HSBC accounts being opened with my address

eskbanker

surreysaver said:

Deleted_User said:

I suspect it’s an elderly person who has opened a new account and they haven’t changed their address. Surely HSBC hold an email address etc or telephone number, how was the account requested?  I occasionally get share holder letters for someone who lived at the address some 25 years ago. I contacted the company who claimed they could not stop the letters due to data protection.

Nonsense. Data Protection just being used as an excuse for laziness 

It's not really laziness as such - there are limits to what a company can do if given information about one of its customers from an unrelated third party.  Depending on the circumstances, some may make efforts to trace the customer, especially where there is a genuine ongoing relationship, but many people won't think to update share registrars when moving house, especially if the dividend payments continue, and the regulations around share ownership may prevent the registrar from removing the last known address, and they may even be obliged to continue to issue routine correspondence.

born_again

surreysaver said:

Deleted_User said:

I suspect it’s an elderly person who has opened a new account and they haven’t changed their address. Surely HSBC hold an email address etc or telephone number, how was the account requested?  I occasionally get share holder letters for someone who lived at the address some 25 years ago. I contacted the company who claimed they could not stop the letters due to data protection.

Nonsense. Data Protection just being used as an excuse for laziness 

Sadly not.
Think about it. With what you are saying. You expect the bank to shut everything down just because someone (unknown 3rd party) says so? 

All they can do is put a marker on the account. Which is why @eskbanker is right with return post with "Not at this address" That puts a gone away marker, stops further mail going out & for customer to do anything on the account. Needs to ring in, clear security & update details.

miller

Just to agree with the advice regarding returning post from another viewpoint: a few years' ago I had a message on online banking to contact the bank which I ignored. When I tried to use my credit card it was declined. I went into branch as I had something else to do and asked about the credit card. Turns out the postman had put my statement through the wrong door and it was returned. Hence the account block which I sorted out on the phone in branch.