hsbc 'Safeguard' letter

bigadaj · 17 September 2017 at 10:28PM

mt99 wrote: »

Your electricity company can't cut you off - you can have as many cfas markers against you as you want but you will still be provided with the electricity Gas water and air.

There should be the same entitlement to a bank account. you should be allowed to have a bank account pretty much no matter what you do of course you don't have to be offered an overdraft, interest, advice on where to invest your money, a debit card, a chequebook or anything else however you should be allowed as a basic human right to have an account into which you can receive money and pay your gas bill

All utility providers can cut you off, it would be rare for water but not for electricity or gas, there are provision in place to protect the vulnerable.

nicklear · 27 September 2017 at 4:32PM

The Times has also written about this now (google "Pressure mounts over HSBC debacle"

I am now limited to £50 / day limit at ATM which I think is one step away from being cut off. And I am complying with all requests, I am just deemed high risk as an ex-pat. But thanks to this thread I am not so stressed about it - the thing that really bothered me was them not being straight with me and continuously pretending they were trying to "safeguard" me. Now I know why they are doing it, and that has taken the sting out of it. I have another bank account and I am ready for them to close my account if they choose.

madesignUK · 29 November 2017 at 12:03PM

After the nightmare HSBC is clearly creating for itself, I find that I am not the Only one suffering this MADNESS! Spending hours of my time on the phone only to find out the greater incompetence of HSBC, is truly beyond belief, so much so I contacted the Ombudsman to ensure that a detailed investigation is conducting into the way HSBC conducts its business with the “many” small businesses that seem to be suffering by the overall inept and uncaring attitude regarding the misnamed and mis-handling of HSBC’s need to Safe Guard its own customers, with its many disastrous end results!

Myself included, after 30-years of business with HSBC, I find that my account is closing on the 10th January 2018, after a mistake on the online date, to then find I received another letter on the same day saying that tis was a mistake and the date was 21st January! This clearly speaks VOLUMES of the inept way the whole incidence is being handled. This is further compounded by 3 recent admissions by HSBC has admitted that there has been oversights and errors in the running of my Business accounts resulting in refunds and compensation of nearly £150 in the past 3-4 weeks!

But even on discussing issues with the Safe Guarding team, it seems that I cannot get a meeting with my Local Branch until 2nd January, after firstly being offered a 1st December appointment, that disappeared off the screen when Sam your representative booked the time slot! To then be given a month later appointment speaks further volumes of the inept way HSBC considers the value of its own customer relationships. Disgusing.

If SafeGuarding is taken literally, I seems that it HSBC customers that need to be safe guarded from HSBC own incompetence of running its International Banking business!
But the term Safe Guarding is clearly related to the protection from those most at risk of harm!
I wondering who is most at harm from HSBC?

it was refreshing to listen to
bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09309h5

where HSBC's Head of Commercial Banking UK apologises to Paul (BBC radio 4) for problems customers have had.

Dylan77 · 1 December 2017 at 1:32PM

Just had the same letter,no explanation,they said the account is closing in 2 months time,the letter is quite rude too,they are a rubbish bank anyway,since I joined them they have been a nuisance,too many problems with them idiots,I can't understand a word they are saying too,they are not a professional bank,they are a bunch of jokers,all because I told them where to put their 'safeguard' bluusiht
I told them my details haven't changed, they wanted me to send a copy of my passport through the post and because I said no to them they closed my account lol,now I have to find a new bank,any is better I can tell you,but I have to change lots of details now and go through lots of stress doing so,avoid HSBC they are worthless

Kenarf · 1 December 2017 at 8:53PM

I have just received a letter from HSBC telling me my Business Banking Account will be terminated on 31st January 2018. Nice timing, as my Self Assessment payment will need to be made about then.

I have had issues with the information they have requested of me under the Safeguard scheme.

1. As a sole trader I have no employees. This is not acceptable to the form - I have to check '1-5 employees.

2. They ask about the Ultimate Beneficial Owner. I'm a sole trader - my account name is my name T/A my company name.

3. They ask for 'certified true copies' of ID and proof of address - the certifier can be a Registered Mental Nurse. My step daughter is an RMN but I suspect she will be surprised to 'certify' documents. How would this work - does she have a special 'certification' stamp?

