HSBC so called Bereavement department

fingerbob7

I had the misfortune to have to make use of the HSBC bereavement support department today, after the very recent death of my mother. Was it too much to expect a slightly helpful attitude? Or even a little kindness however fake? It was like HSBC had hired the most rude, aggressive, and unhelpful woman on the planet and given her instructions to be as obstructive as possible. It was a very upsetting encounter and because of the frame of mind I'm in at the moment it totally ruined my day.

debsue

Im sorry to hear of your bereavement. My husband died in january and HSBC were lovely with me. She must have been having a bed day or a personality breakdown. Best wishes to you and your family

duckeggblue

That's awful.
X

fingerbob7

Thank you both for your comments. I have found that some of these companies are really unhelpful, but others are surprisingly understanding, such as Southern Electric. It depends on who answers the phone I guess.

redmike123

A bit like life in general then ?

mr_sharma

fingerbob7 wrote: »

I had the misfortune to have to make use of the HSBC bereavement support department today, after the very recent death of my mother. Was it too much to expect a slightly helpful attitude? Or even a little kindness however fake? It was like HSBC had hired the most rude, aggressive, and unhelpful woman on the planet and given her instructions to be as obstructive as possible. It was a very upsetting encounter and because of the frame of mind I'm in at the moment it totally ruined my day.

Sorry to hear. Maybe at a more appropriate time in the near future, you can write a complaint to their support department about your experience. It kinda negates the idea of "support" if you're dealt with rudely.

fingerbob7

Thought I'd follow up with my experience. My mother had very few assets, but spread within 3 different bank accounts. All the banks responded quickly to the solicitor executor, but HSBC failed to respond. They kept sending me the information meant for the solicitor, and then they refused to deal directly with me, fair enough, I'm not the executor, but I tried to move things along, and find out what was going wrong. It turned out they had sent all correspondence to the wrong address, the solicitor's address from 15 years ago which was on the will, despite my sister going in person to the branch and giving them the solicitors current details. I had to call seven or eight times, go through tedious discussions, deal with incompetent people who refused to do anything, saying they were still waiting to hear from the solicitor. The solicitor had to write a second letter. Eventually, 2 and a half months later, they finally made direct contact with the solicitor.

So I had some extra pain and stress to deal with. Thanks.

The other banks did it within weeks.

HSBC bereavement department, you are cr**p.

Froglet

HSBC are not the only insensitive company,believe me.Some years ago my Dad died very suddenly with a massive heart attack at only 70.My parents had a joint Norwich and Peterborough savings account with a pass book.I was with Mum just a few days later when she went in to tell them what had happened and asked,could they update the details? Without any murmur of sympathy or a kind word the customer adviser took the book off Mum,scribbled out my Dad's name and handed it back.

Mum is not one to make a scene but oh boy did i lose it.I'm afraid to say i screamed at her saying something like,that's right,you just erase my Dad then ,burst into tears and fled the shop.

Even when i calmed down i was still extremely angry,and put a formal complaint in to the Manager.She was of course very apologetic,and said the matter would be dealt with.

i refused to ever go back after that.

Dogger69

Froglet wrote: »

HSBC are not the only insensitive company,believe me.Some years ago my Dad died very suddenly with a massive heart attack at only 70.My parents had a joint Norwich and Peterborough savings account with a pass book.I was with Mum just a few days later when she went in to tell them what had happened and asked,could they update the details? Without any murmur of sympathy or a kind word the customer adviser took the book off Mum,scribbled out my Dad's name and handed it back.

Mum is not one to make a scene but oh boy did i lose it.I'm afraid to say i screamed at her saying something like,that's right,you just erase my Dad then ,burst into tears and fled the shop.

Even when i calmed down i was still extremely angry,and put a formal complaint in to the Manager.She was of course very apologetic,and said the matter would be dealt with.

i refused to ever go back after that.

I have some sympathy for the adviser here. It sounds like they wanted to make things as simple as possible for your mother, no fussing with forms and the like. Not everyone wants platitudes from a complete stranger, I know I would not.

You were clearly upset because you were bereaved. I expect the incident was dealt with by telling the adviser not to worry, we all react differently in these situations.

pulliptears

Dogger69 wrote: »

I have some sympathy for the adviser here. It sounds like they wanted to make things as simple as possible for your mother, no fussing with forms and the like. Not everyone wants platitudes from a complete stranger, I know I would not.

You were clearly upset because you were bereaved. I expect the incident was dealt with by telling the adviser not to worry, we all react differently in these situations.

Whilst I agree what the adviser did was probably the easiest and simplest way of dealing with the account, to not utter a word of sympathy or explanation is just downright rude and Froglet had every right to be upset.

A kind word and an explanation of what you are doing and why costs nothing. The teller in that case obviously had no people skills whatsoever and I expect the incident was dealt with by telling the adviser that a little explanation and manners go a long way.

Dogger69

pulliptears wrote: »

Whilst I agree what the adviser did was probably the easiest and simplest way of dealing with the account, to not utter a word of sympathy or explanation is just downright rude and Froglet had every right to be upset.

A kind word and an explanation of what you are doing and why costs nothing. The teller in that case obviously had no people skills whatsoever and I expect the incident was dealt with by telling the adviser that a little explanation and manners go a long way.

That is exactly my point - there is no right way to handle the situation, everyone expects something different. I would want them to do whatever was needed as quickly as possible without platitudes, which would only upset me even more.

I've never understood the point of platitudes from strangers. They don't know you or your loved ones, and the minute you leave they won't think of you again. What value does 'I'm sorry' or 'my sympathies' have in that situation? It is completely false, hence why I'd rather they just got on with their job.