HSBC credit card direct debit nightmare!!

skintdaddy79

So, i got myself into wee pickle with credit card debt, and head in sand, i let it build up. Stupid i know but i realised the error of my ways and decided to get it sorted. So i'm attacking the debt with 0% interest balance transfer cards.I have a Lloyds, Santander and an HSBC 0% which i am using to pay off. I've set up direct debits to pay off a set amount each month.
Lloyds= direct debit set up online in minutes. Santander= the same, no problem.
HSBC= not so good!!!!! Basically with them i had to post a direct debit instruction to them to set it up. OK, everywhere works slightly different so i did this. Maybe this is my fault ; but i posted it and assumed they'd receive it and set it up and off we go.... Not so.
A few weeks down the line i had a text saying i'd missed a payment and need to pay right away plus a £12 late payment fee!!! I advised them i'd posted the direct debit form but they said they never received it..... So after paying this and a long phone call, i asked for the direct debit to set up there and then , which they said it now was. Happy days.
Again.... not so!!! A few more weeks down the line and another text; missed payment!!!
Another phone call and , apparently, not to my knowledge but a direct debit with them can take up to 35 days to be set up and be 'active' !!!! What the actual **** ??!!!
HSBC wavered the late fee this time and admitted they were at fault for not making me aware of this.
Just a warning to others really when setting up direct debits. Check how long it takes!!!! (hopefully not 35 bloody days!)

[Deleted User]

They'll all take a similar time or longer, as the amount needs to be communicated to the customer a couple of weeks in advance, meaning it has to fit in with statement cycles.

YorkshireBoy

When you up a DD you're instructed to check your next statement and if the message doesn't appear on it saying the DD will be collected on xx/xx/xx then you're to make a payment by other means.

It would appear you failed to check two consecutive statements for this message. This is a bad habit and one you need to break going forward.

Generally speaking, a DD takes 10 working days to set up, so you need to action the request at least 10 working days before your next statement...and the best time to do this is as soon as possible after opening the account, because there's a month to the first statement production.

dr_adidas01

Very strange that, as when I first set my direct debit up with HSBC I received a text message saying my direct debit wouldn't be set up in time for my first statement. Plus I wouldn't have assumed it would be setup immediately and ready for my first statement as stated by most companies it can take up to 10 to 15 days for it to be completed.


The onus is on you to check that it said in your statement that your payment will be taken by direct debit and the date it specifies, not just assume it will be.

[Deleted User]

skintdaddy79 wrote: »

So, i got myself into wee pickle with credit card debt, and head in sand, i let it build up. Stupid i know but i realised the error of my ways and decided to get it sorted. So i'm attacking the debt with 0% interest balance transfer cards.I have a Lloyds, Santander and an HSBC 0% which i am using to pay off. I've set up direct debits to pay off a set amount each month.
Lloyds= direct debit set up online in minutes. Santander= the same, no problem.
HSBC= not so good!!!!! Basically with them i had to post a direct debit instruction to them to set it up. OK, everywhere works slightly different so i did this. Maybe this is my fault ; but i posted it and assumed they'd receive it and set it up and off we go.... Not so.
A few weeks down the line i had a text saying i'd missed a payment and need to pay right away plus a £12 late payment fee!!! I advised them i'd posted the direct debit form but they said they never received it..... So after paying this and a long phone call, i asked for the direct debit to set up there and then , which they said it now was. Happy days.
Again.... not so!!! A few more weeks down the line and another text; missed payment!!!
Another phone call and , apparently, not to my knowledge but a direct debit with them can take up to 35 days to be set up and be 'active' !!!! What the actual **** ??!!!
HSBC wavered the late fee this time and admitted they were at fault for not making me aware of this.
Just a warning to others really when setting up direct debits. Check how long it takes!!!! (hopefully not 35 bloody days!)

You need to read your statements then and look at the payment advise/instruction that's on there.

