hsbc 'Safeguard' letter

HSBC_Nightmare

familytr33 wrote: »

Like many, I've been with HSBC for over 30 years since leaving school. I now live permanently in USA but I retain some interests in UK. I have maintained accounts with HSBC with a total max annual balance of around $50K - $60K.

Nov/Dec 2017 I started to receive the SafeGuard letters. At first HSBC required hard copies of all the the documents be notarized and then mailed to the UK. What a pain, and what a security risk!

I was lining that up but subsequently HSBC sent a letter which said I could submit the docs online. I chose that option. Everything appeared successful.

In Jan 2018 I noticed I was unable to wire money from HSBC to my bank in USA. Every time I clicked 'send' I would get Error Code: 19543.

4 - 5 horrible, miserable, terrible hours of on-line support and long-distance phone calls later, I finally discovered that Error Code: 19543 means 'Blocked by Safeguard'. My accounts are frozen due to SafeGuard 'issues'.

What makes me mad is that HSBC accepted my SafeGuard docs online without indicating any problem.

HSBC did not subsequently tell me there was any problem. HSBC did not tell me they were freezing my accounts.

HSBC's complete lack of communication, accountability and absence of any semblance of customer service is driving me nuts.

This reminds me of the time HSBC 'lost' my fax indemnity for a few days and I was unable to transfer funds internationally to complete purchase of a house.


A couple of questions...

Have any other permanent ex-pats in this position been able to close down HSBC accounts and run with their cash?

Have any other permanent ex-pats been able to open an account with another bank in UK while living overseas?

Thanks,

ft.

I'm having the EXACT same issues as you, same time frame etc. (Did you manage to sort the issue?)

After a week of live chat, phone support etc and a million reasons on why I can't send international payments such as "Error on my device", "It's server maintenance, it will be fixed on monday" etc etc, I finally was told it was to do with the Safe Guarding Team.

I then went into branch to update my details, everything was fine but this was on Saturday as I could not make it into branch during work hours as i couldn't get the time off work. Therefore I had to wait till the following Monday before the Safe Guarding team could remove the restrictions as they are only open Monday - Friday 9am-5pm.

On Monday I tried to send the payment and again, it was still not working. I rang up during work and after 90mins on the phone they told me the restrictions had already been removed. That night I again tried to send the payment and again it did not work. Every day I spent on Live Chat or on the Phone (with a £40 phone bill) trying to get this fixed.

I was then told that it was due to a relative being linked to my account, so I drove 45mins to a bank during the really bad snow weather that was open after work to then remove this relative off my account.

Again I was told it make take a few days to process this. Now on the 3rd week of this issue and yet there is still no resolution!!!

There only suggestion was to open a complaint, which takes them 5 days to acknowledge then up to 8 weeks to come to a resolution, meaning this could yet take another 8 weeks to be fixed!!!

This is the error for anyone googling it due to the stupidity of HSBC support and trying to find answers themselves like I did:

Sorry, there appears to be a system problem. We apologise for the inconvenience. Please contact us for help to make this payment or try again later. Ref [19543]

nicklear

Part of my story, which is similar to many of you (ex-pat going through the "safeguard" mill) is that I couriered the second round of documents they asked for from South Africa and then about 2 months later got a call from the courier company to say they had lost my envelope! It had never been delivered!

I subsequently got my ATM limit reduced to £50, but my account is still open. I never re-sent the docs, partly as I had given so much time and emotional energy to this thing that I'd had enough, but also I thought it was just as lightly that had my docs arrived they might have closed the account. Who knows!

heathrow

I posted this on another thread and thought it might be helpful here:

I'm working in Saudi Arabia (and have been for the last 8 months).


I get paid in US Dollars to a US Dollar account with HSBC UK - I then use Fineco to convert to pounds. I am well paid, working as a contractor here in a tax-free environment. Saudi is a country which raises red flags.

I've successfully been through the HSBC Safeguard process. I know it's successful because they've confirmed that they are content, and will come back to me in 3-5 years.

The trick seems to be:

* Be honest.
* If they leave a message for you, follow up straightaway.
* Answer ALL their questions. I've seen comments here about how HSBC is doing this is for "marketing"; not true. HSBC was sued in the US for money laundring and as part of it not being shut down it is under enormous pressure to put its house in order.

You might think their questions are intrusive - they are, but HSBC wouldn't be doing this unless it really had to. It is an expensive process for them and annoys customers and will generate no new revenue for them.

