Wrong Address

shilps2000

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone else has had the same problem as me. I had an overdraft with HSBC I was paying off
I thought I'd finish paying the overdraft, but then I received a letter from HSBC saying I was in arrears. I asked several times for bank statements so I could see how this was. Several times I was assured the statements had been sent out. And yet I still hadn't received them.
In the meantime I was getting letters from their debt recovery department.
I put a complaint in. I got a response saying they were looking in to it.
Today I received another letter saying the debt had been transferred over to Repayment Services.
I called them to say it was supposed to be on hold until everything was resolved. They confirmed that the response to the complaint had been sent out, saying there's been no error on their part, and that they'd sent the statements out as I requested.
But then when the advisor looked further he noticed the letter, and the statements had been sent to a random address. Not one I've ever lived in, or recognise for that matter.
Been finding this all very stressful. And knowing that someone else has been able to see very personal information about me is really worrying.
They're looking into how this error happened, but it's really unnerved me. Should I be worried?

Brewer20

Don't you bank online, statements are available there and surely easy to keep a check on things?


It's not on though they got your address wrong, giving your info to someone else.

eskbanker

On the face of it, they're in breach of the Data Protection Act if they've sent your data to someone else.

While you're waiting for them to complete their investigation, it would be worth checking your credit files with the three credit rating agencies to see if there's anything unexpected on any of them: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/check-free-credit-report/

I'd expect HSBC to call off the debt collectors and repair any defaults arising from their error, and would also anticipate a goodwill gesture, although chances are you'll still owe them the bulk of the money unless it's a relatively trivial amount suitable for writing off.

When did you last receive any statements from them?

Willing2Learn

I would add the address issue to your current complaint so that it all gets investigated. If they don't offer a satisfactory resolution, then you can escalate to the FOS and/or ICO

shilps2000

No, unfortunately not. And then once the account was closed I didn’t receive any statements. I assumed it was because I’d closed the account. Now I’m wondering if they did send statenents even then, but to the fictional address.
Thanks. Will be more vigilant now.
Could anyone use those statements for anything other than reading material?!

shilps2000

Thank you. It’s around £320. The response to the complaint I made was sent to the wrong address. Ironically it said that they had sent the statements, and not had them being returned, so therefore not made any errors.

eskbanker

shilps2000 wrote: »

And then once the account was closed I didn’t receive any statements. I assumed it was because I’d closed the account.

They wouldn't have closed the account if the overdraft hadn't been fully repaid, did they issue anything in writing to confirm account closure?

Flobberchops

Well, having admitted to sending correspondence to a completely inaccurate address (not just an old address, but one you've never lived at) by my reckoning they don't have a leg to stand on. You should ask they amend the existing complaint to reflect the fact that you didn't receive updates on the recovery process and therefore weren't in a position to comply with their requests. Therefore if there is indeed any of the overdraft outstanding, they should start the recovery procedure from scratch, giving you a chance to work out repayments. You may also want to ask them to consider the really quite serious breach in data protection they have committed, possibly stating that you will be content to accept distress and inconvenience money equal in value to the outstanding overdraft, in addition to an apology and assurances your personal details have been corrected, to bring the situation to a resolution?



It sounds audacious but they really have admitted to a serious breach of customer data. Perhaps be prepared to move your banking elsewhere if they decide the "banking relationship has broken down", though.