HSBC have blocked my account and card

petethesteam

Hi, I hope someone can help me?

Last Tuesday I found out that HSBC have blocked both my card and account, I cannot do anything, and am already receiving letters from my energy company, JD Williams and Hitachi Capital (sofa financing) so I’m in dire straits all ready.

The problem I’m having is that I’m deaf without a proper text phone and I have mobility issues, this means I cannot go into the branch for a meeting as they keep telling me I have to do. I’ve tried chat, secure message, email and telephone using text relay. I don’t know what to do? Chat said they couldn’t help, send a message, so I sent a secure message and they don’t have the power so told me to call (quite deaf as I said) or go to a branch (cannot)... so then told me to phone telephone banking which I did using NGT lite a text relay service, they said they could do it but I need to wait for a new telephone secure code?? Which takes 7 days. I got very fed up so have complained to customer services who has come back and said I need a meeting in branch. I’ve replied stating once again I’m not mobile. I don’t know what to do, surely I can get it all unblocked without physically going to a branch which again I can’t do...I’m 79 and admittedly have been using my overdraft all the time and going beyond.

I need to say that although someone did phone my home, daughter answered and I was at my sons, I have never received another call nor a letter stating why they’ve done this?? Also they are putting me into a financially worse position, can they do this and how can I fix it?

Thanks in advance

Robin9

They problem suspect you of money laundering. They will not tell you how long their investigations will take. It's pointless going to branch or communicating with them.

Have you paid any monies in or bought anything from abroad, bitcoins etc.

Have you a second account you can use ?

Nicholas

I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but it may be your overdraft issues that are causing the problem.

How did you get around your sons? Maybe use the same method to get to the front door of the HSBC branch?

I'm not having a go, or trying to catch you out, just trying to understand how you are mobile for some destinations but not for others.

When you get all this sorted, you may want to consider trying to change to First Direct (part of HSBC). They don't have any branches, so it's not something that could be expected of you in the future, although I do realise that this doesn't help at the moment.

petethesteam

Money laundering....? I’m 79, I have the state pension going every week and another small pension going in once a month. I buy a lot from Amazon and I give my card to my daughter to use if she shops for me. I have been using Skybet and Skybingo over the last 2 years, which granted has not helped my financial situation.

As for mobility...no I can’t blinking get to the door of the branch, my son picked me up to take me to his by just that physically picking me up and putting me in the car!!

How can they continue to put me in a worse position?

And no, no second account. I need this resolved before I’m in complete debt!

SnowTiger

Robin9 wrote: »

They problem suspect you of money laundering. They will not tell you how long their investigations will take. It's pointless going to branch or communicating with them.

Have you paid any monies in or bought anything from abroad, bitcoins etc.

Have you a second account you can use ?

Or it could be that the money the OP thinks is theirs actually belongs to the bank:

petethesteam wrote: »

Last Tuesday I found out that HSBC have blocked both my card and account, I cannot do anything, and am already receiving letters from my energy company, JD Williams and Hitachi Capital (sofa financing) so I’m in dire straits all ready.

[...]

I’m 79 and admittedly have been using my overdraft all the time and going beyond.

HSBC offers some advice about how deaf customers can contact them here: https://www.hsbc.co.uk/accessibility/deaf-hearing-or-speech-impaired/.

However, the page may not offer the OP much help.

My advice to OP: write a short letter to HSBC outlining the issues and ask for their advice. Perhaps you could give HSBC permission to talk to you son or daughter directly about the issues.

Perhaps your son or daughter could gift/lend you money by paying the bills for you.

It appears you've had financial problems for a while. Perhaps now would be a good time to discuss them with your family and try to work out a solution. Some people are simply really bad at dealing with money.

petethesteam

SnowTiger wrote: »

Or it could be that the money the OP thinks is theirs actually belongs to the bank:



HSBC offers some advice about how deaf customers can contact them here: https://www.hsbc.co.uk/accessibility/deaf-hearing-or-speech-impaired/.

However, the page may not offer the OP much help.

