Consumer complaint received 2026-03-05 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Repossession — Voluntary repossession
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC.
State: IN

Complaint narrative:
On Sunday XX/XX/year>, I was in a horrible car accident on XXXXXXXX XXXX in XXXX with a semi. This semi accidentally hit the back of my car sending me spinning down that interstate and head first into a cement wall causing completely total loss on my vehicle. When this happened and the police were called they had my car towed to a company called the tow company, over the next few days I had to figure out what my next steps were on my vehicle because unfortunately it was not insured. On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM I contacted my loan agency explaining the situation, that the vehicle was uninsured and what my options were, they proceeded to explain I need to contact the dealership where I purchase my vehicle from and it was up to them on what to do with my car, not Santander and to call them back and let them know what was decided. I immediately reached out to my friend who works at this dealership and he promoted me who to talk to, I then called them and explained to the dealership what happened including my car being totaled and they gave me my options which included, continuing payments till it was paid off, getting a loan to pay it off, or having the vehicle voluntarily repossessed which would be auctioned off and Id receive my deficiency balance which from there Id figure out my repayment or settlement options. My original plan was XXXX at XXXX y/o. I slept on it, and talked to friends and family and came to the decision it was best to have it voluntarily repossessed and recover from it. The next day around XXXX AM I decided to contact Santander and explained Id like have the car voluntarily repossessed, she got all of my information including reasoning, location of the totaled vehicle, how many business days theyd be to get it which was XXXX and Id receive a letter in the mail. I then contacted the tow company to let them know the car would be picked up by Santander, I offered to pay tow and storage fees but she explained Santander covers that when they come and take the vehicle, I have them permission for Santander to retrieve the vehicle and theyd be there in 3-5 business days. I have been waiting exactly a month, I received a pink slip from XXXX in the mail on the XXXX of XXXX saying I needed to come pick up mail from tow company who took my car, I go to retrieve mail finally a couple days ago as I hadnt checked my mail until just recently and inside was a letter they have to send to everyone after a certain amount of days of a vehicle in their tow yard basically saying the car is still there and if not picked up will be auctioned off on XX/XX/XXXX. I immediately contact tow company explaining Santander will be there and Im not sure why they hadnt retrieved it yet, she explained they have had ZERO contact with Santander .. this is important. I proceed to call Santander today she immediately explains I have a balance due on the vehicle and need to pay, I explain Im confused because my car has been voluntarily repossessed and handled but for some reason no one has been to get it. She then tells me my voluntary repossession that was set in stone, they decided to revoke it and take it back. Immediately Im like what?! How?! When?! Why?! How is that even possible?? She tells me after investigation of vehicle they decided not to retrieve the vehicle because of its status. Mind you .. they are the ones who told me its up to the dealership in which I bought the vehicle on what to do with the car and next steps? They are also the ones who went through the whole process of getting the address phone numbers, confirmation and so much more to finalize this repo. I asked her how this is possible but she just kept acting confused and repeating herself, even the men at the dealership are confused because it was never up to Santander and now all of a sudden theyre not doing what the dealership explained to me from my options. They have not reached out not once to me, she claims that they did but they never did, I asked well did anyone leave a voice mail if I missed the call and she said no, I asked if anyone sent emails or text alerts and she said no. So now my car is still sitting in this tow yard at $ XXXX {$40.00} a day with no where to go because they decided to reverse it. Is this legal?! Can they do that without contacting me? Mind you while I am on the phone she told me if I dont pay they will repossess my car!!????? Im like maam I had this vehicle voluntarily surrendered? That theyre refusing but if I dont pay on the car I had voluntarily repossessed theyll repossess it.. I am frustrated stressed and confused. The tow financials I offered to pay originally that were sitting around {$600.00} have shot up to $ XXXX as of couple days when I called tow company. How is this humanly possible? How can they do this? She told me to figure it out. Because they took back their decision on my voluntary repo theirs so much we owed to the tow yard and I have no direction on this vehicle. Obviously on top of the stress of the car it self, I did not asked to be hit by a semi. I know it is my fault I wasnt prepared, but I am not a bad person. Im just trying to make it. I do have every time stamp of every phone call between the loan company, tow company and dealership. It was not communicated to me what so ever when I had this car voluntarily scheduled for repo that they can revoke it, this woman NEVER mentioned it she just helped and walked me through the process of getting the vehicle ready for repo. Im blindsided and confused. I dont have the ladys info from the first people I talked to on the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX being the one who took the info for repo and XXXX the lady who I first talk to who told me to contact dealership. I do have the reference number of the lady I spoke to yesterday XXXX Around XXXX pm who told me they wont be taking it and to figure it out. Her employee number is XXXX. I have a hard time remembering her name she was foreign I couldnt fully understand I am sorry. Please help if you can I am so confused and distorted.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation