HSBC - Their error, time and time again but harrassing me.....

Enfieldian

BarclaysManager wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Except that HSBC haven't agreed to any agreement where you can level a charge against them - you have agreed to such terms with them, however.

Your posts make it fairly clear you're not after any appropriate reparations from HSBC, just money grabbing.

Really? I would have originally happy not to receive 3 to 4 calls a day telling me repeatedly something that I know is not true. Thanks for your useless input though.

If your username is accurate, do you feel it fair that your customers, whose money pays your wages, be treated in the same way?

If a retailer supplies goods that are not up to scratch then you expect a refund. HSBC's service is not up to scratch therefore I would like a refund of some of the interest I have already paid, applied to my O/S balance as a token of goodwill. Is that straightforward enough to comprehend or am I still a money grabber?

Although it is no doubt a computer error the attitude of some of their staff leaves a lot to be desired. I am sure you are aware of that though, BarclaysBoy. Your lot are even worse I hear.

Enjoy the long weekend, use it as a practice run for all the time off that you will have soon when you are made redundant.

Enfieldian

ShelfStacker wrote: »

That's reasonable - far more so than your little tariff thing.

Honestly, I'm behind you on this one, from what you've told us HSBC's behaviour is unacceptable.

Thank you.

I won't be issuing them with a tariff, that was more of a heat of the moment comment in retrospect.

I wish all of your colleagues were as fair and rational.

ShelfStacker_3

Enfieldian wrote: »

I wish all of your colleagues were as fair and rational.

The thing is, we're all reasonable people, none of us WANT to annoy people, but we have to work with what we have... the people in branch probably can't see much more than their system telling them your payments are up to date, the people on the phone probably can't see much more at first glance than their system telling them they're not.

It sounds like a system error, but obviously that doesn't justify the crap you're having to deal with. I'd go through with it.

Enfieldian

ShelfStacker wrote: »

The thing is, we're all reasonable people, none of us WANT to annoy people, but we have to work with what we have... the people in branch probably can't see much more than their system telling them your payments are up to date, the people on the phone probably can't see much more at first glance than their system telling them they're not.

It sounds like a system error, but obviously that doesn't justify the crap you're having to deal with. I'd go through with it.

I wholly agree, but in the past I have asked for and one of the girls offered to update my notes so that it would stop happening...

Obviously, this is not the case and/or, as you say, the nature of the system does not allow the staff time to read the notes or investigate the account fully before the call is connected.

Generally, once they have looked in more detail they are very apologetic however the guy that called on Friday was an obnoxious, arrogant SOB that was basically saying I must be in the wrong as the system could not be....

Looking forward to Sunday, that is the only day that they don't call....

Extant

Enfieldian wrote: »

Really? I would have originally happy not to receive 3 to 4 calls a day telling me repeatedly something that I know is not true. Thanks for your useless input though.

If your username is accurate, do you feel it fair that your customers, whose money pays your wages, be treated in the same way?

If a retailer supplies goods that are not up to scratch then you expect a refund. HSBC's service is not up to scratch therefore I would like a refund of some of the interest I have already paid, applied to my O/S balance as a token of goodwill. Is that straightforward enough to comprehend or am I still a money grabber?

I never said HSBC's conduct was appropriate, or that I would desire it for any customer - merely that your instinct is to try and work something out of the situation that you don't deserve - £25 a letter? You then follow it up with "if that doesn't work..."

Pretty clear you're thinking of all the different ways to extort money from the situation, rather than what you should be looking for: a resolution to your complaint and a SMALL gesture of goodwill to cover your inconvenience.

Although it is no doubt a computer error the attitude of some of their staff leaves a lot to be desired. I am sure you are aware of that though, BarclaysBoy. Your lot are even worse I hear.

Enjoy the long weekend, use it as a practice run for all the time off that you will have soon when you are made redundant.

I'd do some research before making such bold claims.

Enfieldian

BarclaysManager wrote: »

I never said HSBC's conduct was appropriate, or that I would desire it for any customer - merely that your instinct is to try and work something out of the situation that you don't deserve - £25 a letter? You then follow it up with "if that doesn't work..."

Pretty clear you're thinking of all the different ways to extort money from the situation, rather than what you should be looking for: a resolution to your complaint and a SMALL gesture of goodwill to cover your inconvenience.



I'd do some research before making such bold claims.

