HSBC Online Banking Error

Woyocan

Hey MSE,

Before I call HSBC has anyone else had an error come up whilst trying to setup a new payee on online banking where it just cryptically says ERROR CODE TERR_30004 and won't move past the page? Googling brings up something about payee detail checks without actually giving the error.

Cheers 

BAStorr

I had this error code also. I contacted HSBC and they didn't know what the code meant either!!!

I was put on hold for a few minutes while she found out and still couldn't tell me what it meant. On hold again for a few minutes and then she said she would go through the payment with me and we did it online.

What is the meaning behind HSBC putting on a code and not knowing themselves what it means?

Lions_89

They are not going to train 1000s of call advisers what certain error codes mean. That would be a waste of money. They either pass it up or just say its being dealt with.

ForumUser7

Lions_89 said:

They are not going to train 1000s of call advisers what certain error codes mean. That would be a waste of money. They either pass it up or just say it's being dealt with.

But they could create a spreadsheet or database that all staff have access to that lists all the codes and their meanings simplified. Let the customer know what it means, assist the customer if they can carry out the desired action over the phone, and then report the fault to the tech team and log a complaint if it will cause the customer ongoing inconvenience.

boingy

ForumUser7 said:

Lions_89 said:

They are not going to train 1000s of call advisers what certain error codes mean. That would be a waste of money. They either pass it up or just say it's being dealt with.

But they could create a spreadsheet or database that all staff have access to that lists all the codes and their meanings simplified. Let the customer know what it means, assist the customer if they can carry out the desired action over the phone, and then report the fault to the tech team and log a complaint if it will cause the customer ongoing inconvenience.

You seem to be under the rather naïve impression that Customer Services are there to serve the customer. I think their main role is to get you out of the queue and off the line as quickly as possible so they can move on to disappointing the next caller. 

(Inside every cynic there is a disappointed idealist...) 

Lions_89

ForumUser7 said:

Lions_89 said:

They are not going to train 1000s of call advisers what certain error codes mean. That would be a waste of money. They either pass it up or just say it's being dealt with.

But they could create a spreadsheet or database that all staff have access to that lists all the codes and their meanings simplified. Let the customer know what it means, assist the customer if they can carry out the desired action over the phone, and then report the fault to the tech team and log a complaint if it will cause the customer ongoing inconvenience.

In an ideal world but it is never going to happen. Who is going to maintain the spreadsheet, every time it changes who is going to change the error codes. How are you going to simplify it? Most codes would be pass to techs and so it makes the whole thing pointless. If there are common codes, which mean practical issues, then that is a good idea, which should be in place anyway. This sounds like a bug.

ForumUser7

boingy said:

ForumUser7 said:

Lions_89 said:

They are not going to train 1000s of call advisers what certain error codes mean. That would be a waste of money. They either pass it up or just say it's being dealt with.

But they could create a spreadsheet or database that all staff have access to that lists all the codes and their meanings simplified. Let the customer know what it means, assist the customer if they can carry out the desired action over the phone, and then report the fault to the tech team and log a complaint if it will cause the customer ongoing inconvenience.

You seem to be under the rather naïve impression that Customer Services are there to serve the customer. I think their main role is to get you out of the queue and off the line as quickly as possible so they can move on to disappointing the next caller. 

(Inside every cynic there is a disappointed idealist...) 

Emphasis on 'but they could' - it would certainly create a better customer experience, but unfortunately banks don't seem to be interested. Hopefully this 'Consumer Duty' makes things better, but as far as I can tell they are just guidelines.

Lions_89 said:

ForumUser7 said:

Lions_89 said:

They are not going to train 1000s of call advisers what certain error codes mean. That would be a waste of money. They either pass it up or just say it's being dealt with.

But they could create a spreadsheet or database that all staff have access to that lists all the codes and their meanings simplified. Let the customer know what it means, assist the customer if they can carry out the desired action over the phone, and then report the fault to the tech team and log a complaint if it will cause the customer ongoing inconvenience.

In an ideal world but it is never going to happen. Who is going to maintain the spreadsheet, every time it changes who is going to change the error codes. How are you going to simplify it? Most codes would be pass to techs and so it makes the whole thing pointless. If there are common codes, which mean practical issues, then that is a good idea, which should be in place anyway. This sounds like a bug.

I suppose the online services development team would maintain it. Most error codes will have a meaning, it is just likely that only the online services development team will have a key to determine what they mean. I had an issue with another provider regarding an obscure numerical error code once, and they passed it to their tech team who then got back to me to confirm what it meant. I cannot remember who it was though, as it was a while ago. It may have been telecoms, but not 100% sure. Databases get updated all the time, so maintaining it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. By simplify, I mean some kind of information to give to the customer. For example adding a payee failed due to internal error (and then any detail they could give from the specific code) vs failed due to error at customer end with connectivity etc. I like to know what is going on, and get quite frustrated when I get fobbed off with poor explanations. The above would help me figure out if there was anything I could do (like connecting to a different network, deleting and reinstalling the app etc.), or whether it was out of my hands.

I do agree though that it is unlikely it'll happen - but it would be helpful if it did.

Bridlington1

Well Barclays have managed to offer an error code search function on their website so I see little reason why HSBC can't do the same:
https://www.barclays.co.uk/ways-to-bank/error-codes/

PloughmansLunch

Bridlington1 said:

Well Barclays have managed to offer an error code search function on their website so I see little reason why HSBC can't do the same:
https://www.barclays.co.uk/ways-to-bank/error-codes/

Doesn’t seem to work for my code unfortunately - Barclays CS didn’t know what it is either

ForumUser7

PloughmansLunch said:

Bridlington1 said:

Well Barclays have managed to offer an error code search function on their website so I see little reason why HSBC can't do the same:
https://www.barclays.co.uk/ways-to-bank/error-codes/

Doesn’t seem to work for my code unfortunately - Barclays CS didn’t know what it is either

I wonder if the database doesn’t say because the app says instead - not sure though.

nyermen

In general, error codes are either simple (E1, E2, etc) if deliberately meant for a customer/CS, or they're meant to be caught.

Suspect that in this case (HSBC), it's an uncaught technical error (back-end / not meant to be seen outside of logs) that should have been replaced by "an error occurred please try later".  The fact the code starts "TERR" hints at this (technical error?).  Quite possibly something as simple as their confirmation of payee lookup service was unavailable.
Assuming it works this morning, then chances are whatever microservice was broken has been restored?