“I have been a customer at the Southport branch of HSBC UK since around 1970. and even worked for HSBC in Hong Kong head office for a senior manager for 30 years. I do not have a cheque account but I have had a savings account for all of that time and money is deposited to it regularly. However, now that I live in Australia I cannot access my own money and pay anyone because HSBC has removed my payees and my ability to set up payees again such as my family. The only way it appears that I can do that is to wait hours on the phone for someone in customer service, who I can usually barely understand, to take my call. The only other alternative is to travel half way round the world to the UK and call in at a branch. And they call this service. Who is the bank set up for? It certainly does not appear to be for the customer. I have given the bank one star, but even that is too generous.”
“Disgraceful customer support, threatening to close bank accounts after 30 years of loyal banking, demanding highly personal documents. Avoid at all costs and read the other reviews here. Forced to move banks and I would advise any HSBC customers to do the same before this happens to you! You've been warned.”
“Easier to say what went right....... NOTHING! I was a Midland Bank customer since approx. 1970. They got taken over by HSBC. I kept the account even though I have lived oversees since 1978. It was useful for certain payments. So I have been a customer for 47 years.
Over the last couple of years however I have had nothing but trouble. threats to freeze my accounts, demands for certified copies of my passport and other documents, an hour long plus phone call from Scotland wanting to know what my income is, what my assets are and a lot of very private information which I consider is none of their bloody business.
Next came forms wanting to know what nationalities I had, what countries I am resident for tax purposes, what my tax file number is etc.,etc.,etc.
I answered most of their questions but advised them that in Australia, even the banks are not authorised to demand this information, I am not giving it to HSBC to pool into a global network based in USA. How secure is that?
Recently I got another "Customer information form" which sounds like the same questions I answered in the phone call from Scotland sent by the same Bekky Moffat, about whom I sent a complaint which has never bee answered. I thought this was too much and today decided to transfer most of my moderate balance out of HSBC, but my accounts seem to be frozen!
So what does one do? It is almost impossible to find a email address, or phone number except to a call centre person who is paid little and knows nothing except the spin they learn by heart.”
“The worst banking experience. I have been a customer of HSBC (business) for 10 years now. During the last 3 years it got worse and worse. OUr relationship manager (Quentin Van Marle and his colleague Michelle Tenannt) have stopped answering calls and emails for weeks now. We will report this to the relevant authorities. We are migrating 8 businesses to Metro now. I have been trying to speak to some manager to complain fro weeks now. Nothing. They are completely ignoring me/us. Just that! Awful experience also with their IT systems, admin and customer service. I have been waiting for 45 minutes to speak to an operator the last time I have called. and it has been like that for the last couple of years now.
Very bad!”
“Absolutely pathetic. Online banking you cannot log on to. HSBC should sack everyone involved with their pathetic online banking before the whole of HSBC UK goes out of business”
“I have been a customer with this bank since a small child when it used to be called Midland Bank. It has got worse and worse and I've moved my main banking to another high street bank. They've closed down most of thier branches so it's very difficult to see a human. Their call centre staff are from abroad and struggle with English, logic and maths. You can't send them any sort of meaningful message even inside internet banking as it doesn't accept 'special characters' I.e punctuation. There are no other email contacts. They offer no usable rewards or offers for banking with them. My experience has been terrible and I won't be coming back!”
“Skelton staff, come regulaly to use the coin dispencer when the coin bag gets full it takes longer for them to change the bag then to dispense the coins. Customer service is terrìble.”
“There are 2 fab workers there who are made to look bad by the inefficient bank. Another worker is rude and dismissive... the pin I got don't work with my card. Compared to other banks their service is poor... I wish I stayed with my previous bank.”
“Don't really know where to start but today (again) I had encounter with a senior hsbc staff (yes a senior) and I felt insulated, can't believe the manner I was been spoken to, really negative attitude and unprofessional tone.
After 15 years with HSBC I simply felt humiliated.
This bank seems in disarray ever since I joined. I can't see them getting any better, In process of switching over to another bank where I can be treated as a customer.”
“The new HSBC dashboard is rubbish. the new design the most frustrating site I have ever seen. Was this tested before roll out? It is like it has a glitch all the time, its like a lottery if your 'click' of the mouse actually presents the correct menu, please sort out or I'm Moving banks. I cannot believe such a massive corporation has this kind of customer interface.”
“You will lost a lot of money for the bank fee, very expensive, don't open account with this HSBC, for the business account if you don't have 15000 USA Dollars in the bank, the bank will take 30 usa dollars by monthly fee, to close the account, you must pay 80 usa dollars, to return a wire, they charge 50 usa dollars and more, everything need pay, this is the most expensive bank in my life.
Open my account just for 6 years with around 4200 usa dollars only for the bank fee.
Poor bank, never open account again in the future.”
“We have been business banking customers with HSBC for almost 30 years. Recently we have had problems with their internet banking and customer service is disgusting. No one answers the 'phone at a national or branch level. We have become so annoyed at this lack of service that we are now exploring transferring our accounts to an alternative provider.”
“The implementation of the HSBC anti-fraud 'Safeguard' process is awful. Communication is near non-existent. If you are running a business with international customers, banking with HSBC is probably the biggest to your business you didn't know you had.
Effectively once you 'qualify' for the process, you are on a hard line in the sand to account closure. If they are able to actually progress your case, they may get round to lifting that threat, but under no circumstances will they actually confirm status!
For us, its reached 30 days to limits: no payments in (getting paid), no payments out (paying bills). There has been no HSBC initiated communication despite many calls, letters and complaints. Left unchecked, this would kill a business. Simply, HSBC are forcing out customers with no real explanation.
Business customers in this case should not think 'it will be all right'. I did for a while. As 30 days approached I was left with no choice but to switch bank. Its a little ironic, HSBC were the bank that gave me a startup account some years back, now a successful SME with worldwide customers, they turn their bank, #thanksforthat
All banks seem to get terrible reviews, however, I think HSBC takes the cake with this safeguard nonsense.
Now I multi-bank, so as never *ever* to be reliant on a single bank again”
“Spent over an hour waiting for someone to answer my call, and when I DID eventually get a person to deal with my issue it's normally someone from another country with an accent that you cannot understand. This has happened to me every time I have tried to contact HSBC, which has been many years. HSBC recently froze my account because I didn't return the safeguard form that they requested from me, so I decided it's time to transfer my business to my other bank. It takes a big effort for me to make this change because of the consequences. it took over a month for the transfer even though I was told it would take 7days. This caused all my standing orders to be unpaid causing other problems.”
“I have managed to lock my business online security pass more than a month ago since then I have
- reset the password and tried to upload the form online but the system was not working
- spend 1h with HSBC customer service on the phone to find out that I have to bring the form to a bank office because there is an issue with the online system
- send the form via post to a head office address given by the customer service
- no info for 2 weeks
- two weeks later spent 1h in HSBC branch between a person in the bank and on the phone with the online banking person to find out that instead of restarting my online banking you have reset my digital key and needed a new form
- a form was submitted
- 10 days later nothing received
- spend 1h on the phone to find out that the form expired and nobody contacted me at all to let me know why, when
- again I have to submit a new form online to ask to reset my e-banking
- the system is not allowing me to upload the form due to security issues
- another hour on the phone….
- still nothing working
I cannot solve the situation and my business is suffering to not have a banking for the last month. This is the worst bank I have ever used..
For more than 5 weeks it has been a nightmare”
