Date Received: 2018-04-12
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan
Subissue: Denied request to lower payments
Consumer Complaint: The sales person that sold me the car didn't disclose to the TILA act, he lie about the interest rate ( he said it was 1.7or 8 %, it turned out to be 24 % ), he lied about the term of the loan ( he said it was for 3yrs, it turned out to 6 or 7yrs ), He extorted from me by lying about the initial amount that I needed to put down, in cash ( he first said, {$1000.00}, then later an additional {$1000.00} ). In the very beginning, I explained to him that this was my first time buying a car from a dealership ( I've always bought and paid cash for cars from private owners ), and I knew nothing about interest rates, finance charges, and I ask him if he'd explain the contract to me word for word. Later, I discovered that he gave me the " readers digest '' version of the contract, he left out important information and much more. The way I found out about all of the above, was after a year and eleven months, I got an email from the dealership informing me that I now qualify for an " up-grade. '' So, I called and made an appointment to come in and checkout a newer model car, XXXX XXXX XXXX. The GM ran my credit report twice, and chose the lowest report and told me that I don't qualify for an up-grade ; my credit score wasn't that good when they found a bank to finance me, and sold me the vehicle in the very beginning. While I was there ( the dealership ), I asked to speak to the sales person that sold me the car ; and was told by another sales person that he was released/fired, because he did some very bad things to customers. And I was one of his victims. I wrote them a email letter detailing all of my complaints about everything, but disregarded my complaint and never responded to me.I would like to forward you the letter that I wrote to the GM and the Manager of the Service Department.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-05-17
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-11
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account information incorrect
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX, I found out that a charge off was placed on my credit report by Santander Consumer USA for a XXXX XXXX XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX, the car was reported as a total loss and my insurance company did there part with paying off the car. I have letters and statements stating that the car was paid off from my insurance companies. I contact Santander to see what the situation was and why this happen they stated they sent in a charge off on my account for the balance of {$260.00}. I asked why no one contact me by phone, email, or mail. They stated they had no current contact information on me. I had the lady to tell me what contact information she had on me and she told me and all the contact information they had on me was correct and current. I then asked to speak to a supervisor about the situation and then I ask to speak to someone over them. I ended up talking to the office of presidents for the company and I was told that they would handle the situation. He stated from my records I was a great customer and I was never late on my payments and he apologized for the situation and that he would give me a call back on Monday XX/XX/XXXX with some results. Once Monday arrived I didnt receive a phone call so I ended up calling the company back on Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX. I talk to another person from the office or presidents and he apologized for someone not getting in touch with me the previous day. He stated that they decided to get rid of the balance of {$260.00} and make it {$0.00}. He stated that it would show on my credit report as a balance of {$0.00} and paid in full instead of the balance of {$260.00} and as a charge off. He then apologized again and told me to have a nice day. So I checked my report later on that day and discovered that the account was closed but it still stated a balance of {$260.00} and was still a charge off. The next day XX/XX/XXXX I contacted the company again to see why nothing change and what was going on. I talked with another person from their office where they apologized about the information I received the previous day and that I was wrongly informed. And that it was nothing that they could do about the charge off that was put on my credit report even through there was at fault for this situation. They stated that I would be stuck with this charge off and that the balance was waived due to the mistake on there behave and they needed to send all there paperwork to the credit bureau at the end of the month and I would have to wait for the credit bureau to update my credit report about the account but I would still be stuck with a charge off on my account even though it was paid in full but due to them it was put in as a charge off. They lady also told me that there was no point in me trying to fix this situation because I would be denied any help with getting this removed from my credit report. I dont understand why she would tell me that but I felt like that was unprofessional, rude, and discouraging due to the fact that I really need this off of my credit so I can move forward with my life. I am trying to get some understanding because this situation has a negative impact on my credit report and score. I was in the moment of buying a car and couldnt because of false information placed on my credit report. Which brought my credit score down so much. I am asking for this to be fixed because it has now a negative impact on my life and my well being. I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX employee. This has effected me being able to move or buying me a car to be able to get back and forth. Please help me with this situation. Thank You.
