Consumer complaint received 2026-05-28 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Lease
Issue: Repossession — Company communicating payment assistance or payment extension options
Company: SANTANDER HOLDINGS USA, INC.
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
RE : Account History and Request for Fair Consideration I am submitting this statement to provide context regarding the circumstances that led to the delinquency and eventual repossession of my vehicle account. I believe it is important that the complete history be considered rather than a simple characterization that I failed to meet my obligations. I purchased the vehicle in XX/XX/XXXX. In that same month, I unexpectedly lost my job. Recognizing the financial hardship this created, I immediately began contacting the lender to explain my situation and seek assistance. Throughout the following months, I made repeated efforts to communicate with the lender regarding my hardship and my desire to keep the account in good standing. Despite being unemployed, I continued making payments whenever possible. I made payments for XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX, even while facing a complete loss of income. I was not ignoring my obligations. I was doing everything within my power to maintain the account while searching for employment, paying rent, utilities, food expenses, and other essential household obligations. During this period, I contacted the lender numerous timeswell over sixty calls by my records. In nearly every conversation, I explained my circumstances, including my job loss, my active search for employment, and my efforts to remain current on the account. I repeatedly asked whether any hardship assistance, deferment, payment arrangement, or temporary accommodation was available. I was informed that I did not qualify for hardship assistance because the loan was too new. Rather than exploring solutions, the conversations consistently focused on when I could make a payment. At no point did I feel that meaningful consideration was given to the extraordinary circumstances I was facing. While I understand that lenders have policies and procedures, I also believe there should be room for reasonable accommodation when a borrower demonstrates good-faith efforts to communicate and pay despite severe hardship. I ultimately secured new employment in XXXX. However, my new position pays significantly less than my previous employment. Even so, I continued making efforts to address the account and made a payment as recently as last month. I also maintained insurance coverage on the vehicle throughout this difficult period. These are not the actions of someone abandoning their responsibilities. They are the actions of someone attempting to preserve an obligation despite substantial financial hardship. Compounding these challenges were significant family responsibilities. I served as a caregiver for my elderly father, whose medical needs required transportation and ongoing support. In fact, I lost my previous job in part because of the time and attention required to care for him. More recently, my family has also been dealing with the serious illness and impending loss of a relative in South Carolina, and without reliable transportation I may not have the opportunity to see them before they pass. My father still needs transportation to his appointments. These circumstances placed tremendous emotional and financial strain on my household. What I find most concerning is the expectation that I now produce more than {$3000.00} within a matter of fifteen days. If I was unable to generate those funds during months of unemployment and hardship, it is difficult to understand how such an amount could reasonably be obtained within such a short period of time. The demand does not reflect the financial reality that many working families face. My purpose in submitting this statement is not to avoid responsibility. I acknowledge that the account fell behind. However, I strongly object to any suggestion that I was negligent, indifferent, or unwilling to meet my obligations. The record should reflect that I consistently communicated with the lender, actively sought employment, continued making payments when possible, maintained insurance coverage, and repeatedly attempted to work toward a solution. XXXX of XXXX experience unexpected hardships such as job loss, family caregiving responsibilities, medical crises, and reduced income. These situations do not reflect a lack of character or responsibility. They reflect the reality that life circumstances can change abruptly despite a person 's best efforts. I am also submitting this statement to protect the accuracy of my credit history and financial reputation. Credit reports often reflect only the final outcome of an account and rarely capture the circumstances that led to a hardship. Without context, a consumer can appear irresponsible, unwilling to pay, or neglectful of their obligations when the reality may be far different. In my case, the record should show that I did not ignore this debt. I communicated with the lender repeatedly, sought assistance, made payments when possible, maintained insurance coverage, actively searched for employment, and continued working toward a resolution despite significant personal and financial hardships. My concern is that a credit report may reflect only a delinquency or repossession while omitting the extensive efforts I made to prevent that outcome. I believe it is important that any review of this matter consider not only the account status, but also the documented history of communication, cooperation, and good-faith efforts that occurred throughout this period. I respectfully request that any review of this account consider the full context of my situation, including my extensive communication history, my documented efforts to seek assistance, my continued attempts to make payments, and the extraordinary personal circumstances that contributed to this hardship. My actions demonstrate a good-faith effort to honor my obligations under exceptionally difficult circumstances. Another fact that should be considered is the structure of this loan itself. My monthly payment was nearly {$600.00} per month, coupled with an interest rate of approximately XXXX percent. Even before my unexpected job loss, this was a substantial financial obligation. After losing my employment, maintaining a payment of that size became increasingly difficult despite my continued efforts to make payments whenever possible. What is particularly troubling is that after the repossession, I was informed that in order to recover the vehicle I would need to produce more than {$3000.00} within approximately fifteen days, while also facing another monthly payment becoming due shortly thereafter. From a practical standpoint, this expectation does not appear realistic for someone who has spent months attempting to recover from unemployment and financial hardship. If those funds were unavailable during several months of hardship, it is difficult to understand how they could suddenly become available within such a limited timeframe. I also find it significant that after the vehicle was repossessed, representatives began asking detailed questions regarding my hardship, financial circumstances, employment history, and personal situation. However, during the many calls I made before the repossessionwell over sixty by my recordsI was never meaningfully asked about those circumstances in a way that suggested a genuine hardship review or consideration of available alternatives. Had those conversations occurred earlier, when I was actively seeking assistance and attempting to prevent this outcome, there may have been an opportunity to explore solutions before the account reached this stage. Instead, it appeared that my hardship became a topic of discussion only after the vehicle had already been repossessed. This is one of the reasons I am requesting that the complete history be reviewed. My concern is not simply the final outcome, but whether my repeated efforts to communicate, seek assistance, and act in good faith were given fair consideration before that outcome occurred. The car was repossessed on XX/XX/XXXX while I was working. The company informed me via email hours later. I wasn't even aware. I even then called and tried to see if they could hold off the repossession fee that way I could just pay the past due balance in due time, they refused. They said pay it all ( {$3000.00} ) in 15 days or you won't get the car back. They wouldn't even defer the {$500.00} repossession fee and just allow me to work towards the past due.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation