HSBC/FIrst Direct Scandals

flomingo

Hiya,

Although I really love this website, I sometimes wonder why you are encouraging people to switch to HSBS or first direct, which is a part of the HSBC group, when they have found themselves in scandals over and over again? Surely, we should be directing people away from this banking group.

HSBC has been found guilty of laundering money for the Mexican cartel and helped other criminals launder money, which has been exposed.

Nicholas Wilson also won a campaign for excessive credit card charges. Clearly, they cannot be trusted.

Thank you

Browntoa

I voted yes as I like HSBC

All banks are the same if you look , all have scandals and fines in the past

Herbalus

Have they done things wrong in the past? Yes.

Have other banks done things wrong in the past? Yes.

Did the US Department of Justice consider that HSBC have implemented enough controls and made sufficient progress to drop all criminal charges? Yes.

Any reason you have picked on HSBC over any other bank?

Shakin_Steve

What was the question again? :undecided

jonesMUFCforever

OP so you are telling us that in the whole of your life up to now you have not done anything wrong?
If like 100% of other people you have done wrong things should they now stop dealing with you?

It's fine to have a rant - we all do it at times but the poll I'm afraid is a bit of a joke - even you have not voted no!

John-K_3

flomingo wrote: »

Hiya,

Although I really love this website, I sometimes wonder why you are encouraging people to switch to HSBS or first direct, which is a part of the HSBC group, when they have found themselves in scandals over and over again? Surely, we should be directing people away from this banking group.

HSBC has been found guilty of laundering money for the Mexican cartel and helped other criminals launder money, which has been exposed.

Nicholas Wilson also won a campaign for excessive credit card charges. Clearly, they cannot be trusted.

Thank you

I am not sure if you are dishonest, ignorant, or both, but no, they have not been found guilty of laundering money.

They were fined for not checking carefully enough that their customers were laundering money. This difference is not semantics, it is a critical point. They had any money-laundering checks, but they could have been more robust, and criminals exploited the weakness.

Katiehound

Has it come round to inane poll time again?

Haven't all the banks been hauled over the coals at some stage ( or some high powered bank exec)?

eskbanker

Recent scandals?

flomingo wrote: »

HSBC has been found guilty of laundering money for the Mexican cartel and helped other criminals launder money, which has been exposed.

The issue arose in 2007/8 and, as above, they weren't found guilty as such anyway.

flomingo wrote: »

Nicholas Wilson also won a campaign for excessive credit card charges.

Arising from the practices carried out by HFC before it was acquired by HSBC in 2003....

System

Browntoa wrote: »

All banks are the same if you look , all have scandals and fines in the past

This obviously but im still moving away from HSBC. Had 2 phone calls in the last month asking me 1001 questions about my occupation and about my account activity. Doesn't help that i could hardly understand what they were saying but while no other bank is that intrusive i see no reason to give them my business.

Also i was rejected for a first direct account a few years ago and tried again recently. Got a email asking me to call them and they explained as i had already applied i would need to do a telephone interview which would take 45 minutes! My credit report is excellent and have been able to open accounts with ease at every other banking group.

Herbalus

mxhoward84 wrote: »

This obviously but im still moving away from HSBC. Had 2 phone calls in the last month asking me 1001 questions about my occupation and about my account activity. Doesn't help that i could hardly understand what they were saying but while no other bank is that intrusive i see no reason to give them my business.

Also i was rejected for a first direct account a few years ago and tried again recently. Got a email asking me to call them and they explained as i had already applied i would need to do a telephone interview which would take 45 minutes! My credit report is excellent and have been able to open accounts with ease at every other banking group.

Ah, so the reason for your disdain is that first direct wanted to ask you some questions about how you would use their product before accepting you as a customer.

Nothing to do with any scandals.

robatwork

The problem, OP, is, they are all as bad as each other.

Britain's "ethical" bank used to be Co-op. Founded and run on ethical principles. You can google Paul Flowers.

What you really have to accept is that all banks are run by humans, who want to make money for themselves.

I don't happen to share the general MSE love-in about first direct - I don't like their online offering and the fact that you can't see a mortgage account online unless you bank with them. But they're no worse than Barclays, Lloyds et al.