Trying to claim Bank Charges from HSBC - Hardship

[tiggerjaye]

Hi there

 

Not sure where to post this - I'm trying to claim over £1300 in charges HSBC have taken from my account in last 6 months.

 

I sent the inital letter stating hardship to which they replied saying they'd need income/expenditure before considering hardship status.

 

So I replied with full income/expenditure - today received a letter saying they have tried unsuccessfully to contact me by phone (I don't answer any calls who I don't know where they are from) 'inorder to establish my financial position'. They have given me an 0800 number to call them on and 'unless we hear from you within the next ten working days ... no further action will be taken'.

 

What do I reply with now? I DO NOT want to discuss anything over the phone as I find it incredibly distressing, and difficult with a small child!

 

Thanks for reading this!

[**Tilly**]

Hi Tiggerjaye

 

I have asked for your thread to be moved to the HSBC forum, where you will get the help and advise you need there, good luck

 

 

 

Tilly

[MARTIN3030]

Thread moved here.

 

You are under no obligation to deal with this by telephone.

 

I suggest you send them a letter by recorded delivery to the last contact /address giving your reference number.

 

 

Their address

 

 

reference No

 

Date

 

 

 

Dear (whoever wrote to you)

 

 

Thank you for your letter of..................... with regards to my claim with HSBC to be dealt with under the waiver agreement,as signed between the OFT and yourselves.

 

My understanding is,that there should be an 8 weeks timescale for you to address my complaints,or in this instance my application.

Therefore,I consider your 10 day deadline to be somewhat confusing.

 

However,I wish to point out that I am only prepared to deal with this matter in writing,this benefits me any evidence being available should I find the need to contact the Financial Ombudsman to intervene after the 8 weeks time frame.

 

I have already furnished you with my income and expenditure sheets,I consider that this gives you an overview of my financial position,and therefore should allow you to process my claim under hardship status without any undue delays.

 

May I remind HSBC that you are currently signed up to the waiver agreement until the end of January 2009,and in light of this do not need to remind you of your obligations and responsibilities under it.

 

Once the 8 weeks uninterrupted time scale arrives,should you fail to give me an undertaking that you are going to address my application,I will be filing a complaint and asking the FOS to take my case up.

Additionally I will make available copies of all communications,including this one.

 

I trust you will now process my hardship claim without further delays.

 

yours Faithfully/Sincerely

 

XXXXXXX

 

 

 

 

How long since your original comlaint ?

If its near the 8 weeks then call the FOS on 0845 080 1800

Tell them you want to open a complaint.They will take some details and send you some complaints forms.

At the same time they will write to HSBC and tell them to respond to you by 7 days outlining their proposals.

Keep any letters between you and HSBC together,and also a log of any calls-you will need this to send off with your forms later.

 

Keep us posted.

Edited December 18, 2008 by MARTIN3030

[tiggerjaye]

Thanks guys! Have got my letter off so will await their next move!

 

Its been 5 weeks since I initially wrote to them so will wait a little longer before approaching FOS right?

[MARTIN3030]

Yes Ok.

[tiggerjaye]

This morning I've received a reply - basically the same letter saying they have failed to contact me by phone.....

 

then at the bottom all in caps it says -

 

WE WILL NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU DIRECTLY TO DISCUSS YOUR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP CLAIM. THIS CANNOT BE DONE SOLELY IN WRITING.

 

The letter also has the same 'contact us within ten working days or no further action will be taken'..

 

Anyone any idea what I should do now? I first wrote to them mid November so should I just wait til 8 weeks is up and go to FSA? If so what is the procedure?

Thanks guys again for all your help with this!

[nieve]

hi tigerjay, just reading your thread, i to am chasing under the hardship rule, and have the same letters as you. I know what you mean about phone contact, you simply cant do it with small kids i have a 3 & 4 year old, its a nitemare.

 

im going to copy your letter and send it, and shall be reading your thread with interest.

[Castlebest]

This morning I've received a reply - basically the same letter saying they have failed to contact me by phone.....

 

then at the bottom all in caps it says -

 

WE WILL NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU DIRECTLY TO DISCUSS YOUR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP CLAIM. THIS CANNOT BE DONE SOLELY IN WRITING.

 

The letter also has the same 'contact us within ten working days or no further action will be taken'..

 

Anyone any idea what I should do now? I first wrote to them mid November so should I just wait til 8 weeks is up and go to FSA? If so what is the procedure?

Thanks guys again for all your help with this!

 

Write back and tell them due to financial hardship your phone has been disconnected and unless they deal with this matter by letter you will have no alternative but to report them to the FOS for breach or their customer care obligations.

 

pete

[tiggerjaye]

This morning I've received a reply - basically the same letter saying they have failed to contact me by phone.....

 

then at the bottom all in caps it says -

 

WE WILL NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU DIRECTLY TO DISCUSS YOUR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP CLAIM. THIS CANNOT BE DONE SOLELY IN WRITING.

 

The letter also has the same 'contact us within ten working days or no further action will be taken'..

 

Anyone any idea what I should do now? I first wrote to them mid November so should I just wait til 8 weeks is up and go to FSA? If so what is the procedure?

Thanks guys again for all your help with this!

[tiggerjaye]

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I should reply with next?

[yourbank]

I personally disagree with Martin's advice but if you are not going to talk to the bank then I think you need to escalate it to the FOS. I generally would say do not talk to the bank under any circumstances but HSBC are doing what is required under the FSA Waiver on Bank Charges. Personal opinion is that if they give or have given you a contact telephone number contact them. If you have kept all of your paperwork together that has been sent to them, have that to hand. Make sure you take the name of the person you speak to. Post on here any responses given. If you do not want to talk to them then you have one option ONLY and that is the Financial Ombudsman Service. You cannot always do hardship just in writing. Apologies Martin, but I gotta say what I think based on seeing a lot of hardship posts across the forums(and a few successes even appealing a decline )

[johnnymitch]

Thanks for the link you posted yourbank - I particularly liked the contents of Annex 2 of the FSA directive ........:

 

 

Annex 2 – Dealing with complainants in financial difficulty

1. The firm will be sympathetic and positive when considering any financial difficulties claimed by the complainant. Firms will not subject a complainant to harassment or undue pressure when discussing their problems.

2. In making an assessment of financial difficulty the firm will take into account:

a. evidence of changes in lifestyle, including loss of employment; disability; serious illness; imprisonment; relationship breakdown; death of a partner; starting a lower paid job; parental/carer leave; and starting full-time education;

b. evidence of the following events:

1. items repeatedly being returned unpaid due to lack of available funds;
   
2. failing to make loan repayments or other commitments;
   
3. discontinuation of regular credits;
   
4. notification of some form of insolvency or court proceedings;
   
5. regular requests for increased borrowing or repeated rescheduling of debts;
   
6. making frequent cash withdrawals on a credit card at a non-promotional rate of interest; and
   
7. repeatedly exceeding a credit card or overdraft limit without agreement (and, in this regard, where a complainant has incurred over £500 in unauthorised overdraft charges in the previous 12 months, that is to be treated as indicative of financial difficulty).
   
8. 
   

3. If during the handling of the complaint the firm becomes aware (including by notification from the complainant) that the complainant may be in, or heading towards financial difficulties, the firm will contact the complainant to outline their approach to financial difficulty cases and to encourage the customer to contact the firm if the customer is worried about their position. The firm will also provide signposts to sources of free, independent money advice.

4. The firm will make available to complainants straightforward information in plain English on the firm’s procedures and systems for dealing with customers in financial difficulty.

5. If it becomes clear to the firm that the complainant needs specialist assistance, the complainant will be referred promptly to a specialist team that deals with customers in financial difficulties, if one exists. The firm will give a phone number on all communications that will put the customer in contact with a named person or a team dedicated to dealing with cases of financial difficulty.

The Financial Services Authority 25 The North Colonnade Canary Wharf London E14 5HS, United Kingdom Telephone +44 (0)20 7066 1000 Fax +44 (0)20 7066 1099 Registered as a Limited Company in England and Wales No 1920623. Registered office as above - 11 -

Excuse me I just fell off my chair laughing ........

[tiggerjaye]

Interesting reading JohnnyMitch - any idea/opinion on what I should do next?

[johnnymitch]

Hi tj

 

In a way I agree with 'yourbank' in that you should maybe give them one last chance to talk it over with you .... but if they start getting shirty or try to bully you tell them you will report them to FOS, and hang up .

 

our complaints procedure and how to complain

 

 

This link should get you started with a complaint , but it's a long-drawnout business these days because FOS is inundated with complaints, as you can imagine....... so , if you can resolve it any other way , it's worth a try . The only problem is that HSBC s criteria for 'Hardship ' make it practically impossible to qualify.. in the words of pete castlebest ..... if you're not living in a cardboard box..... forget it ! LOL!

Please keep in touch though and let us know how you get on , it may help others , like nieve, along the way........

[nieve]

hi ya, still reading with interest, so your opinions are to talk to them, whose going to go first me or you tigherjay??

 

you please.

[tiggerjaye]

Well they are only available 8-5 weekdays so will have to wait til Monday...

 

Guess that means I have all weekend to plan/fret about it...

[yourbank]

Well they are only available 8-5 weekdays so will have to wait til Monday...

 

Guess that means I have all weekend to plan/fret about it...

Tiger, read the paperwork you sent to HSBC, read what Jonnymitch had posted on the FSA waiver(not just the highlighted bits) over the weekend. Think about which areas of Financial Hardship that you fall under with the definition given.

If they say No, then ask them to put it in writing their reasons why. You can then either (a) appeal their decision to them, (b) appeal their decision to the FOS. There are options available to you and remember, you have a 50/50 chance. Either YES or NO. Either way advice will be given as to the way forward.

Keep positive and don't fret but plan

[tiggerjaye]

Thank you! Will do my homework and post back on Monday....

 

Thank for all your help on this! Very much appreciated!

[nieve]

fingers crossed for you, go for it, yea and please dont 'fret' i'll do that for you.

[InformedSearcher]

Okay with regards to HSBC I called them. I spoke to a very nice lady who took all my details and said they'd be passed to the Fianacial Hardship claims department. In my view an initial chat is worthwhile because they log the details and can help you with details they are entering on your behalf.

I later got a call from the same lady telling me I'd have to confirm my claim in writing, which I've done. The downside to this was anothergentleman I spoke to on the same day who was the opposite of nice. He told me that my financial hardship claim and my spiralling out of control overdraft were not connected - can you believe that?!

Anyhow in my case as long as my rent is paid I'll be able to put up with anything else looming next month! Let's just hope they get their finger out as in my view if they can charge you inseconds then they can do the same in reverse.

Michael

[iconoclash]

Hi guys - we've been through all this and the outcome is even worse. We have several letters from HSBC stating we are NOT in fin. hardship even though we qualify in several areas. Have sent them the copies of court proceedings against us re our repossession case for the house etc. The banks special team for financial hardship cases will probably turn out to be the team that sets up a new managed loan for more interest and more money to pay themselves anything you owe - but NOT to give you any credit balance. This they always say cannot be done in writing and has to be done on the phone. This is an excuse to get all the details (income/expenditure) into the system so they can juggle it to suit the managed loan stuff - they will never send you the details on this sheet. We also have an outstanding claim for penalty charges that has caused the overdraft in the first place. We are fighting still and telephone calls still coming regardless of anything written to them. I'm going to try to take them to court anyway for the charges to bring up all this other stuff.

[InformedSearcher]

Hi guys - we've been through all this and the outcome is even worse. We have several letters from HSBC stating we are NOT in fin. hardship even though we qualify in several areas. Have sent them the copies of court proceedings against us re our repossession case for the house etc. The banks special team for financial hardship cases will probably turn out to be the team that sets up a new managed loan for more interest and more money to pay themselves anything you owe - but NOT to give you any credit balance. This they always say cannot be done in writing and has to be done on the phone. This is an excuse to get all the details (income/expenditure) into the system so they can juggle it to suit the managed loan stuff - they will never send you the details on this sheet. We also have an outstanding claim for penalty charges that has caused the overdraft in the first place. We are fighting still and telephone calls still coming regardless of anything written to them. I'm going to try to take them to court anyway for the charges to bring up all this other stuff.

 

I have to be honest and say in my own post I was trying to be positive and diplomatic. I've just begun my FH request for penalty charge refunds. However my view, unlike one person at HSBC is that the financial hardship claim and the current account are fully integrated. I do have some cash going into the account but as I was made redundant at the end of August my own credits are for JSA. I could say that £60.50 a week for JSA is a total joke but leave that to another time.

The calls from HSBC normally come from The Philippines or India. A swift check during those type of calls enlighten you to the fact the people talking to you have ultra limited access to your account are have no decision making authorisation. I find in these cases I let them ramble on, ask unanswerable questions and 'play' with them. Not a good reaction on my part but being bored to death at times makes for light heated amusement, oh and they are paying for the call. This means never answer your landline but only your mobile phone so you know they are paying premium rates.

MY last comments to someone in Salford (HSBC's credit department) is that if they can charge (theft) fees in seconds then I'm quite happy for them to take a few hours to credit me. That kind of comment is not welcome by them.

With regards to them causing me problems then I'm quite happy to explore further. That means probably contacting the FOS, FSA or even borrowing the cash for a CC hearing. One should always remember that all actions cost the bank dearly in time and salaries. In fact it's quite ironic that as bankers they are happy to spend fortunes when they could simply do what they are supposed to. There again always remember the staff there don't want to be made redundant do they? Of course you can always argue, (not yet with HSBC sadly) that they are public taxpayer subsidised entities who should be stripping their bureaucratic mannerisms!

Michael

p.s. funny how the poorer you are, the more you get charged.

Edited January 16, 2009 by InformedSearcher

[tiggerjaye]

Neive - did you call them? I've not managed to pluck up the courage - I really hate talking about these things over the phone.

 

I think I'm going to write to them again....

[tiggerjaye]

Neive - did you call them? I've not managed to pluck up the courage - I really hate talking about these things over the phone.

 

I think I'm going to write to them again....

[valhala]

If you are dealing with the hardship department(I think they phone with an 0132 number) but you have to call them on an 0800 niumber it is best to do this.

 

I am currently in hardship and have been trying to claim my charges through hardship, I phoned the 0800 number and you basically just have to give them a list of your incomings and outgoings(keep a copy of what you send in to them originally).

 

They are very sympathetic(well the lady was to me). They do seem to be paying back charges if you are in hardship but in my case they would only pay directly to my debt, like for me they paid a month arrears I owed on my rent. I had to post a letter from my landlord to confirm I was in arrears and then they sent directly to them.

 

I do have a couple of problems which I have brought up in my own thread.

 

But really you should be dealing with them on the phone, as its going to get attention much quicker.

 

 

HSBC customer services are usually based in india or asia but this department dealing with hardship are based in yorkshire I believe