As I have been banking with HSBC for almost 24 years, I would expect them to have already satisfied themselves about my credentials. I suspect that my tiny account is simply not worth a candle to them so I guess I will have to find an alternative.

Kenarf · 1 December 2017 at 10:10PM

I just phoned HSBCs helpline where
"Our highly-trained, UK-based Business Telephone Banking team is here to answer all your queries.
Please just have your account number and sort code - or your 16-digit card number - handy before you call."
Of course I also needed my date of birth and the 6-digit phone security code. Oh, they don't deal with Safeguard queries.
Oh, I should mention my branch sent me a letter a week ago confirming my overdraft was good for another year. Obviously Safeguard are 'ring-fenced' from the rest of the bank.

arthur2 · 17 December 2017 at 12:10PM

I fairly recently (2014) sued HSBC for unreasonable bank charges. I won, but the Court screwed up at the point when I instructed the Bailiff! HSBC however settled my claim. and I was satisfied. I later moved the account to M&S Bank, but was unimpressed with them.

This autumn my wife and I decided to have an HSBC account again, and I applied online. HSBC wrote asking me to take ID to a branch as I had submitted details which conflicted with their records. I went to a branch, and they admitted that their records were wrong, which was the cause of the problem. They said the application had lapsed as it was more than ten days since their letter (which gave no deadline, and had taken over a week to arrive anyway). They offered to restart the application in the branch, but I told them to forget it as we would be using Metro Bank plc. HSBC has closed the three nearest branches to me. Metro Bank is opening new branches and is open on Sunday!

meer53 · 17 December 2017 at 12:57PM

Why did you choose M & S ? They're HSBC ! And why choose HSBC again ? Doesn't make sense.

Amethyst1960 · 12 February 2018 at 7:27PM

I joined Midland Bank (now HSBC) when I left school over 40 years ago. When we got married we opened a joint account. Last year I received a letter saying I needed to send sensitive information through the post (my husband did not get asked!). I returned the info under sufferance back in Nov as it said that if I did not return the info our account would be restricted (ATM withdrawals etc). This w/e I was unable to draw money from the ATM. Turns out, despite having scanned my info onto their system back in Nov, they restricted the account anyway! Supposedly been trying to ring me... Isn't that what the SECURE messaging on Internet Banking is for?! I've put in a complaint & was told they'd ring tonight. Guess what, NO phone call!!! Is that the way to treat loyalty?!

mojitoman10 wrote: »

I live abroad and they wanted me to send all my personal information through their form by postal mail, I refused and I am still battling with them, it is not what banking is all about and I will close all my accounts with HSBC before they will get any information on my personal private life.
I invite everybody to look at HSBC Safeguard very troubling intrusive actions.

familytr33 · 6 March 2018 at 8:33PM

Like many, I've been with HSBC for over 30 years since leaving school. I now live permanently in USA but I retain some interests in UK. I have maintained accounts with HSBC with a total max annual balance of around $50K - $60K.

Nov/Dec 2017 I started to receive the SafeGuard letters. At first HSBC required hard copies of all the the documents be notarized and then mailed to the UK. What a pain, and what a security risk!

I was lining that up but subsequently HSBC sent a letter which said I could submit the docs online. I chose that option. Everything appeared successful.

In Jan 2018 I noticed I was unable to wire money from HSBC to my bank in USA. Every time I clicked 'send' I would get Error Code: 19543.

4 - 5 horrible, miserable, terrible hours of on-line support and long-distance phone calls later, I finally discovered that Error Code: 19543 means 'Blocked by Safeguard'. My accounts are frozen due to SafeGuard 'issues'.

What makes me mad is that HSBC accepted my SafeGuard docs online without indicating any problem.

HSBC did not subsequently tell me there was any problem. HSBC did not tell me they were freezing my accounts.

HSBC's complete lack of communication, accountability and absence of any semblance of customer service is driving me nuts.

This reminds me of the time HSBC 'lost' my fax indemnity for a few days and I was unable to transfer funds internationally to complete purchase of a house.

A couple of questions...

Have any other permanent ex-pats in this position been able to close down HSBC accounts and run with their cash?

Have any other permanent ex-pats been able to open an account with another bank in UK while living overseas?

Thanks,

ft.

hsbc 'Safeguard' letter

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