Company Response:
State: MO
Zip: 63119
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-10
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account status incorrect
Consumer Complaint: This is my second complaint against Santander Consumer USA and XXXX XXXX please refer to my first complaint # XXXX for additional details for this complaint. I had a 60 month automobile loan with Santander to purchase a XXXX XXXX XXXX. The loan term began in XXXX with 60 monthly payments due in the amount of approx {$180.00} per month. Since the inception of the loan with Santander I routinely and regularly made payments in excess of the required {$180.00} per month in order to shorten the life of the loan and minimize the interest paid. Since it's inception Santander made it a routine practice to take any additional payment monies received above the required {$180.00} and apply those additional funds to the next months bill, thereby lowering the amount due or eliminating the next payment due altogether. This practice enabled Santander to continue accruing additional interest at 25 % on my auto loan for the duration of 60 months. Throughout the duration of my loan I never made a single payment beyond the 30-day window to be considered a late payment for credit reporting. If my payments were not received on the exact day due which was the XXXX of every month, Santander would begin collection efforts with auto dial calls sometimes up to five times per day and also immediately charged late payment fees. Additionally, Santander would charge {$10.00} to make online payments with debit cards. As I mentioned at no time did I exceed the 30-day window necessary for derogatory credit reporting. In XXXX of XXXX I made a balloon payment on my acount of {$1000.00} followed by another balloon payment in XXXX of {$500.00} for a total of {$1500.00} leaving a loan payoff balance of approximately {$430.00} and some change. My loan was not due to mature until the following year in XXXX of XXXX. These balloon payments should have covered my regular payments until XXXX of XXXX in accordance with Santander 's standard practice of applying over payments to the next months bill instead of the principal balance. In XXXX of XXXX I submitted the final payment due and paid off my automobile loan with Santander and I assumed my business with them was complete. In XXXX of XXXX while shopping for XXXX gifts for my grandchildren I was told at the register that my XXXX XXXX XXXX credit card had been declined. When I investigated with XXXX XXXX XXXX why my card with a very small balance was declined, I was informed that my credit limit had been reduced due to derogatory reporting to my the credit bureau of late loan payments for my vehicle. I was both shocked and surprised at this development because I have maintained excellent and on time payments on my revolving credit responsibilities. Upon checking with the three credit reporting agencies I discovered that Santander had reported me as being 30, 60 and eventually 90 days late on my auto loan payments. I immediately contacted Santander and was put into an endless loop of customer service agents and supervisors who all told me that my credit reporting was accurate. I spent hours on the phone speaking to various supervisors and customer service representatives who all confirmed that the company did forward any received over payments and deduct them from the next month 's billing instead of deducting theover payment amount from the loan principal. Despite my efforts to explain that I had made two balloon payments in both XXXX and XXXX to cover my payments for the period of XXXX to XXXX the customer service representatives maintained that the computer was correct. I filed a dispute with the three credit agencies and informed them that the information contained in the Santander reporting was incorrect. Santander responded to the credit agencies and reported that the information was accurate and my request to have the derogatory information removed was denied. After making numerous additional attempts to speak with anyone at Santander to resolve this issue to no avail I filed my initial complaint with your office on XX/XX/XXXX. In response to my complaint Santander submitted defamatory information indicating that I had made several " late payments '' which consisted of payments that were made a few days after the actual due date but not one of the payments they noted exceeded the 30-day window that would warrant a late payment reports to the three credit bureaus of 30, 60 or 90 day late payments. As a result of the information received from Santander the credit agencies further upheld the incorrect reporting and made no changes to my credit report. Because this information remained on my account for a total period of 7 months the damage to my credit continued. My credit score plummeted from XXXX to XXXX. My account with XXXX XXXX was closed, my XXXX XXXX XXXX account was first reduced then subsequently closed, and my XXXX account credit line was significantly reduced as a direct result of the derogatory credit