Santander Reviews 2,531

Before this experience I’d had no direct contact with Santander consumer finance, until I was forced to settle my agreement. I had un-knowingly ‘broken’ the terms and conditions of the finance agreement. The exact breach could not be provided by Santander until I instructed a solicitor. Eventually they explain the breach is in connection with me not being in ‘full control’ of the vehicle. In a nutshell, I financed the car in my name, and my partner insured the vehicle and was the main driver. Was this breach made clear to me at the point of signing? ..no, was Santander’s agent,VIP45 aware of our intention..yes! Their agent VIP45 suggested and actively encouraged, this action. They even posted Instagram pictures of my partner collecting the car.

Unexpectedly I receive a letter from Santander recovery, who have by now ‘seized’ the car demanding full payment of over £18,000 within three weeks. Failing to do so would result in the car being sold at auction and my credit record being blacklisted. Far reaching consequences for anybody, let alone a 21 year old seeking to save for a house and building a future.

So, how many other people out there are aware this is against the rules. From my research of friends and family members, many of whom run successful business’s themselves are unaware. Yes, I agree it depends on the funder, and yes, it’s in the terms and conditions, but at 21 years of age, with little experience, you naturally rely on the honesty and integrity of the broker responsible for selling Santander’s Finance.

In my attempts to resolve in an innocent manner, since I believed I’d done nothing wrong, I have never in my life experienced such diabolical customer service.

Naturally I was worried and wanted to understand the issue and resolve it amicably.

However, when I eventually manage to speak to a human, or did I, I was advised by Hannah Daniel that “I did not have a leg to stand on” and that I would have to pay the £18,000 ‘in full’ and before any review decision had even been made about the agreement. Shortly after Santander explained that they ‘investigated’ VIP45s actions by which they gave VIP45 (in Ms Daniels words) "a slap on the wrists" for what they had done.

If I had the cash to settle, then I wouldn’t have financed the vehicle in the first place. Not many people can make this payment in such a short space of time.

My issue here is the ease in which VIP45 are allowed to mis represent and knowingly sell a product on behalf of one of the largest banks in Europe, and moreover, how poor and shocking was my treatment, and the behavior of Santander’s recovery team. Customer Service and any amount emotional intelligence is non existent.

This experience, of course has caused me unnecessary stress as I later found the tone of her voice was assured, confrontational and downright rude, reducing me to tears.

It was a constant battle with Santander to get any information on the progress of the ‘investigation’ which lead me to instruct a lawyer as the time taken to come to a decision (3 weeks) was unjust and unfair. Within this three-week period, I rang Santander six times and emailed three times to attempt to resolve the matter and requested a call back on numerous occasions which was never received. If I hadn’t instructed a lawyer I do not believe that they would have ever contacted me with their decision and instead happy just to leave this matter for as long as possible until the settlement deadline.

There wasn’t any attempt by any member of Santander’s team to understand my frustration. I believe this is completely unacceptable in any circumstance. I therefore will never have anything to do with Santander again and have closed my bank account with them, as have my mum and sister and I strongly recommend to anyone considering taking a finance agreement, or any form of financial service with Santander to AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Looking at the terrible reviews on here, I find comfort in the fact that I’m not on my own and it isn’t just me!

God service 😀 glad for at hurtig respons og god kommunikation 😀

I am very happy with your great service, trust in your customers and easy loans to us

Mark your sorry does not help, me I lost my money.
What action are you taking for the same.

Regards
Parag

Please avoid sending spam emails. Very disgusting system and they alwys reply you in the public pages that " we are sorry, we will investigate and bla. bla. bla." Trust me they don't care at all.

Do not take out a car finance with these people, they add all the interest upfront to your loan, if like me your pay it off after early you end up owing more than you have paid back. They deduct a tiny percentage from the settlement figure. No other lenders do this (that I know of). Asked the dealer if there are any early settlement penalties, no just pay it off, no problem. Read the paperwork and ask the dealer to put it in writing.

Cool.............

I wanted to pay the full amount of my loan. And they write me back in Danish we do not offer to do that.

Fantastisk bank! Kudos Santander.

Thanks for getting back to me.

I have updated the review and posted to the correct business.

Great webside with easy digital solutions, but terrible customer support.

Last week I faced with a problem on my monthly payment due to a mistake from the Nordea bank which made the payment process so complicated.
I would like to thank your company personnel at the customer services division for their excellent support. Your customer care, Hanna took care of all my queries in a very professional way which I found it necessary to thank her for such a good job.

She provided timely and helpful advice regarding the payment conflict on my monthly payment plan. She let me know all the important information regarding what caused this problem, how it is going to get solved and the wonderful part was her patience during a 20 minutes’ phone-call. Her tone did not change at all and her attitude was the best. Hanna was extremely attentive and she listened to all my concerns with a great deal of patience and made me feel I am really in good hands. She also ensured that I received all the information regarding the mode of payment to the company and the time by which I would expect the process to be done.
She also solved the problem regarding the service charges which I faced. She has a caring approach and she is a true professional. Please accept my gratitude towards her and your customer care staff for their speedy and efficient services. I was able to complete the transaction within seconds thanks to her attentive and alert presence. I would especially like to commend Hanna for her professionalism and superlative skills.
Best Regards
Farzad

So far I had only good experience with Santander. It took just 15-20 minutes to have an answer and I was very happy that it was approved.
And I love the offer that I had with 0% AOP.