Consumer complaint received 2025-09-29 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Auto debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC.
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year> XXXX XXXX  per my receipt, I paid my loan payment to Santander plus the late fee, {$660.00}. My normal payment it {$550.00}, with the late fee of {$110.00} that totals {$660.00}. I paid a little over. This is in compliance with the contract that I can only pay the late fee with this upcoming payment, which I did. On time. 
I log in the next day, the late fee is still showing. 
I wait to make sure it isn't just a system error. No, days later it still shows. 
So on XX/XX/year> at XXXX XXXX  I call to get it figured out, I talked to XXXX # XXXX and she says it was paid on time with the upcoming payment, so this will be escalated and taken off my account as it was paid correctly. 
It is now XX/XX/year> at XXXX XXXX  and the late fee is still on my account! 
I am on the phone now with an XXXX # XXXX and I am recording this call and she says it looks like there was a request and it was IGNORED she says. What?! That is not alright! 
She then puts me on hold. She comes back and says my payment was made late so it went to the principle instead. No, it was not made late, it was made on the XXXX! She says in their system it shows on the XXXX. I have a screenshot of my receipt with the time and date showing it was on time! 
So now, I'm very upset. She says their system denied removing the fee because of this, which is so wrong. She said that payment went to the principle instead and now my XX/XX/XXXX payment will be {$320.00} and there is still a few of {$110.00}. 
She then says in order to pay this and pay off a late fee, you have to make 2 separate payments, and she will notate it on my account, XX/XX/year> at XXXX XXXX 
What?! Nobody has ever said this! I was told by XXXX it was paid, and that was altogether. Why wouldn't she have told me this? Also, why is that not stated anywhere on the Santander website? 
I feel they are making things up as they go! 

It is now XX/XX/year>. I have been having to deal with this since the XXXX of XXXX. Absolute absurdity. 
It does not state anywhere on the website you need to make two separate payments. This is very wrong to do also because you would have to make one payment plus pay the transaction fee for {$320.00}, then make another separate payment and pay the transaction fee for the {$110.00} late payment. This is beyond wrong and unethical in so many ways. 
It also is still showing that I owe {$550.00} on the website for XXXX, not {$320.00}. XXXX says to disregard this. That's pretty hard to do!! 
Why isn't it shown online what amount exactly is actually due? 
Why do you have to make two separate payments to pay the late fee off, and why is this not shown on the website anywhere?

Why did it take talking to 2 separate people to find this out?

Why did one person tell me it was paid correctly altogether ( XXXX ), but another is saying it must be paid separately ( XXXX )? 
And why are they saying it was paid late when it clearly shows on the receipt and online that it was paid on time on the XXXX with the normal upcoming monthly payment? 

This company is very unethical in their practices with all of this, and it should not be this way. Their website shows misleading amounts due, they don't take off late fees even when paid on time because it wasn't in separate payments they say, or it was somehow late they say when it clearly states it was an on time payment. 
This is all very wrong and I'm not happy at all with Santander and dealing with them. 
These practices shouldn't continue to go on they need to be stopped and run their company with ethics and some integrity. 

I also added documents for all of this, as well as a chat with a XXXX where she told me the same thing as XXXX did over the phone. Not sure how to add screen recordings of the whole calls because it is past XXXX allowance.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief