messy situation....

hypno06

But the difference is that they (HSBC) are not at any risk if your phone bill does not get paid, but they are at risk should your shares drop in value and you have not paid for them.

If you don't pay your phone bill (or any other bill) the risk element is between you and the person you owe the money to, and the bank aren't bothered by that. But when they are having to take the risk on themselves, and it is not a small risk at that, then they are going to want to protect themselves as much as they can from it.

Frustrating, definitely. Right or wrong - open to debate. I know how much I hate my bank if they reject a £10 life insurance premium at the end of the month due to lack of funds, but are then happy to take £30 fee out of the same account for the "courtesy of providing a service". I can see where you are coming from, I am just giving it from the side of the HSBC sharedealing bods....

As for selling without prior notice - did you check the terms and conditions to see if they tell you that they have the ability to do this? If not, this is a good starting point. If it is not in the T&C then you can challenge them. If it is in the T&C you have very little chance of challenging them. But without knowing, you can't assess how to take it forward.

Good luck.