Santander Sued Over Allegedly Charging Fee to Customers Who Repaid Loans through ‘Speedpay’

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Ten named plaintiffs allege in a proposed class action that defendant Santander Consumer USA, Inc. collected from California consumers unauthorized payment processing fees in partnership with Western Union. The lawsuit, which alleges violations of California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA), comes on the heels of a previous case—Lindblom v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc.—for which the named plaintiffs have filed a motion to intervene.

Each named plaintiff bought a vehicle with the aid of auto loans serviced by Santander, the suit explains. The individuals supposedly paid their loans online or over the phone and were each charged a Western Union-processed “Speedpay” fee collected by the defendant. The suit notes that Santander effectively partnered with non-party Western Union in order to collect more fees for the company’s services.

“In other words,” the complaint reads, “Santander, with Western Union’s help, made more profit by charging the customer for paying online or over the phone and retaining or receiving a portion of that fee.”

The fee charged by Western Union that’s ultimately remitted to Santander for use of Speedpay is unauthorized under the RFDCPA in that the collection of any amount “not expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt” is prohibited.