HSBC Advance Opening Timescale

bravotango

ceepan wrote: »

I tried to call them and just ended up on hold for 20 minutes. I gave up after that.

Just a waiting game then...

pfpf

applied for an account on the 22nd (online). was told they'd be in touch. is there a consensus as to whether the longer it takes to hear from them is better or worse from an acceptance POV?
reading peoples experiences I'd actually be surprised if I were accepted but do they ever flat out decline / accept at application or is it normally a waiting game?

d70cw6

it normally takes several weeks to open an account. they love their manual docs and snail mail.

deviousimp

I applied to open mine at the same time as their credit card, so about a month ago. I got my card about a week ago but am still waiting on the PIN! Slow indeed. Their credit card took three weeks to set up.

Wirenth

I applied for this account on 7 September. For interested parties, this is the time-line so far:

1. 12 Sept, a letter dated 7 Sept, arrived requesting I fill in a Signature Record Form, which I posted the same day.
2. 14 Sept, a letter dated 9 Sept with the Terms and Conditions of the switching offer
3. 26 September, a debit card arrives
4. 27 September, a letter dated 22 Sept arrives requesting I fill in a form detailing some memorable data. This will apparently allow me to access telephone and internet banking. Note: you can't register for internet banking without a telephone banking security number. The letter tells me that they will issue this precious number within 6 working days after receipt of the form; I post the form back the same day.
5. 28 September, a cheque book arrived
6. 28 September, the card PIN arrived
7. 28 September, a letter dated 22 September requesting I confirm I am resident for tax purposes in UK only and that I am a citizen of the UK only. Only reply if this information is incorrect; I suspect a FATCA allergy?
8. 28 September, a letter dated 23 September offering an overdraft. No response required.

I suspect that there is not a hope in hell of this telephone banking security number arriving promptly, such that I can register for internet banking and implement the switching service within 30 days of account opening. I don't think this £150 is going to materialize....will be very interested to see how many MSErs make the timeline.

pfpf

pfpf wrote: »

applied for an account on the 22nd (online). was told they'd be in touch. is there a consensus as to whether the longer it takes to hear from them is better or worse from an acceptance POV?
reading peoples experiences I'd actually be surprised if I were accepted but do they ever flat out decline / accept at application or is it normally a waiting game?

...and denied not surprised though. offered a "current account" and to go in to branch if I want it. nope.

jimjames

ratechaser wrote: »

There's another thread somewhere on this but basically HSBC were by far the slowest and least communicative of all the accounts I've opened this year (which is a lot )

I recently applied for a currency account to go alongside it - 3 days was the estimate on the website. It took 5 weeks.

So I wouldn't hold your breath...

Same for me last year. It doesnt look like they've improved. Measure their timescales in months rather than days

charlieboycat

Wirenth wrote: »

I applied for this account on 7 September. For interested parties, this is the time-line so far:

1. 12 Sept, a letter dated 7 Sept, arrived requesting I fill in a Signature Record Form, which I posted the same day.
2. 14 Sept, a letter dated 9 Sept with the Terms and Conditions of the switching offer
3. 26 September, a debit card arrives
4. 27 September, a letter dated 22 Sept arrives requesting I fill in a form detailing some memorable data. This will apparently allow me to access telephone and internet banking. Note: you can't register for internet banking without a telephone banking security number. The letter tells me that they will issue this precious number within 6 working days after receipt of the form; I post the form back the same day.
5. 28 September, a cheque book arrived
6. 28 September, the card PIN arrived
7. 28 September, a letter dated 22 September requesting I confirm I am resident for tax purposes in UK only and that I am a citizen of the UK only. Only reply if this information is incorrect; I suspect a FATCA allergy?
8. 28 September, a letter dated 23 September offering an overdraft. No response required.

I suspect that there is not a hope in hell of this telephone banking security number arriving promptly, such that I can register for internet banking and implement the switching service within 30 days of account opening. I don't think this £150 is going to materialize....will be very interested to see how many MSErs make the timeline.

Hi Wirenth - Any chance you could give an update? Thanks.

Charlieboy