@hsbc_uk_help HSBC Excessive charges for a mistake they made

[Rafalbert]

Hi all,

 

hopefully someone can give me some advice. My wife had an account with HSBC which she closed in December 2007.

 

Unbeknownst to us, they did not cancel a SO to her loan account, which then duly debited an account with no funds in it (as it should have been closed). They duly applied charges to this account without issuing any correspondence or telephoning her.

 

The first inkling we had of this was when we applied for a mortgage, this debt was shown to be outstanding. Upon investigation we discovered what had happened and made a complaint to no avail.

 

My wife then made a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, who started to investigate (and advised us to pay the loan amount which we duly did, only to discover later that it had been already been paid that month from her new account), HSBC agreeing to freeze the account whilst this was happening (approx £650).

 

This has dragged on ever since, with people leaving the Ombudsman and new people taking over the case. A few days ago we received a letter from Buchanan Clark and Wells Debt Agency (BCW Group Ltd), stating that we owed £2500.

 

Again upon investigation, we discovered that the Ombudsman ruled in favour of the bank, stating that there was not enough evidence for the claim (they had basically lost all the paperwork). Again, we have not received any paperwork from HSBC or the Ombudsman to confirm this, nor can we clarify when this took place.

 

I struggle to work out how they have come to this new figure, or how the Ombudsman can justify there is not enough evidence. My question is mainly this; BCW state that they have been instructed by HSBC to collect this amount. Is this true, or have they bought the debt and trying to add more funds to it? If this is so, what can I do about it? Any advice would be gratefully received.

 

Dave

Edited December 8, 2011 by citizenB

[BankFodder]

to unravel this, you better start assembling evidence. That means that you had better send an SAR to the bank. You had better send one to the financial ombudsman as well. Be prepared for HSBC to say that they don't have any information or that it has been destroyed or it has been lost. Be prepared for resistance from the financial ombudsman. They will want to send you only the minimum and they will not want to disclose correspondence about you from the bank. Be prepared to make challenges if necessary.

 

Anyway, until you start to get some proper paperwork about what has happened, it will be difficult to do anything.

 

What you are really looking for is some evidence that you did close the account in 2007 and that they had the responsibility to cancel the standing order and they did not do this. If you can show that they breached their duty in 2007 then the rest should be easy.

 

However, if you don't find this evidence then I'm afraid that unpalatable as it may be, you may find yourself in a position where there is little that you can do. Now you understand how incompetent the banks are. Now you understand what a shabby lot the financial ombudsman service is

[Rafalbert]

I agree with you about the banks. The problem is we DID have the paperwork to prove it, but the FO are now stating that they do not have it i.e. they have lost it (and my wife foolishly did not make any copies).

[citizenB]

What exactly is the wording on the letter from BCW. If they say they have been instructed to collect, then they are more than likely acting as nothing more than collection agents.

 

If they are saying htey have been assigned the account, then they could possibly be the new owners. But you need to find out for sure. I have attached a draft letter below that you could send in order to establish the position. Please read it carefully as there are a couple of places where you will need to enter either the Bank's or BCW's details.

 

I think you might need to send a Subject Access Request to HSBC, you will find a draft letter in the CAG library which is linked at the top of each screen.

 

You should enclose a fee of £10.00 and the bank have 40 days to comply with the request. They should provide you with all information in respect of your financial relationship with them. But if there is any thing specific you think you would like to see, then you should ask for in along with the core request in the draft.

 

You might just be able to work out what has gone wrong.

 

If you believe your complaint to the FOS was not considered properly, then simply put in another complaint.. refer to the original complaint reference. You dont actually have to accept the adjudicators first decision and can ask for it to be bumped up the chain to the Ombudsman.

 

[ATTACH]32049[/ATTACH]

[citizenB]

Hi you had two threads running for this same issue, I have merged them for you into this one.

 

Please have one thread per issue

[rebel11]

Hi CB

 

Theres also a thread in the FOS Forum.

[rdm2006]

oops

Edited December 15, 2011 by rdm2006

[rdm2006]

you can make a complaint about the service you received from FOS. you do this directly to FOS. If you are still not happy about the service after this you can complain to the Independent Assessor.

 

Please bear in mind that the independent (?) assessor is appointed by the board of FOS (yes he/she [currently she] is so independent they she was chosen by the very people she is required to rule for/against).

 

This complaint can only be about poor admin/service - she can not reverse their decision but if she feels you lost due to their error she can make them pay instead of you (like thats going to happen)

 

Do I sound cynical - been there done that

 

You can also make a complaint to your local MP - enough of these may get a change eventually

 

or you can get a judicial review at your own cost of course.

 

or (like me) you can tell them (HSBC) that hell will freeze over before you pay them a penny and wait and wait and wait for them to take you to court, which they will not do because deep down they know that they are wrong.

Edited December 15, 2011 by rdm2006