Consumer complaint received 2024-06-08
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan — Denied request to lower payments
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC. (NJ)

I have tried contacting Santander and the dealership who facilitated my vehicle loan purchase. I have contacted Santander and spoke to several representatives including XXXX ID # XXXX, XXXX ID # XXXX, XXXX ID # XXXX and XXXX ID # XXXX. I purchased the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, Pennsylvania. XXXX has a credit builder program advertisement in which I applied and they approved me for a loan through Santander Consumer USA. At the contract signing and during the loan process, the sales persons at XXXX stated that after 6-8 months of loan payments, I will be able to refinance the vehicle. They assured me multiple times, however that has not been true. What was not reiterated, was that it was a simple interest loan. With the simple interest loan, majority of the payments are going towards interest. In the contract, it states how much I would be charged for the life of the loan in finance charges if I hold the loan for the full term. It does not state how much the payment will go towards interest and principal throughout the loan. Under finance charges and payments, it says Santander Consumer USA may apply each payment to finance charge, amount financed and other amounts in any order they choose as the law allows. The car s MSRP was at XXXX. After the dealership added tax, gap insurance, service contract ( which I am not clear on ) and warranty, the price was at XXXX. When I drove off the lot, the car was already overpriced. As I drove it, the car drastically depreciated. When I returned to the dealership they appraised the car at XXXX for trade in value but did not provide it in writing. Now, no lender will re- finance the vehicle, despite it being in great condition and my credit score increasing over XXXXXXXX XXXX. When I attempted to trade in the vehicle, most car dealerships is saying the car is worth on around XXXX to XXXX. Santander consumer USA should have been more responsible when underwriting the loan, because this loan is predatory. Also, the terms and condition should state the payment schedule and how the payment is allocated towards principal in actual numbers. Letting me know how much in dollars will go to principal and interest. Santander only provided after contract was signed, a breakdown of where the payments Ive made has gone towards. There was no transparency and full explanation of what the consumer is signing at the time of purchase, just pointing to where I sign. There are news articles and publications showing that Santander consumer USA has settled with multiple state attorney general offices for predatory lending and breaking consumer laws. The loans they approved and underwritten had a higher probability of default of XXXX percent. At this rate, I would not be able to refinance this vehicle. Which makes it likely that it will be unaffordable since little of my loan payments is going towards principal. Ive paid a total of XXXX payments totaling {$7900.00} and only {$1600.00} went towards principal. Not to mention in the service contract a {$3500.00} fee from XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX that is a third party unrelated to the contract outside manufacturing warranty and gap insurance. This loan is deceptive, unethical and non- suitable for a large purchase such as a car. Furthermore, on XX/XX/year>, my payoff was XXXX. As of XX/XX/year>, my payoff is now XXXX. Thats over {$1000.00} in interest in 51 days despite me making an early payment on XX/XX/year> and not having a payment due until XX/XX/year>. This is an example of how egregious and predatory this loan is. XXXX XXXX has provided great customer service in each department Ive worked with, HOWEVER the loan they secured through Santander and the premise that I can refinance this loan was misleading and predatory. I would like the dealership to work with Santander consumer USA to make amends. I want my principal balance settled and If not, I want to be released from this loan without damage to my credit.