US Auto Finance Company to Pay Over $9 Million for Alleged Violations

The US Department of Justice stated that US auto finance company Santander Consumer USA will pay $9.35 million for allegedly violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US auto finance company Santander Consumer USA will pay $9.35 million to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), a DOJ statement says.

"Santander Consumer USA Inc. has agreed to pay at least $9.35 million to resolve a lawsuit by the Department of Justice alleging that the motor vehicle lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)," the statement, issued on Wednesday, claimed.

According to the statement, Santander completed 760 auto repossessions without court orders of vehicles owned by SCRA-protected service members. Santander allegedly collected fees coming from 352 repossessions that unrelated motor vehicle lenders decided was violating the SCRA before Santander acquired the loans.

The DOJ has already identified Santander's illegal repossessions, and has made efforts to collect the illegal repossession fees that took place between 2008 and 2013, according to the Wednesday statement. The DOJ first got wind of Santander's repossession practices through a referral from the US Army's Legal Assistance program, the statement explained.

According to the DOJ, the SCRA protects US service members against various civil proceedings that could impact their legal rights while in military service. The act requires a court to review and approve any repossession depending on whether a given service member took out a loan and made a payment before his/her military service.