HSBC cancelling my accounts because i refused/laughed at them?

Starrystarrynight

I get asked to these reviews all the time. I always refuse (politely!) and say I don't want to buy any more products or upgrade my account. They then rush to reassure me it's all meant to help me make the most of my money. If they persist, I tell them I used to work for the bank (which I did) and am quite capable of looking at these things myself. It puts me off going into branches, to be honest.
I know that they want to maximise their sales and offer these reviews if they aren't making any or enough money off you. Quite worrying if they can use it as an excuse to get rid of you when you decline, though!

gt94sss2

Starrystarrynight wrote: »

I get asked to these reviews all the time. I always refuse (politely!) and say I don't want to buy any more products or upgrade my account.

With HSBC?

I know several other banks often do ask customers to come in and have reviews but I didn't think HSBC did.. (unless you have some sort of Premier account when they might ask you once a year)

HSBC don't even try and get their counter staff to sell products to customers when they are using their counter service (in my experience)

Regards
Sunil

bob_dob

thank you Dmliverpool, i must admit i did laugh at your post, it's nice to know im not going mad....it felt as if i was what with the few haters on here having a go at me! oh and I swear that there isn't 'more' to my conversation either!

Thank you to anselld, that is really useful information, i appreciate that!!

gt94sss2, thank you to you too, oddly enough i was speaking to a girl who works at HSBC a month before Christmas and she said that all staff now take it in turns to work saturdays where they are to spend the day getting customers to come in and 'review' their accounts, she explained that saturdays are the only days they can get hold of some customers!
Interesting eh?

Viper_7

bob_dob wrote: »

Perhaps viper_7 didn't read:


Your comment doesn't help at all, one wonders why you even bothered.

And to Lokolo, thank you so much, that is very helpful indeed!

Because this post is now funny. Advice was given from the outset, yet your are on a mission to see the CEO in person and give him a good kicking it seems so you feel better for the "nasty woman" closing your account.

for all the information try HSBC's own website.

p1nkk1tten

Did she definately call to 'sell' you something? Could it not have been an issue they needed to discuss, and because you were unwilling to discuss it thats why they have closed your account? I would suggest to call them, or pop into the branch and ask for an explanation. I'm sure they'll give you one. Also can I add that if they were trying to sell you something, all you had to do was politely say no... not 'giggle' and be sarcastic. Perhaps it was a special offer or something, i dont know, but working for a bank myself, it can be really sole destroying when someone does give you crap because at the end of the day, your only doing your job, and your still a human being... Rant over...

FOXGLOVE_2

I used to work at LTSB and in the beginning, my job was to offer these reviews to customers. Yeah most of the time the bank is wanting to do a sales push and ideally make sure you have all your financial products with them - credit cards, current account, savings, insurance etc. Another way of looking at it is that they want to make sure the account you have is best suited and making your money work for you.

I realise that most people are happy ticking along and say no to the advisor who calls them about a review but for some, it may help and is useful to get updates on promotions etc.

When I was doing this, yeah, you got some people who were less than polite and didn't like us calling, a few people went crazy and I have been called every name you can think of. What did we do when this happened? Apologise for the inconvenience, explain the reason for calling and leave them in peace, giving them the option not to be called again. Maybe leave a note on the account that says they do not take kindly to marketing calls.

Only the most abusive customers would have it taken further and I think it would normally be at the discretion of the branch which accounts were closed. Possibly if they thought the customer could become violent or abusive in a face-to-face scenario.

I find it really worrying and hard to believe that they would choose to close the account of someone who politely declined a review, a customer whose accounts were generally in good order.

Ultimately the bank can choose who they provide a service to. Sometimes if you have a credit card and pay it off in full any time you use it, the company aren't really making money so might tell you to go elsewhere. The bank will also look at your 'potential' which is an estimate of what you may likely be looking for in the future such as graduate account holders maybe looking at mortgages next. If your circumstances have never changed, maybe they just decide that you're not worth it lol A 'bad' customer is one they make the least money from, remember!

In my opinion, it would be extreme circumstances for them to suddenly decide to give you the push so I would assume something else is the reason here.

To the OP, if you are confident you remained polite and think this has been done maliciously then yes, ask for the decision to be looked at. If they wrongly accused you of swearing and the call is listened to, you may keep your accounts. They might not even provide a reason so start looking elsewhere.

I also worked for HSBC but they were not as focused on the sales calls, it usually meant that you had 'potential' if they were calling you though...

bob_dob

Thanks Foxglove, that was a really interesting and informative post!!

lor6126

Imagine if a retail worker had the power to permanently ban a customer from their shop if the customer was a little bit rude to them.

We do.:o

bob_dob

santanderftw, read this regarding 'dont like banks':

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1180939/THE-LAST-WORD-Shun-nest-High-Street-vipers.html

Nest of vipers.

I suppose you think banks always have our best interests at heart?
Live in the real world my friend.

zppp

bob_dob wrote: »

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1180939/THE-LAST-WORD-Shun-nest-High-Street-vipers.html

Noting more I'd expect from the Daily Mail personally...

I have however reported our friend from Santander to the site team for being a big troll.