reporting by Santander against me. All the credit agencies cited negative revolving credit obligations as the reason for the closures and reductions. Despite never making a single late payment to any of the creditors in question. On XX/XX/XXXX I was contacted by Santander 's Office of Consumer Affairs and spoke with XXXX who advised that Santander had made a " mistake '' with my credit reporting. XXXX, stated that the accounting systems used by Santander were " unable '' to account for advance payments beyond a 3 month window so my payments were not accurately reflected to indicate that my payments were up to date and paid until XXXX of XXXX. According to XXXX my payment obligations were so far ahead of schedule that their system simply was not able to handle the information. As a result of the Santander computerized accounting system limitations my payments in XXXX and XXXX totaling {$1500.00} were not appropriately posted to my account to reflect advance payments. Instead they were only able to apply it across a 2 month period rather than the 8 month period spanning from XXXX to XXXX. In order to properly reflect my payments Santander would have had to manually update their system two months later to properly reflect the account balance and my 8 months worth of payments. This error was in no way my fault and Santander apologized and XXXX stated that they would notify the credit reporting agencies of their error and make the necessary repairs to my credit reporting. On XX/XX/XXXX I checked with the credit agencies and found that this information had not been updated. I contracted the office of Consumer Practices with Santander to inquire as to when they would be correcting the derogatory information to the credit bureaus and I was told that it was in process and should be done very soon. I advised them at that time that I had been in the market to sell my home and buy another one and that this reporting was hampering my ability to apply for a home loan and relocate. I was told that I should see something within the next couple of weeks. On XX/XX/XXXX, a full month later, as I continued to receive letters from my creditors reducing and closing my accounts due to the derogatory information contained in my credit report, I again contacted Santander 's office of Consumer Practices and asked why my credit report was not corrected yet. They advised at that time that they were not sure what happened, that it had " fallen through the cracks somehow '' but they would notify XXXX and assured me that they would get this issue resolved immediately. I again informed them that I have been waiting since before XXXX for this issue to be resolved and that I am unable to purchase a new home with this derogatory information on my credit report. They stated they understood and would make the corrections a priority. On XX/XX/XXXX I received another notice that my XXXX XXXX XXXX account had been closed altogether as a result of the derogatory credit reporting by Santander. I contacted Santander Consumer Practices and spoke to XXXX she stated she would contact XXXX and get a status on the correction. At that time I requested even a basic email to provide the finance companies as proof that the credit reporting on this loan was inaccurate and that my payments had been made on time. She stated that this is not something that Santander could provide until the changes had been made to their computer system. I stated that I have been held XXXX by this credit report and became tearful and upset at this ongoing issue. She was sympathetic and assured me it would be immediately resolved. On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted Santander Consumer Practices and spoke to XXXX who stated that my inital complaint case with Santander was closed on XX/XX/XXXX despite the fact that the error had not been corrected in their system and that the case was not resolved. She advised that this is probably the reason that it " fell through the cracks ''. She reopened my complaint case in order to insure that it was completed. XXXX also contacted XXXX to get an update on the status of the correction with the credit bureau. I again begged for an email to provide the finance company and advised XXXX that my fiancee moved to Colorado in late XXXX to early XXXX and that I have not been able to follow him due to the erroneous reporting and my inability to apply for a home loan due to the affect on my credit score. XXXX advised that she would personally follow up to insure that the proper updates were undertaken. On XX/XX/XXXX I again contacted Santander Consumer Practices and was informed that the updates were submitted to the credit bureau and that a letter was being emailed to me regarding the reporting error. 