It will say whether a DD is setup to collect the payment or not.

CakeCrusader

HSBC are a pain. I set my DD up online using my credit card info page. I called a couple of days later and was told it wasn't possible to set up a DD online as I wasn't a banking customer, and they would send me a DD form out. I could fill it in, post it back, or take it into a branch. A week later I received a letter from them confirming my DD details (I hadn't filled the form in or sent it off), and it's been coming out of my account ever since. I check my statements and the payments show on there. You could do with setting up a DD online and checking your statements. If they don't take a payment then just make one yourself and go into a branch.

vacheron

CakeCrusader wrote: »

HSBC are a pain. I set my DD up online using my credit card info page. I called a couple of days later and was told it wasn't possible to set up a DD online as I wasn't a banking customer, and they would send me a DD form out. I could fill it in, post it back, or take it into a branch. A week later I received a letter from them confirming my DD details (I hadn't filled the form in or sent it off), and it's been coming out of my account ever since. I check my statements and the payments show on there. You could do with setting up a DD online and checking your statements. If they don't take a payment then just make one yourself and go into a branch.

Couldn't agree more as I've just been through the exact same process with my new HSBC Credit Card Statement.

When I first applied for the card, I filled in the details for them to set up the Direct Debit (minimum payment) from my Santander account during the application process.

45 days after receiving the card (and 15 days before the first Direct Debit payment was due) I checked HSBC online, and was the Santander Direct Debit set up? No!

So I went on to their online banking and is there a quick way to make a single, simple debit card payment? There is not!

Instead, the only 2 options are to attempt to re-set up the Santander Direct Debit (which involves printing out and posting a paper Direct Debit mandate which can apparently take weeks), or to set up a Direct Debit from an HSBC group company (which takes 24 hours).

So rather than using my preferred Santander account to pay the bill, I instead had to use my First Direct account to set up the direct debit for expediency. Received confirmation from HSBC that the direct debit was set up on the 12th of April DD showing on FD website too as being set up on that date.

Credit card bill due date comes around of the 26th of April, and is the payment taken? It is not.

Ring HSBC to ask why. They can give no explanation, but say if any late payment charges or credit file additions are made they will cancel them as it was their error.

Out of the 12 credit cards I have, HSBC have been most outdated and problematic by far. I had an Advance current account with them a few years ago too and was thoroughly underwhelmed by that as well and left as soon as the promotion ended.

CakeCrusader

vacheron wrote: »

Couldn't agree more as I've just been through the exact same process with my new HSBC Credit Card Statement.

When I first applied for the card, I filled in the details for them to set up the Direct Debit (minimum payment) from my Santander account during the application process.

45 days after receiving the card (and 15 days before the first Direct Debit payment was due) I checked HSBC online, and was the Santander Direct Debit set up? No!

So I went on to their online banking and is there a quick way to make a single, simple debit card payment? There is not!

Instead, the only 2 options are to attempt to re-set up the Santander Direct Debit (which involves printing out and posting a paper Direct Debit mandate which can apparently take weeks), or to set up a Direct Debit from an HSBC group company (which takes 24 hours).

So rather than using my preferred Santander account to pay the bill, I instead had to use my First Direct account to set up the direct debit for expediency. Received confirmation from HSBC that the direct debit was set up on the 12th of April DD showing on FD website too as being set up on that date.

Credit card bill due date comes around of the 26th of April, and is the payment taken? It is not.

Ring HSBC to ask why. They can give no explanation, but say if any late payment charges or credit file additions are made they will cancel them as it was their error.

Out of the 12 credit cards I have, HSBC have been most outdated and problematic by far. I had an Advance current account with them a few years ago too and was thoroughly underwhelmed by that as well and left as soon as the promotion ended.

The only word I can use here is 'doh!'.



Their minimum payment's a lot more than Tesco too, just so you know. It means you clear your balance faster, which is good, but it can be a bit of a surprise.