Laughable experience opening HSBC account

opinions4u

HSBC were more sensible during the 'boom' years

Although they were massively exposed to sub-prime losses via their American Household subsidiary and needed the biggest rights issue London has ever seen in order to continue trading.

Their lack of reliance on wholesale markets kept them alive. Ironically The £billions they lost early on in the Credit Crunch helped convince wholesale funders to pull out of other banks.

It is true that they've made a decision not to compete for savings. If they don't need to plug a funding gap why would they?

oldvicar

oldvicar wrote: »

I don't have savings with HSBC or the bank ses6jwg works for. But if I had to choose where to put my money do I choose:

• HSBC which (allegedly here) doesn't care about me and would give me poor/mediocre customer service. They say they have so much money they aren't bothered about having my savings, so they pay poor interest but at least they must be safe?
• First Direct, HSBC's subsidiary who (according to consumer surveys) give top-flight customer service, and are as safe as the rest of HSBC ??
• ses6jwg's bank which (according to the same surveys including here on MSE) give bottom-of-the-heap customer service but at least seem desperate enough for money to usually offer something in the 'best buy' (i.e. highest rates) tables ?
• somewhere else (apparently my actions so far suggest I prefer this)?

rb10 wrote: »

HSBC offer poor savings rates simply because that's not a part of their business that they focus on.

Most of their profits are generated through different business lines, so they just don't play in the retail deposit space.

In most surveys, HSBC tend to come in second place of the high-street providers, after Nationwide.

Yes, Nationwide is one I particularly like. I didn't know they topped the table of main high street providers, just that my personal experience of them was very good.

rb10

oldvicar wrote: »

Yes, Nationwide is one I particularly like. I didn't know they topped the table of main high street providers, just that my personal experience of them was very good.

Well it does depend on which survey, as they are all of course purely subjective (except the official complaints data, where Nationwide are significantly ahead of the banks).

But Nationwide tend to be at the top of the lists, and HSBC at or near second place.

bigadaj

By all means look at surveys and consult others but the variation in people's experiences is going to be far wider within a Bank than between banks.

I swapped my current account to first direct after nationwide ame. Coupe of !!!! ups, but after six months found their on line banking so clumsy I swapped back, got £100 for switching but they refused the £100 for switching back. Thought their telephone banking/ call centre service was only average whereas most people seemed to rave about it, though I do like a quick response and resolution rather than along chat about how my cat or dog is, which is what I suspect many like the idea that you have a new friend a la Facebook.

oldvicar

rb10 wrote: »

Well it does depend on which survey, as they are all of course purely subjective (except the official complaints data, where Nationwide are significantly ahead of the banks).

But Nationwide tend to be at the top of the lists, and HSBC at or near second place.

Shame for OP that HSBC is a 'proper bank' with the specialist tracker funds he wants, or rather its lucky they are the best of the bunch.

However much they protest about being a force in retail banking (and they are for everyday banking) its the 'cuddly building society' qualities which put Nationwide ahead, not the fact they can also (mis)sell you an L&G managed fund.

sabretoothtigger

JoeCrystal wrote: »

Huh? What free bank account gifts? They actually give you something for opening a bank account? What a strange and mystical time that must be.

Cheers

Joe

Good old days of rip off banking. These are the Natwest pigs, at the time the bank made 2bn a year in profits but you could get a pig if you saved 100 quid in their account




http://www.cardewclub.com/

Speculator

ses6jwg wrote: »

HSBC could not give a flying !!!! about their UK retail customers - you can see this by the paltry savings rates they offer.

"Wui Fung" treat their Hong Kong customers even worst. For a deposit of HK$150,000 (about £12.5K) in their savings account we get 0.001% interest or 12p interest per year!!

The problem is, there is no competition. Every bank pays similar rates.

Debt_Free_Chick

FD's ID requirements are the same (I'm currently opening a current account) except that I can't take my passport to a (an HSBC) branch. Instead, I have to get a solicitor to take a copy and certify it, so I can post it :-(

henchard

To be honest they are nearly all as bad as each other when it comes to documentation required. If you want a real laugh try walking into a high street branch and opening a trust account. Most of the staff won't have a clue what you are talking about.

GreenBitterfly

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

Good old days of rip off banking. These are the Natwest pigs, at the time the bank made 2bn a year in profits but you could get a pig if you saved 100 quid in their account

I remember the WWF linked coins and magazine you got too from Natwest, for opening an account or being an account holder. These were after the Piggybank give-aways.

I remember the magazines and plastic house moneybox you got from Halifax, wasn't it the Kat Club or something like that? I used to love that magazine!

Even as an adult, I signed up for a Barclays credit card, and got a camera for my troubles!