Beware - HSBC 'punishment' charge six months after incident

Lokolo

avstar wrote: »

My experience and my opinion, it's sneaky.
They openly quote a low interest rate for their authorised overdrafts but that doesn't include the £25 annual charge which actually makes the annual 'cost' of their overdraft much higher. That bit is hidden in the small print....sneaky

Paul H, how wierd. Never knew the charge been around for so long as I've not been charged before for it and had the same £200 overdraft for years.

Maybe its a discretionary charge and now my face doesn't fit, I've paid off all my debts and am overpaying the HSBC mortgage, they've realised they're not making as much money from me anymore so have to claw it back somehow

As with the post above, the charge is only there if you request a formal or informal overdraft request more than once in a 6 month period.

If you stay within your overdraft limit, do not change the limit, you are not charged the £25. It is effectively an admin charge.

jalexa

Lokolo wrote: »

...the charge is only there if you request a formal or informal overdraft request more than once in a 6 month period.

If you stay within your overdraft limit, do not change the limit, you are not charged the £25.

That's my interpretation too. Unless I missed something the OP only described a single informal request in a 6 month period.

Unless the OP has missed something.

YorkshireBoy

jalexa wrote: »

That's my interpretation too. Unless I missed something the OP only described a single informal request in a 6 month period.

Unless the OP has missed something.

There's a 'request' each year for the renewal. Add in another formal or informal (ie exceed the limit) in the preceding 6 months at they'll charge for the renewal. Don't exceed the limit and they won't.

So it's a free overdraft facility...so long as you don't abuse the account (by exceeding the limit) and don't ask for an interim increase.

jalexa

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

There's a 'request' each year for the renewal...

I'm neither advocating nor defending HSBC, rather "fairness" for the consumer. I think the following extract from the HSBC website is relevant...

"A formal request occurs when you approach us to arrange an overdraft limit."

<snip non-relevant stuff>

"Your overdraft limit will normally be agreed for a year after which we will automatically review it and decide if we can provide another formal overdraft limit for a further year. We'll inform you when your overdraft is due for review."

In the absence of the letter - and when read online, and pre-application it is in the absence of the letter - I cannot see where the "formal request" occurs at review. There is also clear obfuscation between the "annual" and the "6 month" criterion.

That I consider fails my consumer "fairness" test.

jalexa

Interesting. There is another thread about First Direct on a very similar topic which quotes revised terms and conditions (though I quoted current website copy).

Milarky

jalexa wrote: »

The policy say this... "we won't charge an arrangement fee if we haven't agreed to a formal or an informal overdraft request from you within the last six months."

The HSBC policy also says this..."we only charge an arrangement fee if you have more than one overdraft request [my emphasis] agreed in a six month period."

As posted I am not convinced you have had "more than one overdraft request agreed in a six month period".

Given the circumstances of waiving your original fee and the "unclear policy implementation", why not "invite" them to waive the £25.

That seems to explain how HSBC can claim to renew the overdraft for 12 months at a time but will still always charge each time you do go overdrawn:

Scenario 1: you go overdrawn 5 months after annual renewal. They charge £25 at the time because its under six months after.

Scenario 2: you go overdrawn 7 months after annual review instead. Nothing charged at the time but 'on review' (at 12 months) they retrospectively apply charge (7 months being only 5 months earlier than the fixed review date)

They're a rapacious and disgusting bank playing a 'high-low' trick on the customer like that. And besides, why do they do it that way, do they want the publicity?

[Wouldn't you say by charging at the time (then waiving) there must be a separate (and later) occasion the overdraft was exceeded or else this looks like 'double' charging?]

jalexa

Milarky wrote: »

They're a rapacious and disgusting bank playing a 'high-low' trick on the customer like that. And besides, why do they do it that way, do they want the publicity?

[Wouldn't you say by charging at the time (then waiving) there must be a separate (and later) occasion the overdraft was exceeded or else this looks like 'double' charging?]

Well I don't agree that the HSBC online description is a clear description of the outcome described by the OP.

So there are indeed a number of possible scenarios (1) bank error has occured (2) the online description is not clear but no bank error has occured (3) the "letter" clearly qualifies the review as a "formal request" (a defined term in the online description and as suggested by another poster "there's a 'request' each year for the renewal") (4) the letter does not clearly qualify the review (5) the terms and conditions differ from the online description (6) (as you suggest) a second "over limit" event occurred that the OP is unaware of or silent about.

Perhaps the letter removed or reduced the formal limit?

As a forum heads-up at best, *if* "there's a 'request' each year for the renewal" is correct then the online description is unclear which is how I would deal with the same scenario via the complaint's procedure had I been subjected to a charge at annual review for a single "over limit" event within the last 6 months.

heloid

Ahh, another thread where the OP is missing key facts.

I use my HSBC overdraft irregularly and I have never been charged for it aside from a small amount of interest. You don't get charged for using an overdraft within it's bounds.

Either there has been a banking error or an overdraft change request has been made:
a) OP changed their overdraft limit in the last 6 months
b) OP went over their overdraft limit in the last 6 months

Why doesn't the OP just call them and find out what happened?

avstar

heloid wrote: »

Ahh, another thread where the OP is missing key facts.

I use my HSBC overdraft irregularly and I have never been charged for it aside from a small amount of interest. You don't get charged for using an overdraft within it's bounds.

Either there has been a banking error or an overdraft change request has been made:
a) OP changed their overdraft limit in the last 6 months
b) OP went over their overdraft limit in the last 6 months

Why doesn't the OP just call them and find out what happened?

Ahhh another post where the author doesn't read the OP's post properly....

As I explained in my original post, I went over my authorised overdraft by £28 for 1 day six months ago, and as I also explained I rung up to query the mystery charge before I posted on here.

I wasn't looking for sympathy, merely to warn others that HSBC can and will charge you upto six months later for going over your overdraft, even if they waived the original charge as in my case.

I've since had a phone call and letter from HSBC apologising for how my call was dealt with and the £25 will be refunded. I have removed my overdraft and will be moving bank accounts.

Lokolo

avstar wrote: »

I've since had a phone call and letter from HSBC apologising for how my call was dealt with and the £25 will be refunded. I have removed my overdraft and will be moving bank accounts.

I hope to First Direct. Anyone else is crap in comparison to HSBC.