HSBC messaging system

Gep

I've recently moved to HSBC and noticed that every time I send them a message through the online system I always get the same answer:

"Thank you for your recent Secure E-message received.
I have forwarded your request to the relevant department who will contact you directly."

Has anybody noticed this?
This wasn't the case with my previous bank and I'm starting to think I've made a big mistake...

agrinnall

So what is your issue? Are the relevant department contacting you?

System

I gather that he/she would prefer an online reply like many other banks /building societies?

agrinnall wrote: »

So what is your issue? Are the relevant department contacting you?

jjlandlord

It's difficult to comment as OP is very vague.

However HSBC does reply online to online queries.

agrinnall

Heng_Leng wrote: »

I gather that he/she would prefer an online reply like many other banks /building societies?

You may well be right, but there's nothing in what's been posted to say that the direct contact won't be done through the E-Message system too. Perhaps that isn't what's happened, but we just don't know from the data provided.

mgdavid

OP can you explain why you think an automatic acknowledgement would *not* always give you the same text?

SnowTiger

Gep wrote: »

I've recently moved to HSBC and noticed that every time I send them a message through the online system I always get the same answer:

"Thank you for your recent Secure E-message received.
I have forwarded your request to the relevant department who will contact you directly."

Has anybody noticed this?
This wasn't the case with my previous bank and I'm starting to think I've made a big mistake...

It's just the way some organisations do things.

It simply means the first person the message hit didn't feel knowledgeable enough about the topic and has passed it to someone else.

An example of this is an email I sent to Pizza Hut recently enquiring about the vegetarian status of some of their products. The first person who received the email sent a reply saying they had passed it on to another department.

It would have been easy for that person to have said any of their products that don't contain meat are suitable for vegetarians, which is an assumption many people make.

I received a reply from the relative department a few days later informing me the products weren't suitable for vegetarians.

I was disappointed, but pleased Pizza Hut has taken the time to research and answer my question accurately.

Gep

agrinnall wrote: »

So what is your issue? Are the relevant department contacting you?

It was a simple matter of changing a direct debit. It's one of the many things my previous bank would be able to solve via online messaging (which is very useful when you are at work). I just assumed this was the case with any other bank, but I was obviously wrong.

Regarding being contacted by phone by HSBC relevant department that's another really annoying thing, since they always call you from different numbers (sometimes hidden numbers) and they start asking you personal details. How do I know it's HSBC calling and not some scammer trying to get hold of my personal data?
Since THEY are calling ME, surely they should proove me who they are, not viceversa.

Getting really frustrated with them by the day, not to mention having to carry that chunky security key to access online banking (a double password or password/pin system would be perfectly secure).

Sorry there's enough material here for 3 different threads

jjlandlord

It seems to be a simple case of getting used to a new website.

Gep wrote: »

It was a simple matter of changing a direct debit.

If you want to cancel a direct debit or switch it to another of your (HSBC) account, just go into the "Standing orders and Direct Debits" section and do it.

It you want to setup, modify, or cancel a standing order, just do it in the same way.

agrinnall

Gep wrote: »

It was a simple matter of changing a direct debit.

Actually, changing a DD is not likely to be a simple matter. While you can probably initiate a cancellation of a DD, any other change is the responsibility of the DD originator. So for instance, if you wanted to change the date on which a DD is taken, HSBC will not do that just because you ask them to, they will do it when they receive instruction from the originator, probably through the AUDDIS system.

Gep

agrinnall wrote: »

Actually, changing a DD is not likely to be a simple matter. While you can probably initiate a cancellation of a DD, any other change is the responsibility of the DD originator. So for instance, if you wanted to change the date on which a DD is taken, HSBC will not do that just because you ask them to, they will do it when they receive instruction from the originator, probably through the AUDDIS system.

Fair enough, but why can't they just reply that in the messaging system?
That is my point: I don't expect them to solve all issues via the online messaging system, but I just expect them to use it to communicate with me.