Compensation for HSBC mistake

kerouac9

I contacted HSBC last week to find out how investigation into my claim for PPI was going and was told that my complaint had been upheld and this would close my loan with £125 transferred into my current account. Fine, great I thought, but after 5 days my loan still appeared on my internet banking so I rang to enquire when the settlement would clear.

I was told that the person dealing with my complaint was on holiday but there was a contradiction in the notes with regards to going into my branch to restructure my loan. I told the associate that I was told I didnt have to as the loan could be closed with my acceptance over the phone, she agreed. Later that day my local branch called to make an appointment to restructure my loan, I was not happy by this stage but was polite to them explaining my confusion.

Today, I am contacted by the original person investigating my claim to say that they made a mistake restructuring the loan and I actually owe £100 therefore putting me down £200 on what they quoted me previously. Obviously, I was taken aback and proceeded to tell her that I wished to escalate this further to her manager. I was told that she had tried to contact me on the same day to rectify the mistake but had not been able to get in touch(a likely story,my phone was on and no-one got back to me since. She replied that she will speak to her manager and get back to me this afternoon.

My question is what sort of compensation amount (if any) should I be aiming for for inconvenience caused? I have spent money in the week following thinking that Id have an extra £125 in my account early this week but with this turnaround I am now living on a shoestring untilI get paid. Is it worth mentioning taking my complaint to the Ombudsman?

di3004

kerouac9 wrote: »

I contacted HSBC last week to find out how investigation into my claim for PPI was going and was told that my complaint had been upheld and this would close my loan with £125 transferred into my current account. Fine, great I thought, but after 5 days my loan still appeared on my internet banking so I rang to enquire when the settlement would clear.

I was told that the person dealing with my complaint was on holiday but there was a contradiction in the notes with regards to going into my branch to restructure my loan. I told the associate that I was told I didnt have to as the loan could be closed with my acceptance over the phone, she agreed. Later that day my local branch called to make an appointment to restructure my loan, I was not happy by this stage but was polite to them explaining my confusion.

Today, I am contacted by the original person investigating my claim to say that they made a mistake restructuring the loan and I actually owe £100 therefore putting me down £200 on what they quoted me previously. Obviously, I was taken aback and proceeded to tell her that I wished to escalate this further to her manager. I was told that she had tried to contact me on the same day to rectify the mistake but had not been able to get in touch(a likely story,my phone was on and no-one got back to me since. She replied that she will speak to her manager and get back to me this afternoon.

My question is what sort of compensation amount (if any) should I be aiming for for inconvenience caused? I have spent money in the week following thinking that Id have an extra £125 in my account early this week but with this turnaround I am now living on a shoestring untilI get paid. Is it worth mentioning taking my complaint to the Ombudsman?

Hi there

Sorry to hear of the messing about you've had with these, its pathetic isn't it?

I would ask the FOS on this one, explain to them the situation, they should be able to give you a figure on what is fair, but you have been let down here and its the banks mistake, as far as I know they do pay out compo for some errors, for this one I think they should, so ask the FOS by ringing them, because if they bank did not go along with this, at least you can say you have already received advice from the FOS about this.;)
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/contact/index.html

kerouac9

Thanks for your advice, I contacted the FO and they said that unless HSBC honours their first verbal restructure proposal at the very least, I should ask for the telephone transcripts and take it to them for resolution. It is their error after all and the verbal acceptance was based on that offer, ideally Id like to add on top of that compensation for inconvenience caused.

di3004

kerouac9 wrote: »

Thanks for your advice, I contacted the FO and they said that unless HSBC honours their first verbal restructure proposal at the very least, I should ask for the telephone transcripts and take it to them for resolution. It is their error after all and the verbal acceptance was based on that offer, ideally Id like to add on top of that compensation for inconvenience caused.

I think it is a good idea if they can supply you with a copy of the recordings, by disc/written transcripts of both, this should also help your case, fingers crossed for you.;)

dunstonh

I contacted the FO and they said that unless HSBC honours their first verbal restructure proposal at the very least, I should ask for the telephone transcripts and take it to them for resolution.

Possible but of course there is no requirement for them to have any telephone recording or transcript of what was said. A complaints handler isnt something that gets much need for a recording.

I would also say that the FOS, when making a ruling, is unlikely to support you spending the money before it has arrived. They are also likely to accept an error was made by HSBC and that they have no liablity to correct it (past cases have ruled that way)

The telephone people at the FOS generally tell you what you want to hear. The adjudicators tend to be more balanced. By all means do what you intend to do and ask for but dont get your hopes up based on what you have been told on the phone.

kerouac9

Possible but of course there is no requirement for them to have any telephone recording or transcript of what was said. A complaints handler isnt something that gets much need for a recording.

The complaint handler mentioned that the call would be recorded for quality and control purposes.

I would also say that the FOS, when making a ruling, is unlikely to support you spending the money before it has arrived.

I haven't spent the money before it arrived but I was still under the impression that the money would be paid,that is the issue.

dunstonh

The complaint handler mentioned that the call would be recorded for quality and control purposes.

That is their opinion but isnt fact. I phoned the complaints team at a mortgage lender recently and the phone call wasnt recorded either at my end or theirs. I spoke with many over the last few years and most dont record.

I haven't spent the money before it arrived but I was still under the impression that the money would be paid,that is the issue.

Irrespective of that, past complaints have found that where an error has occured and you were not entitled the money you were told you were going to get, then they do not have to pay it. In those cases a goodwill gesture is recommended paid.

One pretty extreme case was where a person was told over many years with many statements and phone calls what their pension income would be. They retired early, moved out of London to the Norfolk coast and at that point they went to start the pension but were told there was an error and the values were wrong. The pension fund was only worth a 1/10th of what they had been told due to a keying error by the insurer. Insurer rejected complaint and the FOS agreed with the insurer and in that case a goodwill gesture only was paid out on the advice of the FOS.

So, if the bank can show you were not entitled to it and it was an error that you were told it then the FOS is likely to side with the HSBC based on past cases of a similar nature.

TonyManchester

Hi there

I have been given your details by Di

I have recently applied for a claim against Tesco P F regarding a 30000 euros claim

My wife and I put 30k eouros down as a 15% deposit against an apartment in Spain, but unfortunately the developer has since gone bust/land was not legal.

Tesco state (on the phone) that because the contractual amount was £210k euros, this means that my deposit of 30k is not valid and the claim would probably be turned down

What do you think

Tony

kerouac9

Well, initially the manager I spoke to wouldn't budge and insisted that a mistake in a telephone conversation could not be used as a verbal agreement but was willing to close loan and pay the redress of £103. I argued that I still wanted the outstanding settlement amount I was offered. After 30 minutes of back and forth she started quoting the letter I received stating the amount of redress owed on the loan and how it was necessary to restructure the loan.

I proceeded to read out my letter which was obviously different and had no mention of any amount owing. After offering to fax it to her for clarification and a period of silence on her part, she bowed to my demands and the funds will be in my account tomorrow!

Thanks to all the people on here for their continued support and giving the layman the chance to get what is rightfully theirs!