1 ) This account was paid properly and on time for the entire duration of the loan period. Santander and never once was 30 days late. 2 ) Santander made it a routine practice to apply any over payments to the next month 's bill rather than reduce the principal balance allowing them to continue collecting 25 % interest on the loan amount due. 3 ) The payment amount due for the car was {$180.00} per month. For the duration of the loan I made over payments to reduce the interest period on the loan. 4 ) In XXXX and XXXX of XXXX I made balloon payments totaling {$1500.00} to Santander for the period from XXXX to XXXX. 5 ) Santander improperly applied those payments due to limitations in their computer system and failed to update their systems to reflect the payments as received. 6 ) The loan was paid in full in XXXX of XXXX eight months before the maturity date in XXXX of XXXX. 7 ) Santander provided false and derogatory information to the credit reporting bureaus which negatively impacted my credit score. 8 ) I disputed the derogatory and false information with the credit agencies. Santander told the agencies that their information and reporting was accurate and my dispute for removal was denied. 9 ) My credit was damaged as a result of the derogatory reporting by Santander. 10 ) I filed a complaint with the CFPB in XXXX of XXXX. Santander responded and continued to uphold their position that my payments were made late. 11 ) In late XXXX nearly 4 months later Santander contacted me and informed me that they had in fact made an error in both recording my payments and reporting them to the credit agencies.. 12 ) After contacting me Santander delayed repairing the derogatory reporting for an additional 45 days causing even more damage to my credit standing. 13 ) As a direct result of the actions by Santander and their derogatory false reporting my credit score fell from XXXX to XXXX. 14 ) My credit account with XXXX XXXX was closed by the company, my XXXX XXXX XXXX account was first reduced to {$150.00} then subsequently closed and my XXXX account was significantly reduced from a credit line of {$3000.00} to a mere {$1200.00}. 15 ) I was unable to put my home on the market and obtain a loan to purchase another home with my partner in Colorado due to the significant damage to my credit score. 16 ) Despite knowing that they had made this error and informing me of the error ; Santander refused to send a simple email indicating that the derogatory information on my credit reporting was an error to enable me to move forward in applying for pre-approval for a home loan and move as planned. The actions of Santander materially damaged both my credit and my ability to relocate with my partner to Colorado. Due to the significant drop in my credit rating I was unable to put my home on the market or apply for pre-approval for a new home loan. My significant other is currently living in Colorado and I have lost companionship with him for a period of 5 months as a direct result of this action. Not to mention that this was a very difficult XXXX due to the loss of my daughter and the reduction of my credit lines significantly impacted my ability to provide XXXX for my XXXX young grandchildren who have lost their mother. Santander needs to make monetary reparations for the damage to my credit report, my loss of companionship with my significant other, the stress and hardship placed upon me by their failure to acknowledge and correct this issue in a timely manner, for their failure to at a minimum provide an emailed explanation to enable me to being pre-approval for a home loan and for the large amount of time that I have spent attempting to correct this egregious error. I am now demanding reparations in the amount of no less than {$250000.00} be paid in remuneration of my losses and the severe emotional stress, pain and suffering they have caused me which I find to be more than reasonable considering the damage they have caused. In closing I should add that after a serious accident in XXXX that required numerous XXXX and extensive medical expenses I needed to use Santander due to poor credit. I have worked very hard to restore my credit and have made the payments to all my revolving accounts with care and diligence and had restored my credit to a reasonable status prior to this event. I find it disturbing that Santander damaged all my hard work over the past 6 years at the end of my loan term after my obligation was paid in full and I have to question their motivations and if they deliberately sabotaged my credit report in order to retain sub-par lending customers. While in my case I will rebound in time I would urge the Consumer Protection Agency to look into this matter and see if it is a trend for Santander Customers as well as the ongoing telephone collections using auto-dialers that invaded my privacy up to five times a day starting on the XXXX of the month only 1 day after the payment was " late ''. I find it interesting that the customer service line with Santander identifies itself as a collection agency rather than a customer service agency. I also question the practice of forwarding payments rather than applying them to principal enabling Santander to obtain additional interest for the loan periods by doing so. It is my understanding that they have ended this practice after my complaint but it still happened to myself and I am certain many many more customers.
