Consumer complaint received 2023-05-02
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Can't stop withdrawals from your account
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC. (PA)

Complaint:
This complaint does not exactly match the options given on the previous screens. 

To be clear, I'm filing a complain against SANTANDER BANK but I am NOT a direct customer of theirs. I will put my mailing address in the next screen. 

The issue is I wrote a check on XX/XX/XXXX, # XXXX, for {$46000.00} from my XXXX bankd account to my contractor exactly as he requested : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. The previous 2 checks I wrote to him were exactly the same, and Santander Bank, where he banks, cashed them with no issue. 

XXXX said he's banked there for decades with no issue like this before. 

In XXXX, he called to say his account wasn't credited, that Santander was going to return the check because of the way it was titled, and could I please send another check to cover the amount I owed him. 

I decided to check with my bank, XXXX, to seeif the check had been cashed. It had and the funds were taken out of my bank account on XX/XX/XXXX. The bank advised me not to write another check. 

I called XXXX back, and he checked with Santander and found that they had, in fact, cashed the check and were withholding the funds from him, contrary to what they'd told him initially. 

It took him weeks to find out they were going to send a cashier 's check back to me at the main XXXX XXXX in XXXX PA. 

Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, my friend XXXX and I called XXXX to explain what I'd learned and to call me when the check arrived from Santander because I wanted to be sure it went to the correct account. They were highly concerned because at this point Santander had been holding the funds WITHOUT NOTICE TO ME and very little correct info to XXXX for almost 2 months. 

At the XXXX XXXX XXXX 's suggestion, I called my local branch manager who suggested I have a joint call with me, my friend XXXX who helps me with paperwork, the XXXX branch manager, the Santander bank branch manager XXXX XXXX. 

My friend XXXX called and the bank manager XXXX XXXX called her back shortly and we told him we had him on speaker so I could hear and described why were were calling. He immediately said he would not talk further to us, to our bank manager and " This was XXXX XXXX 's fault. Did he tell you that? '' He proceeded to comment further about he'd kept XXXX XXXX informed the entire time. I said XXXX had to constantly check in with Santander to find out how they were going to get the money back to me, and that the issue was that Sandander was holding MY {$46000.00}, and I had no way to check on MY MONEY! 

As of today, XX/XX/XXXX, I still do not have the money back into my account, and no way to find out exactly how they were sending the money, exactly when they were sending the money, and the form it was going to take. Santander did not provide XXXX with a tracking number or any more information other than it was going to XXXX in XXXX within a few weeks ( as of XX/XX/XXXX ). 

XXXX XXXX will be filing a complaint as well. His email is XXXX.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation