Santander Consumer USA

My youngest son opened his first checking account after getting his first real job. He went to sovereign bank because it was right up the street. He had his check direct deposited to the bank and received his gold card. Can you imagine our surprise when his second check to the bank was completely consumed by $33.00 insufficient funds fees. We were shocked. Anyone else in the family would have been declined at the atm. When I spoke to the manager at the bank I was also told that it was a 'courtesy'.

I have been to affairs where they offered 'courtesy valet parking'. After the affair they brought my car and I gave then a tip thanking them for the courtesy. I can imagine how it would feel if they brought me my car and then handed me a bill for $33.00 after telling me that it was a courtesy.

When speaking to the bank rep. On the phone she told me that, and I quote ' they didn't know if he was somewhere and needed gas or something'. I told her that it wasn't her job to figure those things out, just to be a bank and don't give him anything if he doesn't have the money.

This amounts to a one week $120. Loan with with $112. Interest. They used to have a name for a person who did that. He was called a 'loan shark'. And it was illegal.

I asked the bank rep. To furnish me with the address of where is could send a letter of complaint. She said there was no one there at that time who knew but she would take my number and have someone with the address contact me within a day. That was a week ago.

Is there anyone out there who knows who I can contact with a formal complaint against this bank?

My wife and I have banked with sovereign bank for a year and a half. This year alone we have incurred over 600 in over draft fees. When we check our account it says we have XX. XX amount of dollars available. We would make a purchase. The next day we would be hit with purchases from five days ago that were not posted to the account. These were not checks they were check card purchases. When I called the bank the said that is their bank policy. They only make withdrawals when the retailer asks for the payment, which could be 3-5 days later. The money is never pulled so your balance never changes. This is a true example. I would go to the store and go to the atm check the balance. I would have a positive balance I would use my bank card and buy a $1.50 pack of gum. 2 Days later would have a $33.00 charge. My $1.50 pack of gum now cost $34.50. That would then put me in to a negative balance. I would go and buy gas. At this point I could still use my check card to make purchases with a negative balance. For each purchase I was charged a $33.00 overdraft fee. When I called the branch manager she said that it is the banks policy is allow charges with negative balance. They then charge you with an overdraft fee for every charge instead of just declining the purchase. My wife and I are cancelling our account with sovereign.

My husband's checking acct. was hit with 3 overdraft fees that shouldn't have happened. He asked that I check to see if the rent check had cleared yet so, I called and it said he still had $176 in his acct. I double checked and went online, sure enough the $176 was still there, nothing pending. He asked for me to go to ATM and withdraw $40, figuring his direct deposit will hit at midnight and cover the check along with whatever was left in the bank. I went and got the $40 and some stuff totaling $5.22. Later on that evening I checked the acct. online and saw the $40 and $5.22 pending but no check yet, fine. This morning, I checked the acct. online and saw it was overdrawn by $209. We went down to the neighborhood bank branch and was told that the check cleared at midnight causing the other items to bounce. HELLO, my husband's direct deposit goes in at the sametime! I also asked why would the ATM give out money if it was overdrawn anyway, from what they said. I never had a bank that allowed that! After blowing smoke up our butts and trying to get up to swallow their excuse, i'm fuming. At Bank of America, they show checks pending, Sovereign is telling us that there is no system that does that! Not to mention that the ATM's are 48-72 hours behind along with the online banking system! I don't by that! I think it's their way to make money off of fees.
Paulette