You might have been a customer for many years but when you opened your first account (e.g. as an apprentice - my mother opened her Midland Bank account in 1963 as a student nurse) they won;t have had anti-money laundering checks.

Pwoodh

I've just spent hours on a their 30 minute questionnaire! And they keep coming back for more info. I have now passed their deadline and I'm being threatened with account closure. I'm coming to the conclusion that they don't want small businesses and so after banking with them for over 20 years, I will be voting with my feet.

meer53

Pwoodh wrote: »

I've just spent hours on a their 30 minute questionnaire! And they keep coming back for more info. I have now passed their deadline and I'm being threatened with account closure. I'm coming to the conclusion that they don't want small businesses and so after banking with them for over 20 years, I will be voting with my feet.

Keep all your information to hand as you'll need to provide it to the next bank you apply to.

familytr33

The trick seems to be:

* Be honest.
* If they leave a message for you, follow up straightaway.
* Answer ALL their questions. I've seen comments here about how HSBC is doing this is for "marketing"; not true. HSBC was sued in the US for money laundring and as part of it not being shut down it is under enormous pressure to put its house in order.

It sounds like you are blaming the people who are going through this c*&p.

I don't think anyone is complaining about having to verify address info, etc, and we are certainly not being dishonest!

The problem is DEFINITIVELY with the processes of the SafeGuard department at HSBC and the COMPLETE LACK OF COMMUNICATION.

I received a letter which said I could submit documents electronically and they were accepted fine.

Safeguard told me on the phone (after 3 hours) my documents were great, even though I could not get my money out.

They let me make a wire at that point but subsequently locked my account again.

They then mailed me the *&^% letter AGAIN and said I had to submit hard copies this time. Beyond that that f@*k-up...

1. The dreaded letter seems like it was written by a 15 year old with english as a second language.

2. My letter said I have to visit a (a) UK Consulate (1000 miles away), (b) a lawyer on the legal 500 list (maybe within 150 miles) or (c) a bank. All of which are highly inconvenient. I don't have a high street bank in US and after being rejected by local banks I finally had to go through my employer's bank.

3. The letter says the person at the bank has to be certified. It does not say in what!


Despite the fact I have submitted electronic copies which were accepted, and subsequently sent in hard copies almost 3 weeks ago, I still do not have access to my funds.

I am now in week 12 of not being able to access my money at HSBC. And I am getting nothing from HSBC to explain why.

ft.

heathrow

It sounds like you are blaming the people who are going through this c*&p.

I don't think anyone is complaining about having to verify address info, etc, and we are certainly not being dishonest!


At the top of this thread there are comments along the lines of:

Don't answer their questions - they are trying to get information to sell you stuff.

Tell HSBC to get stuffed.

Said individuals are then surprised when their accounts are closed.

MarcoM

i have not had any safeguard contact. is this for personal or business accounts?

heathrow

Both.

In my case I'm pretty sure it was triggered by largish regular payments into my US dollar account (my fees from consulting abroad).

Apech707

I too have been subject the SafeGuard - my last letter said they were going to limit my ATM withdrawals to 50 pounds. This was because letters had crossed in the post. Previously I received three copies of the same letter posted on the same day. The threatening letter had no contact details - so I used online customer chat to clarify. It all started months ago when I attempted to use their 'Jumio' (?) system to upload photos of my passport and drivers license - I spent a whole morning trying to get it to work and then phoned the service - and was told to forget about Jumio and (as I was abroad) go to a listed person to get them to certify copies. I went to my GP in Portugal and he signed it - they then contacted me to say they couldn't accept the copies because they couldn't read the stamp and so on because it was in Portuguese. I suggested they have it translated - but they said they couldn't do that. Now I am asked again to send a utility bill stamped and signed by a bank - they insist on a postal bill even though for most things I have signed up for e-billing (cos of the environment) - the form which they emailed to me (a breakthrough in communication for them) asks for the person signing the documents to translate them also - which I'm guessing is beyond the ability of my local bank teller.

During the phone call which preceded this request they started to dig into not just details about my use of the HSBC current account (which I've had since 1971) but also if I had any other accounts - what they were for and so on. I think that the reason this process gets so annoying is that it is presented as safeguarding the customer but actually its about preventing fraud and money laundering etc. All the way through this several month process I found it hard to identify how anything they were doing was safeguarding.

Without wishing to go fully into the realm of paranoid conspiracy theory I do feel a blurred boundary between banks and other private companies and the government and law enforcement. I read the other day that the govt. is using banks to detect illegal immigrants and freeze their accounts to force them to leave the UK. ....