HSBC blocked my advanced account!!!

tmsbry

Hello I dunno what to do.:(

This month I depsosited two cheques into my current account. Both cheques cashed, but on Thursday when I was trying to pay for my weekly shop my card was declined even though there was sufficient funds in my account.

I phoned up HSBC and they told me there was a block put on my account and it couldn't be taken off till the next day when that office was open. So I called the next day and a rather rude person said HSBC had the right to block my account until the cheques were fully cleared:mad:. I just don't understand the cheques had already cleared, but even without the cheques I don't see why the whole account was blocked.

So I asked when would the account be unblocked, the lady said I'd have to wait 7 working days, I asked "what will I do for money?" I was informed to use my HSBC Credit Card???

Yesterday I withdrew £50 cash from an ATM using the credit card, (I know it should never be done) because I needed a little spare cash in my wallet.

Is there anyway I can be compensated for what has happened? The £50 I withdrew, I was charged £5.

This morning my account still isn't open:(

grumbler

The only you can do is complain and demand compensation. Cheque clearing can be delayed, but if you had money in your account there are no reasons for blocking your access to it.

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/contact-us/complaints

That said, IMO HSBC is a bank affected by AML paranoia in the highest degree and the most arrogant at the same time. It's very unwise not to have a spare current account in general and especially if your account is with HSBC.

tmsbry

Thank you for the advice, I plan to open another account ASAP but I was wary of the whole account juggling, not anymore as this has been a disaster.

I'll write to complain to see if I'll be given any compensation for inconvenience & for the CC fees

maninthestreet

So what was the balance of the account prior to depositing the cheques?

bengal-stripe

tmsbry wrote: »

This month I depsosited two cheques into my current account. Both cheques cashed, but on Thursday when I was trying to pay for my weekly shop my card was declined....I just don't understand the cheques had already cleared...

The cheques, deposited Tuesday, September 1st at the earliest, would not have cleared on Thursday:

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/contact-and-support/banking-made-easy/cheque-clearing

Did you have enough cleared funds in the account, apart from the two cheques? Were the cheques really unusual, either due to the amount or the nature of the issuer, that the bank could have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or money laundering?

Yes, the bank should have given you access to the cleared funds in your account. By all means complain!

tmsbry

I have about 400 plus in cleared funds, so more than enough to have paid for my shopping on Thursday, because I recently moved to HSBC I moved my direct access savings there as well, so even if I moved money from my flexible saver to my current it'd be pointless as the current account is blocked.

My mistake is not having a back up current account.

The cheques are unusual, I'm usually paid directly into my current account but this month I was paid via cheque. But my employer informed me the money has been paid.

There's no need for my account to still be blocked & I've been treated appallingly so far. I feel like I've committed a crime.

GingerBob_3

tmsbry wrote: »

I have about 400 plus in cleared funds, so more than enough to have paid for my shopping on Thursday, because I recently moved to HSBC I moved my direct access savings there as well, so even if I moved money from my flexible saver to my current it'd be pointless as the current account is blocked.

My mistake is not having a back up current account.

The cheques are unusual, I'm usually paid directly into my current account but this month I was paid via cheque. But my employer informed me the money has been paid.

There's no need for my account to still be blocked & I've been treated appallingly so far. I feel like I've committed a crime.

That about sums it up. These days banks view their customers as criminals and expect them to continuously prove that they aren't.


On the subject of additional current accounts, it's something I've been mulling over a lot recently. I don't have one, so what are the current recommendations? An important criterion from my point of view is that the AML identity checking should be minimal - ideally done online - and the amount of personal information they require should not be excessive.

maninthestreet

you say that you paid in two cheques - one was your pay from your employer, what was the other one?

Archi_Bald

GingerBob wrote: »

That about sums it up. These days banks view their customers as criminals and expect them to continuously prove that they aren't.

How are banks supposed to distinguish between criminals and honest customers? The only possibility is to do things such as verifying identity and address of each customer, as well as looking at spending patterns, having blacklists, doing random checks etc etc. As the crooks get more sophisticated and daring, you would expect banks also get more sophisticated and stringent with their checks.

GingerBob wrote: »

On the subject of additional current accounts, it's something I've been mulling over a lot recently. I don't have one, so what are the current recommendations? An important criterion from my point of view is that the AML identity checking should be minimal - ideally done online - and the amount of personal information they require should not be excessive.

Any current account will do. All of them offer online application, during which your ID will be checked against a number of resources (ER, CRA etc). If the data on your application tallies with those, you won't be asked for further ID. I have opened well over 20 current accounts online and have never been asked for additional ID.

Archi_Bald

maninthestreet wrote: »

you say that you paid in two cheques - one was your pay from your employer, what was the other one?

And why did the employer pay by cheque when they normally pay by BACS?

jimjames

Archi_Bald wrote: »

Any current account will do. All of them offer online application, during which your ID will be checked against a number of resources (ER, CRA etc). If the data on your application tallies with those, you won't be asked for further ID. I have opened well over 20 current accounts online and have never been asked for additional ID.

Interestingly the only account where I've been asked for additional ID was HSBC and that took 6 weeks to open the account. No other bank has ever queried my ID after online check and none has taken anywhere near as long as HSBC. When TSB pay 5% interest I can't see any reason not to have an account.