HSBC Current Account Application - How long should it reasonably take?

SlovakianGuy

Katiehound said:

When I opened my HSBC a./c for a previous switch deal I remember it was very very much quicker to make an appointment  and go in to local branch as there was a mountain of paperwork to wade through.  I doubt the situation has improved especialy since they won't want.lots of personal visits from customers.
 I have been very unimpressed with their phone service lately especially when they blocked a payment... and then suspended the account! It was reasonable whilst it lasted!!

Horrible. It always makes me think twice whether to switch one of my accounts to HSBC or not. And eventually I always decide not to.
When I applied for American Express (it was Friday morning), my card arrived on Sunday (2 days), everything set up and running. No waiting for PIN, etc. That's how all banks should be able to function in 2020 A.D.
From what I've read about HSBC from many many people, it seems to me like they're really a pain in the neck.

tpearl

I applied online for HSBC’s Advanced Account  Was accepted straight away. After waiting for a month, got a letter saying my score was not high enough. Went to check my credit score and it was very good. Called customer services and it took 30 minutes to answer. Apparently they do their own score, yet I could see they l’ve checked my credit score twice! Glad I didn’t open the account with them now. Horrible experience tbh

Ed-1

tpearl said:

I applied online for HSBC’s Advanced Account  Was accepted straight away. After waiting for a month, got a letter saying my score was not high enough. Went to check my credit score and it was very good. Called customer services and it took 30 minutes to answer. Apparently they do their own score, yet I could see they l’ve checked my credit score twice! Glad I didn’t open the account with them now. Horrible experience tbh

Banks don't see a "credit score" when they check your credit file.

burner04

tpearl said:

I applied online for HSBC’s Advanced Account  Was accepted straight away. After waiting for a month, got a letter saying my score was not high enough. Went to check my credit score and it was very good. Called customer services and it took 30 minutes to answer. Apparently they do their own score, yet I could see they l’ve checked my credit score twice! Glad I didn’t open the account with them now. Horrible experience tbh

No financial institution uses any of the credit reference agencies “credit scores”. They don’t want you as  a customer given your credit history.

born_again

tpearl said:

I applied online for HSBC’s Advanced Account  Was accepted straight away. After waiting for a month, got a letter saying my score was not high enough. Went to check my credit score and it was very good. Called customer services and it took 30 minutes to answer. Apparently they do their own score, yet I could see they l’ve checked my credit score twice! Glad I didn’t open the account with them now. Horrible experience tbh

That would be their own internal scoring. 

How is being declined for a bank account a Horrible experience?

Thrugelmir

SlovakianGuy said:

Katiehound said:

When I opened my HSBC a./c for a previous switch deal I remember it was very very much quicker to make an appointment  and go in to local branch as there was a mountain of paperwork to wade through.  I doubt the situation has improved especialy since they won't want.lots of personal visits from customers.
 I have been very unimpressed with their phone service lately especially when they blocked a payment... and then suspended the account! It was reasonable whilst it lasted!!

Horrible. It always makes me think twice whether to switch one of my accounts to HSBC or not. And eventually I always decide not to.
When I applied for American Express (it was Friday morning), my card arrived on Sunday (2 days), everything set up and running. No waiting for PIN, etc. That's how all banks should be able to function in 2020 A.D.
From what I've read about HSBC from many many people, it seems to me like they're really a pain in the neck.

Charge card is different to a bank account. There'll be checks running in the background.  Switching bank accounts isn't a race but a process. 

dr_adidas01

Thrugelmir said:

SlovakianGuy said:

Katiehound said:

When I opened my HSBC a./c for a previous switch deal I remember it was very very much quicker to make an appointment  and go in to local branch as there was a mountain of paperwork to wade through.  I doubt the situation has improved especialy since they won't want.lots of personal visits from customers.
 I have been very unimpressed with their phone service lately especially when they blocked a payment... and then suspended the account! It was reasonable whilst it lasted!!

Horrible. It always makes me think twice whether to switch one of my accounts to HSBC or not. And eventually I always decide not to.
When I applied for American Express (it was Friday morning), my card arrived on Sunday (2 days), everything set up and running. No waiting for PIN, etc. That's how all banks should be able to function in 2020 A.D.
From what I've read about HSBC from many many people, it seems to me like they're really a pain in the neck.

Charge card is different to a bank account. There'll be checks running in the background.  Switching bank accounts isn't a race but a process. 

Not sure where you got the charge card bit from as the poster never mentioned it, while Amex do Charge cards they also do credit cards. 

I should imagine Amex run similar checks to HSBC when opening an account. It’s just Amex are a lot quicker to do it than HSBC. 

From my own experience of HSBC when I opened an account it took about 6 weeks in total, it was one of the slowest and most laborious processes for opening a bank account ever. 

SlovakianGuy

Not sure where you got the charge card bit from as the poster never mentioned it, while Amex do Charge cards they also do credit cards. 

I should imagine Amex run similar checks to HSBC when opening an account. It’s just Amex are a lot quicker to do it than HSBC. 

From my own experience of HSBC when I opened an account it took about 6 weeks in total, it was one of the slowest and most laborious processes for opening a bank account ever. 

Yep, this one is a credit card.

6 weeks? That's just insane. Are they employing analphabets or something...? If other dinosaur banks like NatWest or Lloyds can do it much much quicker, what's wrong with HSBC??

NottinghamKnight

They are worried about  money laundering, horses and bolting doors spring to mind... 

eddie494

Thanks again for your responses everyone, your HSBC stories aren't exactly filling me with confidence. I've not had any issues with NatWest for a long while and I'm not moving for anything more than the incentive so, better the devil you know?

As for my ID, I was instructed to send it through to them via their online Jumio app. Twice.