My advice to OP: write a short letter to HSBC outlining the issues and ask for their advice. Perhaps you could give HSBC permission to talk to you son or daughter directly about the issues.

Perhaps your son or daughter could gift/lend you money by paying the bills for you.

It appears you've had financial problems for a while. Perhaps now would be a good time to discuss them with your family and try to work out a solution. Some people are simply really bad at dealing with money.

I’ve been a customer of theirs for over 40 years, they reduced my overdraft without ever telling, when I never needed to use it or needed their help. I’m not bad with money in general, up until the last few months I never went beyond my overdraft. My account is currently within my arranged overdraft (arranged but reduced by them).

One of the main things is they didn’t tell me and haven’t thus thar told me that my DD are not being honoured. Should they not send me a letter telling me why it’s blocked.

I know about the hsbc help for deaf people but as I said I don’t have a text phone and did download the text relay service as they stated, but it’s slow as it’s on a mobile and you need to write your replies, and they relay everything.

I was kind of hoping for someone to tell me exactly what I can do, im very grateful for the replies but I still don’t know what to do.

fwor

As SnowTiger has already implied, perhaps now would be a good time to set up Lasting Power of Attorney for one or more of your children, so that they can represent you to the bank - both in person and on the phone.

This should mean that one of them can go to the bank on your behalf, taking with them any necessary documents for you.

From memory from when I did this for my own parents, this will take a little while to set up, but then it can be used at any time in future if a similar situation arises.

[Deleted User]

You do know you cannot give your card to someone else to use for you even with your permission?

petethesteam

fwor wrote: »

As SnowTiger has already implied, perhaps now would be a good time to set up Lasting Power of Attorney for one or more of your children, so that they can represent you to the bank - both in person and on the phone.

This should mean that one of them can go to the bank on your behalf, taking with them any necessary documents for you.

From memory from when I did this for my own parents, this will take a little while to set up, but then it can be used at any time in future if a similar situation arises.

Good idea in theory but I do not want my daughter to know of this mess, she lives with me and has problems herself, illness on ESA so not much money. I deffo don’t want my sons to know. I need a resolution soon, my rent will be due in little over a week, I have never even been a day late in 55 years in a council house.

fwor

petethesteam wrote: »

Good idea in theory but I do not want my daughter to know of this mess, she lives with me and has problems herself, illness on ESA so not much money. I deffo don’t want my sons to know. I need a resolution soon, my rent will be due in little over a week, I have never even been a day late in 55 years in a council house.

It's your choice. That's pretty much the reason that Lasting Power Of Attorney was implemented.

If it's so important that you be able to hide things from your children, then I guess you'll have to find another way!

I should add though that there is no reason why you cannot assign LPOA to another person - perhaps a neighbour or friend that you trust - though you may then have the difficult job of explaining to your children why you did not entrust the job to one of them. In the end we all have to accept that we will need to rely on other people as we get older, and I guess that inevitably involves difficult decisions for some.

SnowTiger

petethesteam wrote: »

Good idea in theory but I do not want my daughter to know of this mess, she lives with me and has problems herself, illness on ESA so not much money. I deffo don’t want my sons to know. I need a resolution soon, my rent will be due in little over a week, I have never even been a day late in 55 years in a council house.

This may help you (https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Ask-your-bank-to-pay-particular-bills-out-of-your-account-%28sole-name%29.aspx):

Use this letter when you need to ask your bank to pay particular bills out of your account from money you have paid in. This is known as exercising your 'first right of appropriation'.

And there's some more information here, specifically about Housing Benefit payments, but I understand the principle applies to other bills: http://www.stevenage.gov.uk/content/15953/21310/22429/First-Right-of-Appropriation.pdf.

As I understand it, you can tell your bank to make specific payments from money that's paid in to your bank account before they take their own charges.

You should set up a new bank account elsewhere as soon as you can and have your income paid in to it and your regular payments paid out from it.

You can open a new bank account online. If you have a problem opening a regular bank account, you could open an account with CashPlus. Their account usually attracts a monthly fee, but it's waived if you join via this link: https://www.moneysupermarket.com/prepaid-cards/. There is a one off charge of £5.95.