Enforcement case record
Santander SCRA Settlement: 1,112 Illegal Vehicle Repossessions
- Defendant
- Santander Consumer USA Inc.
- Year
- 2015
- Scale
- 1,112 motor vehicles
- Statute
- 50 U.S.C. § 3952
- Court
- N.D. Tex.
- Outcome
- At least $9.35 million, the largest SCRA repossession settlement at the time: $10,000 plus lost equity with interest to each of the 760, $5,000 to each of the 352, credit repair for everyone affected, and mandatory Defense Department database checks before any future repossession.
What happened
Santander Consumer USA Inc. agreed to pay at least $9.35 million to resolve a DOJ lawsuit alleging it violated the SCRA. The settlement covered the improper repossession of 1,112 motor vehicles between January 2008 and February 2013.
At the time, DOJ described the consent order as the largest settlement for illegal automobile repossessions ever obtained by the United States under the SCRA.
The rule Santander failed is short: where a servicemember took out the loan and made a payment before entering military service, a court must review and approve any repossession. The court may also delay the proceeding.
The law behind this: 50 U.S.C. § 3952
Protection under installment contracts for purchase or lease: read the statute.
Those who answer this nation’s call to duty understandably have much on their minds while they are in military service. Whether their car will be seized and sold at auction should not be an additional worry.
Who was covered
Servicemembers whose vehicles Santander repossessed between January 2008 and February 2013 where the loan was taken out and at least one payment made before military service began.
What the settlement paid
- At least $9.35 million, subject to court approval.
- The settlement addressed both compensation and credit repair for the improper repossessions and the fees collected on them.
Why this case matters
The pattern DOJ keeps finding is not a hard legal question. It is lenders not checking military status before sending a tow truck, when a free federal database answers that question.
If you think you were affected
A repossession that happened without a court order does not become lawful with time, and the credit damage it caused is separately correctable.
This page is a record of a public enforcement action against Santander Consumer USA Inc.. It is not a claim form, and this site cannot tell you whether you are in the covered group. These are the routes that can.
- Read the Justice Department’s own record: DOJ press release (February 25, 2015) . Settlement administration and any claim process are run from there, never from here.
- Start with what § 3952 requires before a repossession , which is the protection this case was brought under.
- Contact your nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance office. It is free for servicemembers and dependents, and it is the right first call on any SCRA question about your own accounts. Our guide to SCRA legal help explains the options.
- Confirm your covered dates before you argue about them. The Defense Manpower Data Center issues a free military status certificate; our walkthrough shows how to pull one.
Current SCRA policy and contact details for this company: our Santander Consumer USA Inc. SCRA guide .
Other repossession cases
Every figure on this page is transcribed from the Justice Department record linked above, including its own hedges. Nothing is estimated or rounded. The ledger was last checked in full on July 11, 2026.
Heads up: SCRA Saver publishes general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws change and every situation differs. Confirm details with your installation legal assistance office (free for service members) or a licensed professional.