HSBC Avoid like the plague

discodown

On 30th November I used one one of thier cash machines to take some money out. It did the business then said take your card - it didnt give me my card back, then take your cash - it didnt give me the cash either. So I went straight to my branch and told them this. They cancelled the card and ordered a new one for me.

2 weeks 2 days later I am still waiting. They say it was posted 30th November which I frankly dont believe and that thye dont consider it a problem that I havent received it yet. They have offered to cancel this new one and issue a new new card but this wont now get here before Xmas. Trouble is, my internet is supplied by virtue of ongoing Switch card payment, Ive had an emaile from them saying they couldnt gain payment and my service will therefore be interrupted blah blah.. I need my net for the work I do.

I rang hSBC to find out what was happening, first off I go through to Bombay (yes, your local branch!!) and thyey didnt know what a Switch card was? Great. I rang again and got through to someone in the UK but they wouldnt discuss my account with me becuase I couldnt tell them any transaction I had done in the last 10 days. I couldnt becuase I havent had a f****** card for 16 days!!!

I have most of my xmas shopping to do, with no switch card, I cant get cash from my branch as I have 30 mins lunch and it takes 10-15 minutes to get there and park, similar back and the queues are 10 minutes long.

Why in this age of ultra security over cards do banks still just put them in an envelope and trust them to the vaguries of the Royal Mail. And then not to be concerned that after 16 days I still havent got it. Oh, I forgot they could put a new card in their courier and I could pick it up from there, great idea....except it takes 7 days, what a great internal sevice that is!!

Im going back in there tomorrow, my first words will be "I am not leaving until I get satisfaction, you will have to call the POlice to get me out before then" my second words will be "here's £3.70, send my new card special delivery".

Ive done remarkably well to have only had to edit one swear word....

bridiej

Yes, I would definitely get down to the branch and refuse to leave until you've seen the "manager" and he's sorting it out for you!!!!!


Let us know how you go

BruceLee_2

Nightmare....It really messes you up when you don't have a debit card. They have you by the short and curleys really because we all rely so much on debit cards and cash machines yet the branches are closing down at an increasing rate and are only open between 9-5 so you are spannered when something like this happens.

Who has time to go to a bank between this time especially one which is 10 miles away because your local branch has closed!!! I suppose that's another rant!!!

Go for it my friend and let them know in no uncertain terms who peeved you are.

Fatboy_NSS

Um, you could ask to pick the card up from your local branch, therefore avoiding the "vaguries" of Royal Mail. Maybe the default is for it to come to your home address as most customers find that most convenient? And maybe they quoted you 7 days delivery time because they knew you would come on here and whinge if they said 3 days but it actually turned out to be 4? Or maybe the MD should get in his Jag and drive down from Canada Square to drop your new card off personally at your house? Not a profitable way to run a business, but who cares as long as you're happy.

ribenagirl

One of the things that annoys me most about HSBC (Indian call centre aside - especially when I have to explain 3 times in the same phone call that in the UK, married women are addressed as 'Mrs' and not 'Mr' ) is their policy on branches.

I spent a few years oop north so banked in the Leeds branch. When I moved doon south I wanted to switch branches but they wouldn't do it for me as 'you don't need your 'own' branch any more, you can bank from anywhere' or so Ihave been told several times by their staff.

Quite right, until, that is, you want a loan, or they send your debit card for collection to your branch-which-isn't-your-branch 300 miles away and wonder why you can't get there to pick it up, or you want to speak to anyone face to face, (Heaven forbid, an actual person !!!), or you go into any old branch to sort something out and get told that they need to contact 'my' branch !!!!!!!!

Grrrr! >:( >:(

My problem is, I am too lazy to move my account elsewhere and I guess they rely on people like me keeping them afloat... >:( New Year;s Resolution for me there I think!! ;D

Savvy_Sue

Well against all this I would like to offer a Gold Star to the lady in the branch I thought we had business cheque cashing facilities with.

I work for a charity, and our bank account is pretty much a postal one. We had made arrangements to cash cheques at the nearest HSBC, but I haven't had to do it until yesterday.

I tried to phone beforehand to check whether I needed ID etc, but couldn't get through so for that. But when I got to the cashier, she couldn't find any details of our arrangement. And when she checked where I thought we had this arrangement, it turned out that I was at completely the wrong end of a very long road, ie about 3 miles away from where I needed to be!

I was about to leave when she said they could phone the 'other' branch, and if they could get through then it might be possible to cash our cheque there.

It took a bit of a wait, so maybe even their internal calls are routed via India ;D but at last another cashier came out and said she had managed to get through to the 'right' branch, and as long as the fax machine worked OK - "It's a bit dodgy"!!! - she would be able to give me the cash we needed.

I wouldn't want to use HSBC on a daily basis, but I was impressed that they were prepared to do this for me when it was not at all their fault I was in the wrong place! AND we're not 'their' customers.

So it sounds as if the staff may be trying, but they're being let down by the bank's own inadequate systems and resources. I mean, how much does a fax machine cost these days! ???

goolieman

I bank with HSBC and I had to ring them the other day, the women I spoke to was clearly Scottish, so not all of their call centers are in India. Obviously I was just very lucky that day!LOL
Saying that though I had trouble with them a while back trying to do a balance transfer to my Gold Card, bloody fiasco. They now offer that service online, I like to think that maybe, somewhere, even if it is remote, that my ranting had something to do with it ::)

C

jam

On teh flip side I like HSBC and i've found them to be very good to me. Have extended my overdraft when requested (interest free) and even suggested that I may want somehting to live on till my next payment was due to arrive.

I like the online banking as well.

(Am i allowed to say nice things on this board!)

stonekent

Unfortunatly what Discodown has said is a very common fault of most banks. Most banks will say cards take 10-14 working days to arrive as they are sent 2nd class post!!! The truth is though that cards can take upto 77 days!! Dont ask how they got that number of days I have no Idea. How anyone can go without a card this long these days is ridiculous.

And I wont make excuses for HSBC as I left them on bad terms, but I think most banks are struggling to get everyone sent out the new chip and pin cards which are coming into play across the board as from this month......so dont forget if you dont know your pin number get one ordered quickly, as shops will refuse your card!

Poppy9

I rung Lloyds/tsb about a query on my statement. In passing I asked when I would have a new chip and pin card. Chap said he would order one for me that day. It arrived 3 days later. Pretty impressive.