Minor victory against HSBC

kar

Just got off the phone to HSBC and finally got some sense out of someone.

I logged onto internet banking this morning to find that they were going to apply £50 charges in September. I was obviously not very happy about that. Yes I know I can claim them back in the courts but that's so long winded. I called up their 'customer services centre' about it. They advised me that 25 pounds was for going overdrawn and 25 pounds was for going overdrawn twice in 6 months.

Armed with the terms and conditions. I asked them where about it said that the second charge was applicable. Funnily enough they couldn't tell me. 20 mins later I finally got to a manager (why wont they ever just hand you over when you ask?). "it's on an internal document" he says. "Well that's all very well but unless you have sent it to me it aint enforcable because it aint part of the terms and conditions to my account" says me. It's in their somewhere was basically his response - along with another telephone number. Got through there and informed them i had searched the online T+C's for references to six months and there were two - niether of which applied to overdrafts. I advised this was therefore not part of the T+C's of policy and they should stop the whole amount of charges unless they could point out the part they were refering to. Tens mins of "someone will call you back within 5 days" "i would like to speak to somebody with the authority to do something now please" later and the guy spoke to his supervisor and the charges will not be made.

At last.

Moral of the (very badly written) story. Always have the T+C's to hand when you call your bank. Refer to sections by number (they have no clue and have probably never read it) and advise them that you have every right to know which section of the T+C's they are using to justify whatever they are doing.

Oh and use the broken record technique. I actually said to the last guy "I'm sounding like a broken record here will you please just get me your manager or someone".

Just wanted to share as this was winding me up all morning till i got it sorted.

thanks

kar

tsharp

Dammit, i should have done this when i got charged £50 for going OD, then £100 the next month for the same offence. When i called up, they said they had already 'let me off' when i had previously gone OD, and there was 'nothing' i could do about it. Wave goodbye to £150, unless I want to go down the reclaiming bank charges route...