Santander driving me up the wall!!!

lukem33

I took out a loan 3 years ago come september for £5000. During last year i was out of work and had to get my payments reduced to be able to cope with all my direct debts, from doing this i ended up with loan arrears which i have done nothing but be hounded for and could only be helped by santander by breaking the arrears down over just a 6 month period. But that is another story. I done my calculation to find out the total to pay my account off completely including the arrears and it comes to less than £1800 but when i phone santander to get a final settlement figure they give me a figure totalling £2100 ??? i asked why or how they came to this figure and the only response i get is " that's why the computer says" !!!!. So i asked could i please have a break down of that total to see how they come to it and neither the collect recovery or customer services could give me a break down, all i got was past from pillar to post from one department to the other. the lady on the other end of the phone even done the calculations out and came to the same figure as i did but could not explain how they came to there figure!!. Is there anyway that i could get a break down of there figure so that i'm not ripped off!!!!

XXSCOTSLASSXX

do u not get a monthly statement advising of the current outstanding balance, if so what it the current outstanding balance? is there any early settlement fee detailed in the t&cs

the arrears and interest on the arrears would make some difference in the final figure i would think... its possible they have extended the term of the loan to take into consideration the arrears...

also any time we have asked for a settlement figure it has come in writing and all has been detailed so u are able to see exactly what you are paying.... have you officially asked for a settlement figure and theyve given you the 28 day window etc....

Tixy

I would write to them to ask for a full transaction history, showing all transactions, all interest & charges etc added to the account. If you ask in writing (send recorded) then they should send it to you. If they don't then you can do a subject access request, which costs £10, but will mean they have to esnd that information, along with all other information they have on file in relation to the account.

lukem33

the only letter a i get from them is the amount in arrears of which i owe which is just over £400 and that is it. i asked about the arrears they said there was no interest on it as all the interest was calculated out over the monthly payment for the 3 years. As for extending the loan to take into the consideration for the arrears i asked about this but still only answer was no we can't do this, the contract cannot be changed. i asked for a settlement figure and they gave me one which is a long way from mine i calculated my final 8 payments with the interest and the arrears and came up with a total just less than £1800 compared to there figure of £2100 i asked could they send me out a break down of how they got the figure and the only reply they gave me was sorry we can't do that or don't know, that's just what the computer says "little britain sketch comes to mind" the only thing they said they could do would be send out a statement from when the loan started up until now which is the complete opposite of what i'd asked !!! it's not as if i asked a hard question all i want is the break down of how they get there £2100 total

Tixy

"only thing they said they could do would be send out a statement from when the loan started up until now which is the complete opposite of what i'd asked for"

Thats exactly what you want as you can then compare that balance to what you have calculated and check for differences. Then to get from the balance on that statement to their settlement figure all you should need to add on is any early repayment penalty.

lukem33

I was going to call into my branch tomorrow and speak to someone face to face and see if they can do anything or have better luck than me.

lukem33

didn't think there was an early repayment penalty. I mean why should i be charged for paying the whole amount back soon seems i can't win if i'm behind [ arrears] i get hounded and threatened with debt collection and if i pay off early i get charged more???? The whole thing is an absolute joke. when i get this sorted they'd better be on the look out cause i'll be coming after them for a ppi claim along with a few others

Tixy

A lot of loans have an early repayment penalty - its usually the equivalent to one month's interest so probably not in itself enough for the difference between your figures and theirs. But check your original agreement to see what it says in terms of early repayment.

Vikipollard

Check your T&C's...Santander usually have a £300 admin fee built in to the last payment (i.e. if your payments are £200/month for 59 months, the last one would be £500).

They still charge the admin fee even if you pay early.

This may account for the difference, but I'm happy to be proved wrong.

lukem33

thanks for your help there will be a lot of studying tomorrow

lukem33

by the way could anyone tell me the best way to go about reclaiming any ppi i've paid over the years?