ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando man called Action 9 claiming a major auto lender had tricked him into signing a loan he could never pay off.
Action 9's Todd Ulrich found the numbers just didn't add up and tracked down the loan company for answers and results.
Lee Dawkins swears the lender that financed his new Dodge Nitro took him for a ride.
Dawkins bought the car three years ago after a financial setback, so he had to use a subprime lender.
He claims Santander Consumer USA promised low rates, but he said that never happened since his balance owed barely budged.
"I'm into my third year, and it's not even close," said Dawkins.
The latest statement shows that after making a $530 payment each month he's paid back more than $22,000. But his loan balance on Friday shows he still owes more than $20,000 on a $21,000 loan.
When Dawkins questioned the lender how it could happen, he said they didn't send him any information and didn't even reply to him.
Ulrich found Santander has more than 2,000 complaints at the Better Business Bureau involving aggressive collections, interest rates and fees. It's rated A because it responds to the complaints.
Two weeks after Action 9 contacted the company, it offered a major modification to Lee's loan. It dropped his interest rate from 17 to 4 percent and cut his monthly payments almost in half.
Unless that happened, Dawkins thought he couldn't keep his Dodge.
"I was thinking of letting the truck go back," he said.
Santander said it follows all consumer lending laws, and the loan terms are spelled out in the agreement. And complaints are a mere fraction of its nearly 3 million auto loans.
WFTV