My £25 a letter was based on HSBC's charge for an unpaid DD or cheque. I believe that whether or not banks "deserve" to charge THESE fees is still in the balance, however at the time I thought that if it was a practice that they would understand, as surely the "published" idea of the fees is to act as a deterrent so that account holders would think about how they handle their account, as opposed to a money making system.

Therefore, if I were to charge an organisation £25 for wasting my time then they would take special care to make sure it did not happen again.......

..... but......

As you can see from my response to Shelfstacker, it was a "heat of the moment post".

Nice to see that you think I should get a gesture of goodwill though

The_Pedant

As they consistently 'threaten' you with further action for something which you have clearly not done (i.e. you have not missed a payment), then I would go even further in a complaint and raise the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 with them.

I would probably raise the prospect of their actions being considered harassment:-
- the accusation that you have done something wrong, which you have not
- their many repeated attempts at contact each month, each time reiterating the accusation,
- and their failure to take appropriate action to block it or place notes on your file to ensure the next incident to be resolved quickly.
All of which in my book has the possibility to at least cause alarm, if not distress (key definitions).

I've always found that mention of any possibly relevant legislation, and the threat of action has the effect of making the recipient sit up and take notice.
For information, a copy can be found here:-
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/ukpga_19970040_en_1

never-in-doubt

BarclaysManager wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Except that HSBC haven't agreed to any agreement where you can level a charge against them - you have agreed to such terms with them, however.

Your posts make it fairly clear you're not after any appropriate reparations from HSBC, just money grabbing.

Not entirely true, you do not need an agreement to levy a charge. So long as you give the bank written notice of your intentions to invoice at an appropriate level, usually match their own structure so 12 per letter, invoiced per month, then no agreement is required.

I have done this exact same thing to Equifax as they have been doing my head in and I thought sod this - i'll charge you for my time and have done so at the rate of 18 per letter.

Law dictates that you are eligible to levy any reasonable charge for work carried out, without need for contract if both parties are given advance warning of any intention and given time to refute/accept such charge.

Hope this clears matters up....

darich

never-in-doubt wrote: »

Not entirely true, you do not need an agreement to levy a charge. So long as you give the bank written notice of your intentions to invoice at an appropriate level, usually match their own structure so 12 per letter, invoiced per month, then no agreement is required.

I have done this exact same thing to Equifax as they have been doing my head in and I thought sod this - i'll charge you for my time and have done so at the rate of 18 per letter.

Law dictates that you are eligible to levy any reasonable charge for work carried out, without need for contract if both parties are given advance warning of any intention and given time to refute/accept such charge.

Hope this clears matters up....

It's all very well demanding money for letters from companies but do they actually pay up? I'm genuinely interested to hear. I'm not in a position to demand any money from anyone and i've never had the chance in the past. But i've often thought that if i wrote to any company after several letters and said they owed me £15 for the letter i just sent them they'd simply bin it and write back.

Does it work adn do they pay up?

never-in-doubt

darich wrote: »

It's all very well demanding money for letters from companies but do they actually pay up? I'm genuinely interested to hear. I'm not in a position to demand any money from anyone and i've never had the chance in the past. But i've often thought that if i wrote to any company after several letters and said they owed me £15 for the letter i just sent them they'd simply bin it and write back.

Does it work adn do they pay up?

So long as you follow basic principles then they must pay-up otherwise you take enforceability action via small claims court.

If you think about it, you offer a free service to the public and decide you now want to start charging for the same service. If you suddenly hit people with a bill this is wrong but if you write giving them 30 days notice of your intention to charge, advising the fact if you no longer want to partake please cancel by XX date (after 30 days) then legally, if you provide a service after the cut-off point you are eligible to enforce payment as the customer had plenty of time to find alternative arrangements.

Now, where this gets tricky is with banks etc, the key here is to remember that they can write to you with 30 days notice advising you of any charges to be applied, any changes to terms and any changes in the amount of their standard charge (i.e bounce a cheque will now costs 20 quid for example). As a result, you are also entitled to the same so you can say to the bank 'as a result of your negligence, this matter is costing me valuable time and effort and I therefore propose to levy a charge at the rate of 25 pounds per letter for each letter sent after XX date'. Doing so then warns the bank you're wanting closure and if they cannot enforce closure you will start invoicing them.

For the record one person on CAG has started doing this to his DCA and my understanding is that they send him a cheque at the end of each month for his letters (ironic that a DCA sends money to a debtor but hey ho!)..... :eek: