I wrote to HSBC regarding a routine matter relating to my current account. They did not reply. I sent a reminder. Again they did not reply. I went to the branch and was promised they would sort it out and get back to me within 24 hours. I never heard from them. I wrote a formal complaint. Again, they did not reply. I took the matter up with the Banking Ombudsman. HSBC at last reacted. They said that they thought the signature on my original letter did not look exactly like the specimen in their file. Apparently that meant that they just scrapped the letter. I work in an industry which relies on customer satisfaction. If I get a letter and it looks suspicious, I contact my client and ask whether they sent it. It also fails to explain why they did not take any action in relation to the reminders; presumably not all of my signatures looked forged, nor why they did not get back to me after my visit to the branch. In my humble opinion, the sooner HSBC packs up its chopsticks and head back to Hong Kong the better for all of us.