HSBC Advanced refused

HBarca

I was intending to switch my main bank account to the HSBC Advanced account to take advantage of the now no longer available switch bonus of £200. I applied in plenty of time but was refused on what they called internal scoring. I met all the criteria for eligibility, so I do not see why. I called them and I was told that it was probably because my actual income did not match the £1750 monthly pay in. I explained that that my income was irrelevant because I would be paying in other money from another non HSBC account. I have done the same in the past to qualify successfully for other accounts, and is effectively the same advice given out by MSE in such cases.
The rep on the phone then said that I would qualify but would have to prove my other credits into the account by going to a branch appointment, which is what I did, taking any relevant paperwork.
At the end of the interrogation into all my personal finances. I was still not given an answer, as the interviewer said they had to make a call, to find out something, and would call me later that day.
Later they called and said I could not open the Advanced account, despite meeting all their published criteria and against the normally foolproof advice on this site. They simply cited that I did not meet their internal scoring. I could not get anything more out of them but they offered to open a standard account and later upgrade to the advance (not qualifying for the switch bonus of course). However they were prepared to offer me their Premier account which as I understand it is a higher grade than the Advance.
Needless to say I will be complaining to them, for wasting my time in the least.
Any comments or views on this situation would me of interest to me. Advice from MSE is second to none and always up to date so I was shocked to be refused. If anyone from the MSE team could look into this, it would be fantastic.

eskbanker

If you read through other HSBC threads on here, you'll find that you're far from alone in being declined for an account with them - as you've found they have internal scoring as well as the published criteria, and many believe that if they meet the latter then they should automatically be accepted, but it doesn't work like that!

I don't know exactly which advice you're referring to but MSE would be extremely rash to suggest their recommendations are always guaranteed of acceptance, and (with the possible exception of recent changes to basic bank account provision) no bank is obliged to take on any customer if they choose not to.

HBarca

Hi eskbanker
Thanks for your reply. I know they can refuse applications, but they did not actually tell me why! Then they further waisted my time suggesting I would be accepted if I gave them all my personal info in a appointment. Thats why I am annoyed.
I did not suggest MSE would guarantee my acceptance, and the advice I was talking about was moving money around to meet banks funding criteria.

DCFC79

HBarca wrote: »

I was intending to switch my main bank account to the HSBC Advanced account to take advantage of the now no longer available switch bonus of £200. I applied in plenty of time but was refused on what they called internal scoring. I met all the criteria for eligibility, so I do not see why. I called them and I was told that it was probably because my actual income did not match the £1750 monthly pay in. I explained that that my income was irrelevant because I would be paying in other money from another non HSBC account. I have done the same in the past to qualify successfully for other accounts, and is effectively the same advice given out by MSE in such cases.
The rep on the phone then said that I would qualify but would have to prove my other credits into the account by going to a branch appointment, which is what I did, taking any relevant paperwork.
At the end of the interrogation into all my personal finances. I was still not given an answer, as the interviewer said they had to make a call, to find out something, and would call me later that day.
Later they called and said I could not open the Advanced account, despite meeting all their published criteria and against the normally foolproof advice on this site. They simply cited that I did not meet their internal scoring. I could not get anything more out of them but they offered to open a standard account and later upgrade to the advance (not qualifying for the switch bonus of course). However they were prepared to offer me their Premier account which as I understand it is a higher grade than the Advance.
Needless to say I will be complaining to them, for wasting my time in the least.
Any comments or views on this situation would me of interest to me. Advice from MSE is second to none and always up to date so I was shocked to be refused. If anyone from the MSE team could look into this, it would be fantastic.

Why would the MSE team look into it ?

You were turned down for an account thats all there is too it.

Yes your time was wasted but for the bank to complete the application you needed to go in branch where the application was finalised.

They wont tell you why you faildd the internal scoring as that would defeat the purpose of internal scoring applicants.

Some banks are stricter than others, more lenient if you like.

bravotango

I think I've said this before on a previous post, and I'll say it again. Applying for a Current Account (doesn't matter the Bank/Building Society) is a bit like going to a job interview. You may have met the minimum criteria to apply for the job to get the job interview, but they (i.e. the Company) have the right to employ who they feel is the "right" candidate after the job interview. In this case, they have the right to say "sorry due to internal scoring checks, you're not our type of customer".

I'd just move on to be honest.

Don't get me wrong, they made have made a mistake, but as you have tried applying online, and they rejected you, and then going into a branch they have rejected you, then I think "the HSBC computer says No!".

eskbanker

HBarca wrote: »

I did not suggest MSE would guarantee my acceptance

OK, not the exact words you used but a reasonable inference from "Advice from MSE is second to none and always up to date so I was shocked to be refused".

HBarca wrote: »

the advice I was talking about was moving money around to meet banks funding criteria.

To be fair, http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts does clearly state:

Some banks have wised up to this [cycling money between accounts], though – we've had reports that HSBC in particular may not accept you if your income's not high enough to meet the pay-in.

HBarca

Hi DCF79
Sorry, for thinking that a large bank such as HSBC would put together criteria for their accounts that actually match what perspective customers know they can meet and be honest about what they are looking for in a customer. Instead they seem to be on a fishing trip for the (secret)"right type" of customer but have not tailored their criterion to fit. Since posting this I realise there is a lot of posts on here where people has the same sort of experience. In that light, as MSE prides itself on giving great reliable true information to us, I don't think it would be odd to ask them to look into it, from a journalistic/consumer affairs point of view.

HBarca

Thanks again Eskbanker.
I obviously am not reading MSE as much as I used to. I can see this seems par for the course with HSBC.
Odd that they should offer me their premier account tho! (after they nosed into my finances)

DCFC79

HBarca wrote: »

Hi DCF79
Sorry, for thinking that a large bank such as HSBC would put together criteria for their accounts that actually match what perspective customers know they can meet and be honest about what they are looking for in a customer. Instead they seem to be on a fishing trip for the (secret)"right type" of customer but have not tailored their criterion to fit. Since posting this I realise there is a lot of posts on here where people has the same sort of experience. In that light, as MSE prides itself on giving great reliable true information to us, I don't think it would be odd to ask them to look into it, from a journalistic/consumer affairs point of view.

What would you like the MSE team to do ? They cant be made to be less strict on who they accept as customers.

HSBC are entitled to decide who they offer accounts too, yes you met the min requirements but not the internal scoring. Its the same with job applications theres the min requirements and the interview (guess you ccould call it the internal scoring).

Loans from Sainsburys bank are picky who they offer loans too going by many threads on the forums.

Mannanan

Ok, last year I wanted to open an HSBC Advance account just to get the 6% RS. I knew they were picky so I just lied on the online application about two things, income and employment. I grossly exaggerated my employment status and salary. I knew I could fund with £2000 pcm easily from my savings anyway. The Advance account was opened without a hitch along with the RS. The only monthly transaction on the Advance account is to feed into the regular saver. No one has come chasing me yet for falsifying my application as they have no reason to. It's just about getting over the initial application hurdle and provided you stay under the radar, it's plain sailing. Not recommending this method necessarily, but it is an option.

veryintrigued

Sounds like a terrible experience and worthy of lots of compensation after a public inquiry.