Don't waste your time trying to open a HSBC Advance account

sacherlover

We have a joint current account with N&P. N&P are pulling out of current accounts.

We read the MSE article and decided to go for the HSBS Advance account. What a waste of time that decision has been:
Went to major branch in nearest Town this morning, with all ID and proof of address. No, can't see us until much later in the day - (we are hardly going to wait around for hours just to suit the bank).

Given a number for telephone banking to arrange an appointment at another branch. Telephone Banking is an offshore call centre - it was painful. It took nearly 15 minutes for the man to take our address details (even House had to be spelled out a couple of times). Then he tells me it is a three week wait for an appointment to open an account!

Then tried Live Chat and was given another phone number. Can deal with this over the phone when my partner is with me.

Called the dreaded Telephone Banking number (as directed). The man at the other end can't even access the details that were so laboriously taken earlier today.

My partner is back, so tried the number provided by Live Chat again. Yes, they are aware that the offshore call centre can't access details they themselves have created. Yes, this UK team can open the account over the phone. Nearly 20 minutes later and lots of checking with other people, finally get passed to a lady who can open the account for us. She starts by telling me this will take one hour (and no, they can't call me back) and then we will still have to have an appointment at the branch.

Strangely enough, at that stage we decided to cut our losses and not waste any more time with HSBC.

HSBC directors - you should be ashamed of the whole performance.

Lokolo

Shame really. I've been with them for 15 years, had my advance account since they started it and I even have my mortgage with them and a 5% regular saver.

Always great on the phone and in branch. You just have to book appointments. I don't get what your issue with not doing that. They even said they could see you later on in the day. They're not going to have staff just waiting for people to pop in to open an account. What a waste of money that would be.

tenchy

Lokolo wrote: »

Shame really. I've been with them for 15 years, had my advance account since they started it and I even have my mortgage with them and a 5% regular saver.

Always great on the phone and in branch. You just have to book appointments. I don't get what your issue with not doing that. They even said they could see you later on in the day. They're not going to have staff just waiting for people to pop in to open an account. What a waste of money that would be.

Why not? Opening an account should be a 10 min process, max. It should be handled by the clerk. We hear so much bad about HSBC these days it's a wonder anyone bothers with them at all.

martinsurrey

tenchy wrote: »

Why not? Opening an account should be a 10 min process, max. It should be handled by the clerk. We hear so much bad about HSBC these days it's a wonder anyone bothers with them at all.

As an HSBC customer (over 20 years) I am GLAD they have a wait for appointments and no staff just standing around in case someone decides to walk in to open an account. Less overheads mean a slimmer more efficient bank.

I've never had any issues with them.

Clearly a LOT of people bother with them, hence the queues, so they must be doing something right.

and I seem to remember they weathered the down turn on their own steam.

JuicyJesus

martinsurrey wrote: »

As an HSBC customer (over 20 years) I am GLAD they have a wait for appointments and no staff just standing around in case someone decides to walk in to open an account. Less overheads mean a slimmer more efficient bank.

That's less to do with efficiency and more to do with them cutting staff to the level they don't have any to wait around.

ICan'tStandIt

HSBC...or the Higher Spending Bracket Club as they are known by some.

I think being offered an appointment later in the day isn't the end of the world, but the fact that even new customers have to speak to some well-meaning but woefully out of their depth foreign call centre worker is a bad sign.

Aren't HSBC supposed to be rebranding as Midland Bank again at some stage?

Mchambers

OP....Give this a miss. HSBC was the only bank that rejected my application for an account; namely an advanced account. They had the cheek to offer me a lesser account instead, which I politely told them to p*ss off:rotfl::rotfl: !

Their loss; not mine.

YorkshireBoy

Mchambers wrote: »

OP....Give this a miss. HSBC was the only bank that rejected my application for an account; namely an advanced account. They had the cheek to offer me a lesser account instead, which I politely told them to p*ss off:rotfl::rotfl: !

Their loss; not mine.

Well you've (potentially) lost up to £81.25 by not getting their 5% regular saver, and (up to) £200 by not getting their switching incentive. I make that (up to) £281.25 over 12 months. Plus £81.25 each and every year they run the 5% regular saver.

How much have they lost by not accepting your application?

colsten

Any particular reason why you didn't apply online, OP?

ic

As a PoA for my grandma I used to have to ring the call centre to make payments out of her Advance account. I noticed in the past couple of years the queues on the phone have gotten longer and longer - even at late hours when you'd expect demand to be very low. I finally caved and went to a branch and sorted myself out with online access - something they didn't use to provide to PoAs.

tenchy

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Well you've (potentially) lost up to £81.25 by not getting their 5% regular saver, and (up to) £200 by not getting their switching incentive. I make that (up to) £281.25 over 12 months. Plus £81.25 each and every year they run the 5% regular saver.

How much have they lost by not accepting your application?

This assumes that no other bank has similar offers. As to how much the bank has lost, well who knows. The personal circumstances of any customer may change in the future. Maybe they've p*ssed off the next Bill Gates.