HSBC Overdraft.

rhole

Hi

I wonder if anyone knows where I should begin with an issue I have with HSBC. I'll try and keep it short and to the point.

Basically, back on November 14th last year I phoned up the HSBC telephone banking number and got a £100 overdraft. Was on the phone for a while, and got asked questions about everything, then the guy on the phone did a Credit Check. Which came offering me up to £600. But I only took the £100 i wanted.

Now, the guy on the phone said the Overdraft was active for use immediately.

Last week on Thursday, I happened to go overdrawn by £73 on my account. I knew it was going to happen and I let it, as the Overdraft was there...

I logged on to my Internet Banking account and it shows £73 in fees being applied for it.

So I immediately phoned up HSBC and they reckon they have no record of me ever requesting an Overdraft.

Also, today 2 more transactions came out of my account by direct debit, and I cannot get to the bank to pay anything in until Wednesday. Should I assume they will charge me for that too?

Does anyone know of, or have any idea where I should start with this? As the charges they want to add would mean me not being able to pay rent in 2 weeks... :mad:

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They sent a letter out after i requested the Overdraft, that says something like... we are please to confirm an Overdraft of £0.00 or something like that... Which I took to be an automated error.

If they have no record of me ever requesting an Overdraft then why did they send out that letter? That makes no sense, how can they send out a letter being happy to arrange an Overdraft of £0.00,,, wouldn't that be a rejection letter...

I have an Itemised phone bill which shows me on the phone to them on that date for a good 30 mins.

Also, since they guy on the phone performed a Credit Check on me, which came back as £600, surely that is recorded somewhere?

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Any help is apprechiated, as I have no clue where to start, phoning the Telephone banking just gets a kind of 'so what' response.

Thanks.

GrammarGirl

I would advise you to phone them again, tell them the exact date and time of your call and get them to listen to the recording of it.

I was accused of lying about a conversation I had over the phone with HSBC and this is how it was resolved. It was a different situation (but also involving an overdraft!) and I had to argue for a good 40mins that the conversation actually took place.

Be prepared for them to insinuate that you're lying. They were very rude to me and it was upsetting, but it was resolved in the end. You have the letter to back you up... it sounds to me that there has been a keying error (if these things exist in banking!) and someone has authorised you an overdraft of £0.00 rather than £100.00

rhole

Thanks. I'm going to give that a try. I hope it was recorded.

Also, would anyone know if I should see a bank manager in person if the call fails? Or would they tell me to call them? Thanks.

456789

rhole wrote: »

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They sent a letter out after i requested the Overdraft, that says something like... we are please to confirm an Overdraft of £0.00 or something like that... Which I took to be an automated error.

If they have no record of me ever requesting an Overdraft then why did they send out that letter? That makes no sense, how can they send out a letter being happy to arrange an Overdraft of £0.00,,, wouldn't that be a rejection letter...
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When I opened my current account I didn't want an overdraft and they gave me a letter just like yours so I think thats a standard letter they give out to people who don't get an overdraft so automated error seems quite unlikely though keying error could be possible

Phone them and ask them to speak to a manager and get them to listen to the telephone call as GrammarGirl says - you might be able to get a copy of it yourself through freedom of information act?

As for seeing the manager I am not sure but definately go into branch if you don't get any answers on the phone.

Also be sure to file an official complaint:

https://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/popups/how-to-complain;jsessionid=0000gQQNZZoMSHE9541-w79MA5T:12c58sh8k

(Actually mentions local branch manager in that link)

PARIS_5000

Did you logged into internet banking after you apply for the overdraft to see if it was on your account before you used it.

rhole

Thanks for the replys!

I just got off the phone to them. I got put through to a scottish guy when I did what GrammarGirl suggested and asked them to review the phone call. Since I had the exact date and time.

The guy sorted it out for me. Its funny when I told them about the recording, they suddenly found the Overdraft application.. half completed... So he finished it off for me. And he said he will phone me back when I get my charges refunded to my account.

You can apply for an Overdraft over the phone, the number is 01226 261010. and option 6. I would jsut make sure to get them to confirm that the application has been fully processed.

So.. yeah, all is sorted now. Thanks for the suggestion about the recording, Also they did ask for the date and time of the call, and the length of it. But that did make them find my non-existant Overdraft again.. :T

Thanks!:beer:

GrammarGirl

rhole wrote: »

Thanks for the replys!

I just got off the phone to them. I got put through to a scottish guy when I did what GrammarGirl suggested and asked them to review the phone call. Since I had the exact date and time.

The guy sorted it out for me. Its funny when I told them about the recording, they suddenly found the Overdraft application.. half completed... So he finished it off for me. And he said he will phone me back when I get my charges refunded to my account.

You can apply for an Overdraft over the phone, the number is 01226 261010. and option 6. I would jsut make sure to get them to confirm that the application has been fully processed.

So.. yeah, all is sorted now. Thanks for the suggestion about the recording, Also they did ask for the date and time of the call, and the length of it. But that did make them find my non-existant Overdraft again.. :T

Thanks!:beer:

Oh, so glad you got it sorted! They reacted the same way when I asked for my call to be reviewed. They will tell you anything to shift the blame from themselves, but once they realise you won't back down and you aren't as clueless as they expect, they will help you.

Just make sure you get your charges back. My incident involved OD charges (I was told I would get them back, when I didn't they accused me of lying about them in the first place! Hence the need to hear the phone call!). They should refund the charges in the next charging period (will try find out when this is).

rhole

The guy said I would be refunded the charges, does that happen at a certain time/date each month? I'll chase it up again if they don't.

Thanks

GrammarGirl

I've just checked my account, charges are taken on the 12th of the month and refunded charges go back into your account on the same day. So if you haven't got the charges back by 14th/15th, I would ring and double check.

You might get them back earlier, I'm just going by what happened to me. Basically I was told a charge would be refunded in the next charging period (12th of the next month) and by the 15th it hadn't been, so I rang and that's when the accusations started flying! Not sure if it's the same for all situations, but I would expect to be refunded within 2 weeks anyway.

456789

rhole wrote: »

they suddenly found the Overdraft application.. half completed...

Did they say why it wasn't finished the last time?

rhole

456789 wrote: »

Did they say why it wasn't finished the last time?

Nope. The guy on the phone was confused about it. I had to get him to phone me back. When we completed it, it only took like another few seconds.

Thanks GrammarGirl, if I don't see any refund by the 14th/15th I'll get back on to them.