HSBC might reject you

baldric300

Last year I applied for an HSBC Advance account to take advantage of the switching cash offer. I was rejected. Following a complaint, HSBC refused to tell me why I was rejected, citing something like "commercially sensitive data cannot be divulged to you". Verbally they indicated that it was probably down to income not being able support the monthly pay in requirement. Whilst my declared income wouldn't support the pay in, my cash reserves would.


Well, a new financial year is upon us and the income from the company that I own and run will change and will support the monthly pay in. A new offer is now available from HSBC too (the original offer was terminated), so I reapplied. Despite declaring income capable of supporting the monthly pay in I have been rejected again.


So why are they rejecting me now? Nobody at HSBC knows (or will admit they know). I was told I could complain again but what's the point? The end result of any new complaint will be the same as the original complaint.


My suspicion is that they have reason to believe that the account will be operated in minimal fashion for the express purpose of obtaining switching incentive. This is, in fact, the case. But if that is the real reason then they should explain up front, before application, that they have such criteria so that time is not wasted by applicants and by HSBC staff.


I suppose I could take it to the Ombudsman but life's too short.

eskbanker

Their published criteria are necessary but not sufficient, i.e. if you don't meet them then you won't be accepted, but even if you do you're not guaranteed. All banks are the same to a greater or lesser extent but HSBC are renowned for being more picky than most.

Having said that, you say your income 'will change' but that you've already declared the higher figure on the application - I seem to recall from another thread they expect to see evidence of three months income at the declared level, although think that's after acceptance. They may have picked up on the discrepancy between your applications and again I think I've read that they have some means of validating declared income, either against other credit applications or other shared databases (sorry for vagueness, maybe worth perusing some HSBC threads on here for more info).

As you say, you could take it to the ombudsman but what would you hope to achieve? They're not a regulator and couldn't force HSBC to accept your application....

So, time to move on and come up with another cunning plan

theburningcat

"In Soviet Russia, HSBC decides you're too much trouble for them"

bravotango

Computer says No

There is no obligation from any company (regardless of whether it is a bank, or a company you might want to work for) they have to accept you.

I've heard a few people mention on here that they are more likely to get accepted if applying within the branch rather than online, and so you can try that. Obviously if you live far away from a branch, then it's up to you whether you want to travel to a branch or not, but if you are desperate and I do mean you are absolutely desperate to open up an account, then you'll just have to bear the brunt of the initial cost of travelling there (hopefully the switch bonus covers most of this, otherwise you'll be best to look elswhere).

I can only assume they have other "internal" criteria you do not fulfil, hence why they are rejecting your application. Your "financial profile" doesn't fit their target market.

elephantrosie

all you need to do is a buy a HSBC UK share.
as a shareholder, you are eligible to attend their annual meeting.
at the annual general meeting, voice your concerns of not being able to open a current account with hsbc.

Dobbibill

You've reapplied after your income has increased........but HSBC never said they declined you because of your income.

You're just not the 'type' of customer they want - I would bank elsewhere and not give them another thought.

PeacefulWaters

elephantrosie wrote: »

all you need to do is a buy a HSBC UK share.
as a shareholder, you are eligible to attend their annual meeting.
at the annual general meeting, voice your concerns of not being able to open a current account with hsbc.

Somebody doing that would look a complete pillock though.

Self employed with modest income isn't really HSBC's target market.

meer53

Giving applicants their internal criteria defeats the object of it being there.

Finance_Ben

I have nothing but bad words to say about HSBC, I found myself in a similar, albeit quite laughable, situation to yourself but WHILST being a customer.

When contactless cards were becoming the norm, I had an HSBC account and my debit card was set to renew. The new card I received in the post was not a contactless one, so I rang them up to enquire as to why not and asked if I would be able to have one sent to my address. The agent had a look and said no, that my account did not meet the criteria for having a contactless card... but then would not tell me what the criteria were, and which ones I did not meet! After a lengthy back and forth, I spoke to a manager who also said he was not allowed to tell me and by this time I had just given up.

Two weeks later, I received a contactless card in the post with no written information as to why they were now sending me one. During this time, I also had a fair bit of dodgy activity on my account (available balance not reconciling with my very detailed ledgers that I update daily), and thankfully I have now switched to a decent account with a much better provider.

If I had to say anything about HSBC it would be two words: STEER CLEAR.