CFPB Consumer Complaint Profile
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.
Consumers have filed 12,455 complaints with the CFPB against this company, a record that maps out how disputes over credit, billing and collections tend to unfold.
Data updated 2026-08-14
- 12,455
- Total complaints
- Among the highest
- 0
- Last 12 months
- 99.9%
- Timely response
- Top decile
- 55
- States affected
The verdict
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. ranks #53 of 3,843 financial companies by CFPB complaint volume, with 12,455 complaints on record. Its on-time response rate is 99.9%, the 82nd percentile among companies with 100+ complaints.
- #53
- of 3,843 companies by volume
- 99.9%
- on time (82nd pctile)
- Vehicle loan or lease
- most-complained product
- 55
- states with complaints
Raw complaint volume, not a rate: larger institutions naturally draw more CFPB complaints because they serve more customers, and a complaint is a consumer-filed record, not a proven finding of wrongdoing.
Based on this company's own CFPB response record -- timely response, dispute rate, and relief rate, each benchmarked against every tracked company with 10+ complaints. Not a measure of product quality, pricing, or company size.
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. vs. all companies by on-time response rate
Every company with 100+ CFPB complaints on file (1,335 total)
99.9% Top 18% higher than 82% of 1,335 companies
companies with 100+ CFPB complaints, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more companies. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database · 2026-08-14
What changed
CFPB Consumer Complaint Database 2021 to 2022 complete years
- Annual CFPB complaint volume moved from 2,667 in 2021 to 1,438 in 2022 (2021 → 2022).
Percent of CFPB complaints answered within the regulator's expected window. Industry benchmark sits at 95%.
Reading this profile
Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database
Complaints by Product
Top Issues
Complaints by Year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 147 |
| 2013 | 329 |
| 2014 | 557 |
| 2015 | 756 |
| 2016 | 854 |
| 2017 | 1,241 |
| 2018 | 1,327 |
| 2019 | 1,225 |
| 2020 | 1,914 |
| 2021 | 2,667 |
| 2022 | 1,438 |
Complaints by State (Top 15)
Company Responses
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. Complaint Concentration Profile
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.'s complaint volume is large enough to measure concentration - not just the headline totals. Across 53 named product lines in the stored breakdown, the leading three (Vehicle loan or lease, Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports, Consumer Loan) hold a 78.3% share of product-tagged complaints. The Herfindahl index on that product mix is 0.222 (1.0 = a single product owns every tagged complaint; lower = a broader book).
On the issue side, 15 named issues appear in the top list; the leading three (Managing the loan or lease, Incorrect information on your report, Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem) cover a 53.8% share of those mentions. That multi-issue footprint is the profile thin-volume companies cannot show - their pages stop at a short bar list because the sample cannot support a concentration read.
Geography tells a similar story: the top three states (Florida, Texas, California) hold a 32.7% share of state-tagged volume across 55 jurisdictions on file. A concentrated state trio can hint at regional servicing stress; a flatter map usually tracks a nationwide book.
Among coded company responses, "Closed with explanation" leads at a 92.3% share among the 12,455 response-tagged complaints (11,493 filings). Read that mix next to the timely-response and relief rates above - both describe process outcomes, not a finding of wrongdoing.
Peak filing year was 2021 (2,667 complaints); the lightest year on file was 2012 (147). From 2021 to 2022, annual volume fell 46.1% (2,667 → 1,438). Year-to-year swings at this volume usually track product launches, servicing changes, and consumer awareness more than a single-event spike.
What the CFPB Complaint Record Shows for Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. carries 12,455 complaints in the CFPB's database, 0 of them filed within the past 12 months. Consumers spanning 55 states and territories have weighed in, giving this a nationwide footprint. "Vehicle loan or lease" tops the product-level breakdown by a clear margin, marking it as the area of greatest consumer friction. Inside that category, "Managing the loan or lease" comes up most often - worth a look for anyone trying to spot the company's recurring pain point.
CFPB-forwarded complaints against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. draw a 99.9% reply rate inside the Bureau's 15-day window. That is at or above benchmark levels, a sign the company handles intake and escalation well. Consumers formally disputed the company's response at a 28.1% rate among resolved cases, a signal of how often the initial resolution failed to satisfy the complainant. Among resolved complaints, 7% closed with some form of monetary or non-monetary relief to the consumer.
How to read complaint counts
Complaint counts alone do not tell the full story: larger institutions with more customers will naturally generate more complaints in absolute terms. The more informative signals are the direction of the yearly trend shown above, the state-level concentration, and the ratio of monetary-relief closures to closed-without-relief outcomes. Together, these fields provide context for reading the published CFPB record; they do not establish wrongdoing or resolve an individual dispute.
Educational data summary, not financial or legal advice. Individual complaint outcomes vary. Consumers should consult a qualified attorney or financial advisor for guidance on a specific dispute.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CFPB complaints does Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. have?
12,455 complaints have been filed against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. with the CFPB overall - 0 of them in the past year.
Does Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. respond to complaints on time?
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.'s CFPB timely-response rate is 99.9%. This is considered excellent.
What product generates the most complaints for Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.?
Among all products tied to Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., "Vehicle loan or lease" accounts for the largest share of complaints (full breakdown above).
What is the most common complaint issue with Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.?
"Managing the loan or lease" is the single most frequently cited issue in complaints against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. - see all issues and counts above.
How do I file a complaint against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.?
You can file a complaint against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. directly with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB will forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response, typically within 15 days.
In how many states have consumers complained about Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.?
The CFPB has recorded complaints against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. from 55 separate states and territories, including jurisdictions beyond the 52 with a dedicated state page here - Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and APO/FPO military postal codes among them.
Nationwide companies with similar complaint volume or dispute rates
Two CFPB peer sets for Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.: nearest financial companies by total complaint volume and by the share of complaints consumers mark as disputed. These are cross-firm neighborhoods, not the product-category list below.
Similar complaint volume
Nearest companies by total CFPB complaint count (12,455 here).
Similar dispute rates
Nearest companies by share of complaints marked disputed (28.1% here).
Also handles Vehicle loan or lease
Other companies with the same primary CFPB product category on file.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CFPB complaints does Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. have?
12,455 complaints have been filed against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. with the CFPB overall - 0 of them in the past year.
Does Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. respond to complaints on time?
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.'s CFPB timely-response rate is 99.9%. This is considered excellent.
What product generates the most complaints for Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.?
Among all products tied to Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., "Vehicle loan or lease" accounts for the largest share of complaints (full breakdown above).
What is the most common complaint issue with Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.?
"Managing the loan or lease" is the single most frequently cited issue in complaints against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. - see all issues and counts above.
How do I file a complaint against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.?
You can file a complaint against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. directly with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB will forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response, typically within 15 days.
In how many states have consumers complained about Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.?
The CFPB has recorded complaints against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. from 55 separate states and territories, including jurisdictions beyond the 52 with a dedicated state page here - Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and APO/FPO military postal codes among them.