Harassment by HSBC - Please help me?

1Sandra2

Hi
I'll apologise in advance - I think this is going to be a bit long winded, but I need some advice on how to deal with HSBC. Preferably before they drive me insane.

I have banked for 25+ years with HSBC, but took out a new flexible mortgage with NatWest in late 2004 which meant I had to transfer my current account to them. No probs thought I and did all the necessary transfers. After a couple of months my HSBC current account had a debit balance of about £250 but as I had some cash in a mini ISA and a credit card account etc. plus an overdraft facility of £3k I didn't think too much about it. They still sent me statements, but as I wasn't using the account, I didn't bother to look at them (I know, I'm an idiot).

Anyway, when I did finally get around to filing the statements, I saw straight away that some transactions had gone through. This was in July 2005, and my balance by this time was £500 debit. I whizzed off to my local branch of HSBC straight away, and between us we worked out that my account had been used up until my new debit card had been issued in the early part of the year. The transactions that had gone through were all interenet transactions, but to odd sounding companies who I had never heard of - there were about 20 transactions ranging from £4.99 to £19.99.

The bank person said that they would deal with this, but I had to go and report this to the police first, and get a crime number, which I did straight away and then took the police forms back into the bank, all on the same day.

I then heard nothing from them despite telephoning and calling into the bank for about a year. In the meantime, interest was being added to my account every month, but I thought oh well, they'll refund this when they sort it out.

Then I got two strange letters from the bank, after about 18 months saying "sorry - too late for the Maestro process - tough, it's out of time, nothing more we can do blah blah".

The next thing that happened was that their credit control department started to phone me. They have been calling me now over the last six months up to 20 times a day. To start with, I spoke to them, and the guy I spoke to was not English, and didn't seem to undestand the situation at all. In desperation I wrote to them, asking for a copy of their complaints procedure, and saying that I didn't believe I owed them anything like what they were chasing me for - (by this time the balance is over £800) but could we negotiate a settlement. I also asked that they didn't contact me by phone as I felt that I couldn't face any more of these fruitless conversations.

Nothing happened, surprise surprise. Just the phone calls. It got so bad that I won't answer my phone now, they phone me at 7.00 a.m. and at 11.00 p.m. on my home phone, my mobile and my work number. At work it's quite difficult, I'm just waiting for someone to complain that I never answer external calls, I just let them click onto answerphone. I wrote again, and again, and got no reply.

I then got stroppy about a month ago, photocopied everything I had from them, wrote to them quoting the relevant anti-harassment acts, and asked again for copies of their complaints procedure. They wrote back, said they would "really really like to speak to me" and would look into the situation. They wrote another letter a fortnight later (during this time the phone calls stopped - bliss!) which basically said that they complied with OFTEL regulations, they could call me whenever they felt like it, my claim was out of time, sorry this wasn't the answer I wanted but basically they just told me to p*** off, pay up and until then they would continue to call.

And, boy, call they have. 10 - 15 times a day, 7 days a week. I am again reduced to not answering my phone (have bought a caller ID phone so that I can identify them, which I suppose is an improvement on what I had before). I haven't replied to this latest missive from them, because I want to make sure I'm not saying anything I shouldn't to them.

I feel that I should sue them for harassment. I am currently off work due to the stress of all this, I'm due back in on Monday, but am not feeling much better after nearly 2 weeks at home brooding about it all.

Can anyone please help? I am a single person and don't any really close friends to talk to and I don't want to worry my daughter (she is a worrier, and would worry I know). I'm just close to going out of my mind with it.

Only 4 calls today. Are they having a rest day?

Thank you for reading this, and any advice would be gratefully received. Sorry to have winged on for so long. I know it's my fault for not looking at my statements for 6 months or so, but I think that's all that I've done wrong. I think they should accept some of the responsibility for dragging the whole thing on. I now owe them £900 and think they should offer to settle at about £400-500. Does that sound reasonable??


:eek:

airborne_61

When i had money problems i went to my local C A B and they were great sorted me out with the advice they gave. Don't put it off,look them up in phone book and get the ball rolling. Good Luck

1Sandra2

Thanks!
I just wanted some opinion as to whether the bank's behaviour constitutes harassment. It's certainly a lot worse than that woman who won undisclosed damages from the Halifax!
So if anyone can give an opinion on this, I'd be soooo grateful!

masonic

I'd suggest that you take your complaint to the financial ombudsman. Make sure that you're clear that you have explicitly asked for their complaints procedure and that they have not complied with your request. Hopefully you will have kept copies of the letters you sent them. I'd also consider contacting the citizen's advice bureau about whether it would be worth persuing a harassment complaint as a separate matter.

1Sandra2

Thanks, yes I've fortunately got copies of all correspondence. They appear to have gone to ground today, unless I just haven't heard the phone! If they'd responded in the first instance and I'd paid them £20 per month I would have been out of debt by now I think! Instead, I'm now owing nearly £1k.. what a nightmare.

1Sandra2

Hi!
The good news is that HSBC have stopped phoning me.
The bad news is that despite my raising the whole issue as an official complaint, which is now on Senior Investigation (which I believe is the last stage of their complaints procedure) - they have sent a holding letter to say they are investigating fully, but today I have received a "Final Demand" in writing from HSBC Centre Manager (they don't give a department name).

It says:

a. Despite our previous communication concerning your debt we have received no reply (I have written six letters to them since November, and have received acknowledgment for most of them)

b. They now Demand immediate repayment;

c. If I do not I repay the lot in full within 7 days or let them have satisfactory proposals for repayment I must complete a Statement of Means form,

d. And they will take action via debt collectors or solicitors if I fail to comply, and I may also be taken to court

e. If they have not received satisfactory response within 28 days they will pass details of the debt to Experian, Equifax and Call Credit to ensure I can't get credit from elsewhere in future.

I need help with this!! Can anyone advise me please as to what to do next? I do dispute that I owe the whole amount (£900) - I have offered to negotiate a settlement figure with them, I have made a formal complaint and they have told me they are investigating it.. but now they want to get me blacklisted. Can they blacklist me? The money I owe them is on an agreed overdraft, and they have not written and withdrawn that facility. They haven't got a court judgment against me so how can they blacklist me as a debtor especially as it is a disputed amount?

Please advise. Should I just pay it and forget the complaint even though I think they have been very unfair about all of this, this is nearly £900 now owed on transactions they paid, which I disputed, and which they then failed to do anything about, and kept me waiting over 18 months for a reply, which then just said "out of time, we can't do anything"....

Help!! Please????

AceCobra1

wow... that sounds pretty nasty! I thought my mate with 1 CCJ was bad enough lol... but oh well, I'm sure u'll get something sorted in the end! Good luck

1Sandra2

Thanks, I think I need some... (good luck) x

maxfactor_3

my goodness its no wonder you,ve been going out of your mind !.Its inperative you get this sorted for your own sanity as its taking up all of your energy !.Lets go back to the beginning!.
Why the hell should you pay the debt for transactions you didnt make!.

Why the hell should you have to keep repeating yourself ?
You heve a case number from the police!
Why are you offering to pay these idiots anything.
Find your case number and report them.They cant keep harassing you its illegal.They need proof its your debt but this is FRAUD.

poppyscorner

I sthe complaint being investigated by them or the ombudsman

poppyscorner

Double post sorry please see below