Santander Consumer USA Reviews

Added unknown fees and poor customer service who had different answers for the same question prevented me from having any equity in selling my car when I called 3-4 different times. No one knew anything.

While it is totally our responsibility to pay and keep track of our bills, most companies go out of their way to send reminders. Santander does not unless you go into your account and choose this. When recently going through a very stressful period I realized too late that I had forgotten to pay this bill and it had a terrible impact on my credit. It feels as if it is more important for them to charge me extra fees than help me stay on track. Also, the interest rate is exorbitant. It is definitely an 'until you can refinance' option.

Santander, What, is wrong with your company this month? Seems like, I wasn't the only one having issues, with them this month. Paying early now, seems to be a penalty at Santander, oh let me put you on hold...Then they claim it's the bank doing so. If my problem I had when I called on Monday isn't solved, I'll be back to say some more things. I usually say I've never had much issues since buying my car from them in 2024. Not, until this month in June 2026. Seems there's 10 other similar reviews. What are you all on Holiday this month?

“I am extremely disappointed with my experience at Santander USA. THEY'RE A CON SCAM BANK WITH HIGH INTEREST RATES AND THEY STEAL YOUR MONEY. They do not help resolve any issues they work with Hillside Honda and other dealers. On May 30, 2026, I purchased a 2023 Honda Pilot and was led to believe my monthly payment would be approximately $549 per month. I was also told that a warranty and tire/wheel protection were required in order to obtain financing.

If I could give them less than 1 star, I would. Customer service is terrible and trying to get a title release after paying off a loan, has been impossible. I would never use them again and would tell anyone else, to stay clear of them.

The manager at the Santander bank 4952 Parkside Avenue by the name of ** has a nasty attitude and do not follow directions and I have a video to prove it. She needs to not be a manager 'cause she don’t know customer service. As soon as I find a way to send it to corporate I will be sending it to them.

For 2 months I’ve called in to their customer service department. I’ve chased them around to have them send over a total of 6 pages for my total loss vehicle to send to my gap insurance. They wouldn’t send it, their agents click constantly. I have to take down ID numbers so that I can report them. After waiting a week I get and email saying the last document I needed they couldn’t provide. So guess what I had to call get transferred 3x just to be told I had to call out myself to a different number to request it from a different company. That company was also giving me a hard time but I was lucky on my fourth attempt to get that document. I send out all the paperwork required and guess what.

I just spent 2 hours on the phone with Santander Consumer trying to pay off my car. They were refusing the payment and telling me to send them a $20k check. I told them I wasn't falling for that scam. After 2 hours of them refusing to take my payoff payment I told them to cancel my autopay. Then I told them now you have no money coming in June, come get the car. Evidently those are magic words because they magical all of a sudden could put a payment through. Santander is a scam company pretty obviously from India because you couldn't understand anyone. How they are legally able to stay in business and keep screwing people over is beyond me. Stay far away from these people!

The absolute worst!!! Just went to purchase a new vehicle on a Saturday and could not get a payoff for my old vehicle, which I recently just switched over to due to the low APR (the only plus for this bank). Once I couldn’t get the payoff amount in a simple email or text I asked to speak with a manger and was told none were working because it’s a Saturday. Most people purchase vehicles on Saturdays. This is unacceptable!!!

WORST bank I have ever been associated with. DO NOT USE THEIR SERVICES!! They are thieves. They give you a payoff amount and then claim the check was not processed on time and add to the balance. Sent a check for the payoff amount on day they gave me payoff amount. Santander then sent me a bill saying I am late on my payment. Called Santander and they said there was a problem with the check, which they never contacted me to tell me about this issue. I asked if the payoff amount would be the same which they said yes.

This is absolutely the worst bank to deal with. I currently have a car loan with this company, and NEVER in my life have I had to deal with so many payment issues. They have an option to pay online, however what they don't tell you is, it takes weeks, literally weeks for them to reflect payment paid. Oh best believe they will and do take the funds out, they will no doubt take it out, BUT they will show not paid. Then they "claim" that they never received payment. Even when you fax the confirmation. Advice... Get away from this company, they will steal your money, will wait to apply to your account. This company is a scam. RUN!!

I purchased a Mazda CX-50 on 05/03/26. Today it is 05/22/26, and I still cannot set up a freaking online account because "according to the customer service agent I spoke to in the Philippines", they are having issues with the website; that was a week ago. This is unheard of! I strongly advise car loan seekers to get a different lender. I should have checked customer reviews on Santander before I went with it.

I have been waiting over 2 months for my lien release! I paid off my car in 2019 with Gateway One, and the DOL needs a lien release from the notary sent to them!!

I obtained financing for a car through the dealership. I tried to open an online account to make my payments, but the system wouldn't accept any of my personal information—I don't know why. So, I called the bank, and—oh—the customer service was terrible. They left me talking to myself and offered no solutions whatsoever; they simply told me to try creating my online account again later. I tried to set up my account once more, and I definitely wasn't able to do it. Horrible bank.