Company Response:
State: OH
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-10
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease
Subissue: Problem with paying off the loan
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX, I was involved in a total loss accident in a vehicle that I purchased using the lender XXXX XXXX. Approximately 6-8 weeks later, my insurance company at the time ( XXXX ), along with my GAP insurance company ( XXXX ) paid this lender the amount remaining on the loan balance! The auto finance company then claimed that I still owed them an amount of about {$2600.00} for late fees. This is incorrect as in XX/XX/XXXX I had paid them up to date on the amount I was behind which was only a few months and everything was current. Now since they have continued to deny that this {$35000.00} loan was not paid in full, they have continued to add late fees, interest and anything else possible to run up this tab on a vehicle that's in the junkyard. They have forwarded it as a charge off and the amount has rose to about {$6500.00} and continues to climb. I have done every thing in my power to resolve this but its not right that I am continuing to be affected by this. They report to the 3 credit Bureau 's every month that I'm late on my payment and it is causing me a real struggle to keep my credit score from crumbling. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Company Response:
State: MD
Zip: 216XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-10
Issue: Struggling to pay your loan
Subissue: Loan balance remaining after the vehicle is repossessed and sold
Consumer Complaint: I am a co-signer on a vehicle my daughter purchased using Santander Consumer loan company. My daughter fell behind in payments, vehicle was reposessed in XX/XX/XXXX. The original loan was {$12000.00} for XXXX XXXX XXXX. My daughter made payments of {$550.00} a month for a year in XX/XX/XXXX. After vehicle was repossessed I received a receipt that the vehicle was sold after repo and there was a {$12000.00} unpaid balance. After fees for late payment, retaking vehicle and cost of selling vehicle there is still a {$7400.00} balance due. Santander did not take into account the payments that were made in XX/XX/XXXX, which should have made the remaining balance much lower. I believe Santander prey on minorities by charging double the going interest rates over 29.99 %
Company Response:
State: LA
Zip: 711XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-09
Issue: Written notification about debt
Subissue: Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Consumer Complaint: Contacted the company regarding apparent debt starting in XX/XX/2017. No contract with this business to collect a debt from me. I've reached out several times and asked this agency to validate the debt along with documentation from the original creditor with no response. I sent validation letters via certified mail to ensure that they would be received. This company is causing me financial hardships as it is reported to my credit monthly which is making it difficult for credit worthiness. I would like this item to be deleted off my credit report in fairness of my rights with the laws and regulations of the FCRA.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 77070
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-09
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-10
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Subissue: Debt is not yours
Consumer Complaint: I recently received a notice alert from the credit bureaus that a collection was added to my credit report. I called XXXX XXXX and they informed me it was for a repossessed car, the issue is i have never had a vehicle repossessed or a collection before. They informed me that this was from a loan with Santander opened on XX/XX/XXXX and closed XX/XX/XXXX, a few issues with this 1. Never mine and this was a result of ID theft i have attached the FTC affidavit and Police report 2. This was reported to credit but i was never given a notice or dunning letter to dispute before placing on credit. 3. If this debt is in fact a valid debt this is past statute of limitations of 6 years from last payment date again making not a valid account for collections.
Company Response:
State: GA
Zip: 303XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-08
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account status incorrect
Consumer Complaint: I called them To settled to pay a lower amount with the collection agency & they agreed to remove & mark my account paid in full. They lied its still shown on my credit reports in collections
Company Response:
State: CT
Zip: 06511
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-07
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Subissue: Problem with the interest rate
Consumer Complaint: I'm the first time car buyer. When I have bought a vehicle through the dealer, I was not aware of some terms. Now I find out that I was as cheated on the loan with Santander consumer usa. Also there is no change in the loan amount at all on my credit report. I'm making payments since XX/XX/2015..
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 95835
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-07
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-04-07
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Subissue: Problem with fees charged
Consumer Complaint: I received an auto loan from Santander in XX/XX/XXXX for a XXXX XXXX. I fell on hard times and didnt pay my note for two months. They repossed the car. I paid the money to get it back. I didnt even get a notice that it would be repossed. It is now XXXX. I have paid over 16,000 toward the car and I still owe XXXX. I bought the car for XXXX. Every time I call I am never given the proper explanation. I have been taken advantage of and I know something isnt right with the interest rate. I just need a lawyer to look things over for me. Even when they give me a pay off date I divide the money I owe by my monthly payments and the payments far exceed the date they gave me. Can someone please help with this and let me know if there is a class action suit in Michigan against them.
Company Response:
State: MI
Zip: 48075
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-04-07
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A