Closure of Your HSBC Business Bank account

haux

Hi there,

I was hoping someone could give me advice on where I stand with some strange behavior I'm having with HSBC Business.

I've had a business account with HSBC for around 4 years, my business took off in its first year much better than expected & I continued doing business as planned. Last year I went into the branch as I wanted to trade some of my USD into GBP which meant I'd need to make a transaction above the HSBC internet banking limit of 100k. When I went into the branch the gentleman behind the counters jaw dropped & he couldn't believe I had done business without an account rep for the last 3 years & that he would need to assign me to one asap.

I was assigned to the area manager, a short bald moron who has been the bane of my existence ever since. Everything went fine, he told me i'd need to come in with my company accounts & they'd need to learn more about what my business did e.t.c. We scheduled an appointment for 1:00 PM, he got back late from his lunch at 1:30 which set things off to a wrong start, I was nice and didn't mention anything. After a 3 hour review of my accounts & taking photo copies, asking numerous questions I went on my way.

3 Months later I receive a voicemail, Its the account manager & he wants to do another account review? I expressed that I'd only just done one 3 months ago & I didn't have time to go in for another 3 hour meeting. After going backward and forward it turns out he'd lost the notes he'd written in the 3 hour session & couldn't find my photo copies. Well at this point, i'd gone 3 years without a business manager so why would I still need one? So I told him he'd have to find them and that I just didnt have the time to go back in and go over it all again.

Fast forward a to August this year & I wanted to setup a new business account for another already established business that turns over 1.5mil+ a year, unfortunately this is an account that falls into his area. I called HSBC and had him call me back 3-4 times to which all were ignored. Luckily I had his mobile number so I gave him a call and left a nice voice message outlining the company & if he'd be able to help me.

1 Week later he calls me on 'his day off' and tells me that HSBC wouldn't feel comfortable opening that sort of account with me, I asked why and he said that he cannot comment and they just wouldn't. Luckily in that 1 week gap i'd called the Rochdale HSBC area manager & he said the account would be good to go & i'd be OK opening it. So I mentioned this to my area manager on the call and said 'well, strangely enough - another area manager has told me I'm fine opening the account and is processing it' he mumbled and spluttered that another branch may have been fine opening it but his branch wouldn't be comfortable. I asked if it was a personal issue between him and myself & he said no.

A week later I get another call from Rochdale telling me that he can't open the account because funnily enough...my business address isn't located in his area & that I'd need to speak to my area manager(surprise surprise).

I wrote a complaint to HSBC, 2 weeks later they reply telling me that yes indeed they are not comfortable opening an account with me & refuse to tell me why?

I decided to just forget HSBC & set the account up with Natwest which took around 2 weeks & everything was fine, no hassle at all.

Today I get a personal letter from Stephen telling me that my current business account will be closed down in 60 days following a thorough review of our banking relationship with me. He was sorry to advise me that he will no longer be able to provide me the banking services and products needed and that my account will be closed ASAP.

'We periodically conduct strategic reviews of our services, products and accounts. Unfortunately, this means that we have taken the decision to close some customer accounts where they do not meet our strategic criteria. I am not able to provide further details about the internal process HSBC uses when reviewing accounts. The decision to close your account was taken based on a careful and thorough review of your account and HSBC will not be revisiting this decision.

Your sincerely

<Account manager>

He clearly has a chip of his shoulder about the complaint I made as I have 3 other business accounts with HSBC that have an exact replica of business model & so do 2 of my business partners. Everything is above board & fully managed by an accounting team, obviously this is going to be a huge hassle for me to move to another bank - Where do I stand with this and what do I do next?

Thanks

BMN

They are entitled to make that decision but that's his/HSBC's loss. Your next step should be to make alternative arrangements ASAP.

colsten

I am surprised you didn't take your business away from HSBC some time ago.

haux

It takes alot of time & stress to sort out new arrangements which is why I didnt but looks like ill have to now!

planteria

i bank with HSBC ahead of NatWest.. not even close re. customer service ime.

Krash420

If you have Santander near you, I'd suggest talking to them.

When I went to open a 123 Account with my parents, they told my dad that by moving banking to them, they'd be able to do a good deal for him, namely remove a number of transaction fees related to Business Accounts.

So if you have santander consider them for even cheaper business banking for 18 months.

Voyager2002

I have a relative who used to work for HSBC, and so I am not at all surprised to hear of your experience. As posted above, HSBC are free to do this and are not obliged to tell you why, and you will be better off with another bank.

If your business is partly in the USA then you might consider Citibank... in any event I suggest that you ask your new bank if they can help to reduce the hassle of the account switch.

And if I owned any shares in HSBC I would be getting rid of them.

System

Who offers business banking in your area?

agrinnall

What is your business? It sounds like HSBC were reasonably happy when it was small scale but now it's got bigger they are uncomfortable being involved. If it's something that might be regarded as dubious in nature then other banks may also be reluctant to provide facilities.