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In 2017, I purchased a 2013 Nissan Altima and I was financed through Santander
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I had a high interest rate and I didn't realize it at that time
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They pushed me into this vehicle. I didn't do my homework. There were plenty of times I bought cars and paid for them
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At this point in time, I felt like I was pushed into this contract deal
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The vehicle was listed at $16,000, a little bit over $16,000. The finance charge was over $17,000, so it was 27%
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Financing was supposed to go over 72 months at payments of $470 a month
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So, I made payments up until like five years. What prompted me to find out what my total payoff was, a friend of mine had the same car
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and mentioned that they were almost on their last payment. I called Santander and they told me I still owed a balance of $17,000
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I was like, wow, how? I've been having this car for like five years now
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How do I still owe $17,000? I asked them to send me a copy of the contract
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At that time, I was able to retract what the situation was with the high interest rate
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the amount of the vehicle, the amount I had to pay. Then I learned that only $518 had went to the principal of the vehicle
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I felt that something wasn't right because I never had those type of deals before
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Within five years, I've already paid cars off that I owned before
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I googled Santander and that's when I found out that they had this massive lawsuit going on
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a class action lawsuit that spoke about them having to pay $550 million to consumers
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for subprime loans and charging high interest rates and basically designing for a consumer not to be able to pay their car off
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I called Santander back and I let them know that I was aware of the scandal that they were involved in
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and them having a payout of $550 million. I asked them, did I qualify for this
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They told me that I didn't qualify and they never gave me an explanation why
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I began investigating. I began looking into other deals, other people's situations with Santander
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It all seemed like what I was experiencing. I reached out and I sent out some complaint letters through Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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our Attorney General here in California to get answers. At that time, I had just missed the opportunity
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They just already had closed the settlement out, so it was too late for me to act
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I reached out to a couple other organizations and then I also filed my complaint with you guys
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Right now, I'm just waiting to find out what my options are
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What I want for Santander to do is offer me a deficiency waiver along with a pay except to my vehicle
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because I've paid about $20,000 on the vehicle already over the amount that the purchase price was for
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The purpose for me is for buyers to be aware. Do your homework before you enter a loan
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Make sure that that's not the only option for you to finance a vehicle
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Make sure that you can afford the payment over 72 months. Basically, just understanding your contract
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If you're not comfortable at the place that you're trying to get a vehicle at, take your time
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If you have to go to other car lots, do that. What I would recommend, if a person has okay credit and if they can get a loan from a bank or their credit union
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to get the loan through the credit union to pay for your vehicle and then pay the credit union or your loan back
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That way, your interest rate will be reasonable and doable. That's what I would say to the consumers
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Don't be in a rush to purchase a vehicle. Do your homework. Refuse on the finance company who's willing to finance you
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Just make sure that your rates are comparable with other companies because then you'll be in a situation like me