Worse bank ever. No matter what you monthly payments are for the car loan, they calculate interest by days between your payments. So if you will pay by due date all amount will go towards interest, till it's paid off, and only after you will pay principal. Very high interest. Very horrible customer support. If you can avoid this bank do it!

Put in paperwork to take my vehicle overseas due to being in the military and they claimed they never received it and then denied my attempt to get the letter authorizing me to take it overseas.

Santander Consumer USA has been one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. Their customer service is absolutely terrible. You can barely get an American representative on the phone, and when you finally do, the call “mysteriously” disconnects almost every single time. Their fax line stays busy and won’t even answer. They drafted a payment directly from my bank account, and I have a confirmation number FROM SANTANDER proving the payment was processed. Yet somehow they are still claiming the payment was “reversed due to insufficient funds.” That is simply not true.

I had a really frustrating experience with Santander Consumer USA customer service. I called multiple times to confirm whether vehicle registration was included in my payoff amount, and I received completely inconsistent answers. At least five different representatives told me it *was included*, but then another rep later said it was *not paid at all*.

We have a vehicle loan through Santander Consumer (not our choice - the dealer used it). It's a great interest rate, so right now, we are stuck. However, their billing and customer service are beyond horrible. First, you can't ever speak to a human. You can chat, but if you need an escalation, you have to wait for a supervisor to email you back in 3-5 business days. Second, we made an early payment on our loan (paid mid November for a December due date). Several months later, we received a late notice for our March payment. They told us they applied that November payment to principal because December's billing was not open when we made it. We reached out to them (through the back and forth chat / email) and thought it had been resolved. It wasn't. Instead, we got a snarky email stating they've sent us an educational document on simple interest loans.

I've only had the car loan with them for about a month and already it's been an awful experience. Just getting them to send the title to my local DMV has been way more difficult than it should be, and at this moment I am still waiting for them to send the title. Every time I call to check on it they act lost or like they have no idea what they are doing. Even the DMV told me I should have steered clear of Santander because they have had terrible experiences with them. If you are getting a car loan and it is between this bank and another, choose the other and run from this one.

These loans are borderline a scam to me, I would not use Santander again even if it was my last resort. I bought a vehicle in 2021. The price of the vehicle was $11,999. My car notes was assessed right at $315 a month with 24% interest. I didn’t realize at the time when I bought the vehicle that I agreed to such a high interest rate, but anyhow moving forward, my payments have been set up on automatic payments from the very beginning. I’ve never been late five years later, I called to get a payoff on my car which is $5200 so you mean to tell me in five years less than $7000 has been applied to my principal that was insane to me. My payoff was supposed to be June 2027 now records show. My payoff is September 2027. After paying six months worth of payments recently Only $400 was applied to my principal.

I have been trying to make my first payment. When I go online, the website doesn’t work at all. Then I tried calling, according to the automatic voice system neither my account number nor my social security is found on their database. My first payment is due in a week. I can’t even speak to a live agent because I don’t have “an account” with them. Clearly this company wants people to fall behind on payments. They want to ruin people’s credit.

Been put on hold 4 times, and then mysteriously hung up on, then told 3 times that the computers are down, and then ask to speak to a manager, waited 15 minutes on, hold and then hung up on again. Or you can call several times, like we did, and nobody tends to pick up the phone. It just sends you on a circle, and that's all we're trying to do is pay off this vehicle early. Because it seems to be one scam. After another, they got us at a high interest rate and won't let us get out of it, even though we have the money to pay for it, but they just keep giving us runaround plus, very hard to understand most of the representatives they have working for them. Very frustrating!!!

Has 3 checks that were written out for the water gas and another. Utility bills came in and said they never received. Called the bank and told them to put a stop on all three checks. They placed a stop then few weeks went by and the checks went into the bank the gas was one of them and almost 2000 came out of the back because when they received it they let go through even though they we stopped and even though the checks were altered in the price that did not match what I wrote out and still to this date have not got the money back. They keep asking for papers, police reports that we did and spent money. Then recently they said they closed the case because they need an affidavit. So now I'm spending more money because I have to keep wasting my money and time. This is unacceptable that they are doing this to my elderly mom.

Extremely frustrating experience. Went in with a basic business banking question and was met with zero real solutions. I was told to file multiple name variations with the state and to manually alter checks just to deposit them. No effort was made to fix the underlying issue or even properly review my account setup. The overall tone was dismissive and unhelpful. After 20 years in business, I expected a lot more from a bank.

I have had two cars financed by Santander. Until the last 3 months, I had no problem. Reps were courteous and helpful. The last 3 months, they have been disrespectful to me and only concerned with payment. Not one person cared if I had problems, which I did with my son's medical issues; he is Autistic Savant anis from an orphanage in Russia and was badly abused. Lots of money and love have been the only answer. No one asked me if I was interested in help, or suggested you had any kind of programs to help with payments or scheduling my payments better.

