HSBC's New £120 Switch Offer

bonjan

Frank121 wrote: »

What a carry on Bonjan, HSBC are awful!

Some office colleagues who bank with HSBC keep telling me that they're not bad, that it takes more effort than it should to get things started but after that they're ok. I do hope so!

I should qualify for the offer because two days after the date the signature arrived I got yet another letter: a brochure with the £100 switching offer.

The terms and conditions in the brochure specify that you must apply by the 30th of September:
"a) you apply for an HSBC Advance Bank Account in the UK [...] during the Offer Period. The Offer Period is 1 September 2015 until 30 September 2015."
Since I have their letter acknowledging my application dated on the 30th I wish them luck arguing that I did not.

There are of course two more places where they can still catch me:

"b) the HSBC Advance Account you apply for is successfully opened;"

I understand that we passed that one too, why would they ask for the signature if we didn't?

"d) you complete a full switch of a current account to your HSBC ABA using the CASS within 30 days of the date your HSBC ABA is opened"

Ah well, if they take much longer to start posting debit cards, welcome packs and so on, or if they want to meet us in branch to check our payslips, bank statements or take a blood sample then I guess that even completing a switch in 30 days could be a challenge.

But for the time being we've passed level 1 and we're still in the game.

One really has to take it with humour and give it to them: they have managed to transform an otherwise quick, predictable and boring process into a challenging adventure, in which you're confronted not just with the usual and expected scoring results of the answers in your application or the data in your credit profile, but also with other unexpected obstacles including 3 months of statements and payslips as described here by others.
Looking forward to level 2! :cool:

beefturnmail

Has anyone actually received the switching bonus yet? Been 72 days since I opened the account and still nothing (though t&cs say they have a 100 days). I do have the Save together bonus though, and confirmation in writing.

abundantia

I applied in July and got the switch bonus in September.

Frank121

bonjan wrote: »

Ah well, if they take much longer to start posting debit cards, welcome packs and so on, or if they want to meet us in branch to check our payslips, bank statements or take a blood sample then I guess that even completing a switch in 30 days could be a challenge.

One really has to take it with humour and give it to them: they have managed to transform an otherwise quick, predictable and boring process into a challenging adventure, in which you're confronted not just with the usual and expected scoring results of the answers in your application or the data in your credit profile, but also with other unexpected obstacles including 3 months of statements and payslips as described here by others.
Looking forward to level 2!

Once open, they are very quick at sending the debit cards and welcome pack (within a few days), the secure ID if requested can take a little longer. If you already got to the signature stage then I don't think you need to attend the branch for income validation. I simply got a letter asking me to go to the branch where I provided bank statements and signed the forms. The only benefit of doing this is that the account was opened straight away. They actually provided a working bank account number and sort code during the appointment. Since a week has passed since you returned the signature, I can only guess it goes into a queue for processing again.

With regards to the switch, that's fairly long winded too. It takes about 15-20 mins which entails listening to the most boring script ever! You then get told the earliest switch date...but that must be confirmed by phoning again once you have received the switch agreement which luckily doesn’t actually need to be physically signed and returned. The actual switch agreement took a whole week to arrive (phoned Monday, arrived the following Monday) so when I called to confirm (another 10 min call with even more boring scripts..most of it was already cited on the first call) they informed me they couldn't keep the original date that I selected and I had to move it forward a few days. They only allow 4 days to receive and confirm the letter but that's not enough time for the likes of HSBC! ;p

[FONT=&quot]Indeed it is quite an adventure! On the plus side they only took about 7 days to switch in an ISA (£300) so I am eligible for their £120 save together offer. [/FONT]

chambta

Account opened 30th July, incentive received today I think. Just timed right after a £700 car bill.

They've made a mistake with the ISA though; received a letter saying, amongst other things, that I'd not yet made an eligible deposit when my S/O of £25 was credited on September 18th.

The lady on the phone at HSBC admitted there was an issue with this and that if I'd not got my 2 x tenners by the end of this month to call them back.

It's been a bit of a hassle but spending the cash will make it worthwhile.

neilsedaka

I applied for the Advance account on 5th July and received the £120 switching bonus today.

bonjan

Frank121 wrote: »

Since a week has passed since you returned the signature,

Not quite, I posted the signatures on a Friday noon, so they likely got them next Monday the earliest (5 days ago).

Frank121 wrote: »

I can only guess it goes into a queue for processing again.

That is way more likely.

Frank121 wrote: »

but that must be confirmed by phoning again once you have received the switch agreement

Damn, I'm soon going to be out travelling for a full week. :doh:

:wall:

highet

account opened 15th august - switch went thro 24th august - £120 bonus paid today

neas

GOt paid yesterday woop. Is the £120 isa offer still on?

beefturnmail

I also got paid yesterday. Account opened 29th July. Switch some time in August. Given the very different dates of posters account openings maybe they did a batch yesterday