HSBC credit card

BobbySmith

Hi, a little help/advice required here...

I have a HSBC gold credit card and last summer (1st September to be exact) I went to Belgium with a number of friends. I checked in first for my room and used my credit card to secure anything that was to be charged to the room, as standard. I was handed my room key and left reception and went to my room. When I checked out of the room I paid cash for my minibar bill, of which I have the receipt for. And I thought that was that.

After a week or so of being home I got my credit card statement to discover the hotel had charged £56.02 to my credit card. I rang the hotel to query this, they explained that the minibar bills from other rooms had not been paid from guests that made up my party. At no point had I agreed to cover other rooms with my card and at no point had the hotel advised me of this.

The hotel forwarded me, via email, the items charged, as well as the credit card invoice that secured the room. This invoice had my card details printed, but the signature was not mine and my room number had been crossed our and in pen "card to cover all rooms" written in place.

I raised the issue with HSBC, they temporarily reversed the charge, but a money later charged it back to my card with out any explanation. In the meantime I discovered another member of the party had in fact signed for my credit card, unaware that he was signing for my card. I explained this to HSBC who reopened the case and temporarily reversed the charge, but months later I have once again had the amount recharged to my card with no more explanation or result from HSBC.

I have contacted HSBC again who have said because a friend signed for the card, then I am liable to pay for the bill with no real explanation as to why.

Is this correct? Where do I stand?

dresdendave

As the rest of the party were your friends, whom I assume are honest upstanding citizens, perhaps send each of them a breakdown of the invoice and they can pay you directly for their individual usage of the mini bar, which they inadvertently forgot to pay for when checking out.

grumbler

BobbySmith wrote: »

I have contacted HSBC again who have said because a friend signed for the card, then I am liable to pay for the bill with no real explanation as to why.

Is this correct? Where do I stand?

This is incorrect.
Your friend has no power to authorise your CC transactions. The hotel !!!!ed up. HSBC are pulling a fast one.
Follow the internal complaints procedure. Make it clear that you are going to take the case to the FOS or to a small claims court if needed and do this if HSBC fob you off again.

BobbySmith

dresdendave wrote: »

As the rest of the party were your friends, whom I assume are honest upstanding citizens, perhaps send each of them a breakdown of the invoice and they can pay you directly for their individual usage of the mini bar, which they inadvertently forgot to pay for when checking out.

I appreciate that, but that's not the point, my friends will pay me the costs if necessary. We have and pay for credit card protection for a reason and we should be able to use that protection if the cards not used correctly. It's a matter of principle now, I want the service I thought I was paying for.

FireWyrm

BobbySmith wrote: »

I have contacted HSBC again who have said because a friend signed for the card, then I am liable to pay for the bill with no real explanation as to why.

Bwaha ha ha ha ha :rotfl:
Oh my god!

How stupid do they think you are? Your 'friend' has no right to sign for your card, nor authorise a transaction or any bloody thing else for which you are held financially responsible.

Tell HSBC to stop dicking around and reverse the transaction and it had better stay that way or they will be explaining themselves to the FOS.

BobbySmith wrote: »

Is this correct? Where do I stand?

It sure as hell isnt and you stand very much in the right. Demand that they do their jobs immediately.

BobbySmith

grumbler wrote: »

This is incorrect.
Your friend has no power to authorise your CC transactions. The hotel !!!!ed up. HSBC are pulling a fast one.
Follow the internal complaints procedure. Make it clear that you are going to take the case to the FOS or to a small claims court if needed and do this if HSBC fob you off again.

Many thanks, just as I thought. You start doubting yourself!!

BobbySmith

FireWyrm wrote: »

Bwaha ha ha ha ha :rotfl:
Oh my god!

How stupid do they think you are? Your 'friend' has no right to sign for your card, nor authorise a transaction or any bloody thing else for which you are held financially responsible.

Tell HSBC to stop dicking around and reverse the transaction and it had better stay that way or they will be explaining themselves to the FOS.



It sure as hell isnt and you stand very much in the right. Demand that they do their jobs immediately.

I need to be careful how I say this and stay PC, but its very difficult to air a complaint with HSBC, because of the breakdown in communication and acknowledgement from foreign call centres.
Thanks for your response!

FireWyrm

BobbySmith wrote: »

I need to be careful how I say this and stay PC, but its very difficult to air a complaint with HSBC, because of the breakdown in communication and acknowledgement from foreign call centres.
Thanks for your response!

It is because we are all scared of being politically incorrect, that we have foreign call centres that we cannot understand.

There is nothing racist about it - their command of the English language is less than stellar, they have no idea about customs or colloquialisms and I for one make it a point to avoid any institution that uses them, except for the most cursory of business transactions.

SuperHan

BobbySmith wrote: »

I appreciate that, but that's not the point, my friends will pay me the costs if necessary. We have and pay for credit card protection for a reason and we should be able to use that protection if the cards not used correctly. It's a matter of principle now, I want the service I thought I was paying for.

I don't think thats very fair. The costs have been incurred, it's only fair someone pays, and that should be your friends. HSBC will be pulling the money back from the hotel, and your card hasn't really been used fraudulently...

pacontracting

I guess as the friend mistakenly signed the receipt and you are saying your friend used the card without your permission, and you are not prepared to authorise (or stand by) the transaction your friend made, HSBC would have no option but to reverse the charge and start criminal proceedings against your friend for fraud.

grumbler

pacontracting wrote: »

...HSBC would have no option but to reverse the charge and start criminal proceedings against your friend for fraud.

Criminal?! You must be joking. The friend just signed some paper erroneously given by the hotel.
HSBC?! They have no grounds for this.
It's the hotel that can chase the friend, not HSBC, and it's a civil matter, not criminal.