I was desperate for a vehicle. I purchased a 2017 Honda Civic. Payment was 640 a month. The loan officer told me if I paid on time for a year I could refinance and bring the interest rate down 29.9%!! After a year and a half I tried to refinance. Santander doesn't refinance!!! Nobody would help with my loan because I owed twice what the car was worth. I finally couldn't afford the payments any more. My car was repoed. I'm a single Mom and this hurt my family terribly! This company should be shut down. They steal and manipulate consumers!

My recent experiences with Santander have been far below expectations. The customer service team seems unprepared and uninterested in helping customers. Calls are transferred endlessly, issues go unresolved, and communication is inconsistent. It’s clear that customer care is not a priority, and that’s unacceptable for a financial institution.

They are rude, I have tried to make payments when I can, I was behind one month. They are saying I am past due for 87 day which is a lie. They haven’t really posted my payments that I have made. My credit sore has gone down because of them lying. I’m so over them. Plus you can’t really understand them. The guy I talked to last week told me to make a payment of 800 dollars this week and the same amount next week! I told him I didn’t have it and he said not my problem! Jerk! I’m done with them. They should be closed down!

Lately, Santander is very poor about making funds available when depositing a check from a business. They place extended holds on those checks and give some poor excuse as to why. I have never had poor experiences with them before. I have had them for years. I never overdraft account, etc. This year, I have deposited 2 checks from businesses and hold was placed on both. They have only one more chance or I will change banks. As of this year, I have issues with them after being a long time customer of theirs, now they treat their customers like crap!

Unfortunately I picked this bank to get my loan for my car in 2023. They make it almost impossible to pay down the loan, you can’t set up additional payments to go directly to the principal to bring the loan amount down quicker because that isn’t an option when you pay online. And when you call the service reps don’t understand what you want to do so instead of the additional funds going to principal they cancel the next automatic payment automatically so the loan accrues more interest. I called to pay off the entire loan and was told I had to send a check for that amount, does it say that on the website? Of course not! I can’t wait to have my title in hand and be done with this antiquated system and rip off bank!

I will never use Santander again. They threatened to repossess my car. I was never late and paid $15,000 in one month. When they sent a bill and I scheduled a payment before the very last day it was due, they would say I needed to make another payment. They wouldn't allow me to pay off my car. I only owe $900. So now they keep trying to keep me from entering my account to schedule a payment.

Santander has been a blessing from God for me after an unexpected medical emergency that was life threatening! They gave me a second chance and literally have continued to cater to my needs as I am a senior citizen with no one else doing so. Thank you Santander, KUDOS!!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK TAKING CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS.

If I could give Santander a zero, I would. The single most ineffective mortgage institution in history; on my early mortgage payoff, the created a host of intentional delays, with prolonged period of non-submission of mortgage lien payoff documents, prolonged retention of tax payments (that long ago were unnecessary), the addition of fees, the inability to speak with Santander counsel, etc. I know that I'm just another of the overwhelming 1* votes, but I think it's time for a committed State AG review of these practices.

My experience with Santander is the worst I have ever experienced with a financial institute. When I tried to pay off my vehicle their system wouldn't even allow me to pay it off. Their system would only accept a certain amt to be paid within a 30 day period. I feel this is done so they can collect more interest. When I tried to get a pay off amount I was given 3 different amts. 1 from the online service, 1 from the automated service and 1 from the customer rep.

The absolute worst customer service ever. I own a vehicle outright with no lien as I paid cash. Evidently this predatory lender originally financed the vehicle 10 YEARS AGO. It was repossessed and sold at auction in 2016. It had a second owner but this lender never released the lien or issued a letter of no interest. I have spent countless hours with multiple people on the phone, getting a different response each time. Unbelievable.

I traded in my car in November. The GAP insurance company issued the refund to the dealer, who forwarded it to Santander in December, 2025. It is now March 3rd and I keep hearing it will be mailed in 7-10 business days. I am sending them one final letter and then I file a complaint with the state insurance commission.

I recently financed a truck through Santander, less than a month later I found out I was pregnant (unplanned) which changed my living, financial and medical situation. I was no longer able to make the monthly payment due to deciding between paying my medical bills or paying for the truck. I let Santander know immediately about my situation change but they were unwilling to renegotiate my loan or defer payments due to how new my loan was. Instead they kept harassing me with daily calls, asked when I would be able to make payments and made me constantly explain and talk about my intense pregnancy and medical situation like they never bothered to write it down or care.

This Finance company is a joke. I got a car loan with them. Paid for 2 years. Never late or missed a payment for them to turn around and decline me on my new car and my credit score is 65 points higher than when we did the first loan.

Wanted to pay my car off, apparently there is a 10k limit per month for my preferred payment method. Tried talking to them directly, and they just kept on repeating the same script. Even their manager line kept saying the same thing. I have never heard of a bank refusing to take my money until I ended up with this bank. They do not even offer Automatic payments. Which would have made this experience a little better. Which is the reason I’m just trying to pay it off and move on.