks when I never authorized you to do so? He replied I didnt know they were going to do that. I then faced XXXX and said, look, Im not stupid, I know how this works and you had no authorization to run my credit, I was already pre-approved. After some back and forth with XXXX the sales manager telling me that they didnt have the car that I was interested in and listening to XXXX try to explain himself, I decided it was best to leave and my husband and I left the XXXX  dealership. As we were driving on the freeway back to XXXX, I told my husband that I should get off the freeway, find the ad that XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX had up on their website and archive it just in case they remove the fraudulent ad. I did just that. By the time my husband and I arrived back in XXXX, which took about 35-45 minutes, I looked online at XXXX website searching for the ad that was posted for the vehicle I was interested in and prepared to purchaselow and behold, the ad was gone. 

This is a case of bait and switch conducted by this dealership XXXX and unauthorized/fraudulent credit check into my personal credit file. They sent my personal information to 7 banks without my authorization or permission. The banks listed below received my credit file : XXXX Lbs XXXX XXXX  XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX- Chrysler Capital XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX XXXX- XXXX XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX/XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX- XXXX XXXX   XXXX XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX I have documented my initial phone calls with XXXX the salesman, every advertisement I saw on XXXX and XXXX website about the sale of this vehicle, I archived the webpage of XXXX   dealership that states their credit inqueries are soft credit checks that will not harm your credit score and also the information that I filled out on that website, I have documented the email as proof that XXXX  claimed the vehicle I was interested in was sold minutes after I left their dealership, I have proof of my pre-approval from Chrysler Capital , emails from the dealership and about the vehicles supposed recent sale plus, various other proofs including the dealerships work order. I have also obtained a XXXX report on this vehicle. 

The bait and switch tactics and fraudulent attempt to sell a car they didnt have in their possession that this company has displayed and continues to engage in including unauthorized credit checks, has made it more difficult for me to find financing for the vehicle that I want to buy by damaging my credit file with unauthorized credit inquiries. This dealership should be held accountable for their actions and this should not be allowed to happen to anyone else. 

After my experience at XXXX, I decided to check reviews on XXXX and I have read dozens and dozens if not hundreds of similar stories and reviews about XXXX dealerships bait and switch tactics and their refusal to sell the product ( s ) they advertise for the price they express in their online ads. This dealership also advertises vehicles online for one price and when the consumer arrives to purchase the vehicle listed,  XXXX tacks on extra expenses for items the dealer added prior to the vehicle being offered for sale to the public. The dealership then forces the consumer to pay for these additions or they refuse to sell the vehicle to the consumer even though the consumer didnt ask for the added items. I even read a review from a consumer that felt she was discriminated against. I also felt that I was discriminated against. 

The only difference in other XXXX consumers and my experience is that I did not see where anyone complained of XXXX running their credit without the consumers approval or written permission. This type of action should not be allowed by any business and any business that advertises a product they dont have, accesses a consumers credit file without their written permission and/or conducts deceptive and fraudulent sales tactics should be fined and held accountable at the very least. 

The car I thought I was going to purchase was never in XXXX 's possession and they never had any intent to produce the vehicle that they advertised for sale. So, my questions are, why did they run my credit without my written permission to begin with? They didnt have the vehicle I was at their dealership to purchase, so what were they doing accessing my credit without my authorization? What vehicle were they trying to obtain financing for? Why did they disregard my pre-approval from Chrysler Capital and make their own decision to access my credit 7 times without my signature, written permission or approval? They couldnt get me financing for a vehicle they didnt have, so what gives? 

This is a bait and switch tactic and fraud, including fraudulent access to a consumers credit report without written permission plain and simple and they should be held accountable before they damage other consumers.