HSBC - Harrassment? - What do you think?

[vinegarvera]

Please excuse the rant, but I have just come off the telephone from HSBC and I am sooo angry!

 

I just wanted opinions really. We have had two mortgages with HSBC for over 15 years - We have always paid the full amount on the 24th - or next working day, of each month on both mortgages, as this is the date I get paid.

 

However, about this time last year, my husband was made redundant, and we fell into arrears, almost to the point of losing our house -we had not one ounce of assistance from HSBC, apart from being constantly hounded, even though we were making token payments of £100pm (on 24th) on both mortgages.

 

Luckily, just in time my husband got a job (May, this year) and we paid the arrears on 25th May, we were then told we had to make our monthly payment also on 1st June. We made the payments plus £50 extra off each account and have continued to do so on 25th of both June and July.

 

Great you may think, we are paying excess on our mortgages each month and also paying a week early on each account! It would seem not!

 

We continue to get letters each month telling us we are falling behind with our payments - because - we are paying too early and it is coming off the balance - and showing as arrears!

 

Payment due £XXX.XX on 29th July (Sunday) - Payment made, plus £50 on 26th July (Thursday).

 

Arrears letter sent 31st July, arrears letter sent 3 August - plus numerous phone calls - within ONE day of an apparent missed payment!!!

 

I have been spoken to like a child on both of my hour long querys on the telephone, and basically told, if I continue to pay early, I will continue to get arrears letters!

 

(This was after we had spent half an hour discussing the wrong account, on one call!)

 

As I am paid on 24th of each month I asked for my payment date to be brought forward - but they can only push it back which will incur 20.00 extra in daily interest.

 

I feel this is ridiculous! Either I pay my morgage at the correct, exact, amount, on the correct, exact day or I am harrassed - either that or put more money into HSBC's grubby little pocket - which I will not do!

 

It feels that we are being penalised for working hard, to try to ensure that we dont end up in the same situation in the future, and am now in a different catagory having had recent arrears - despite 15 years of paying regularly!

 

Even after all they have done, the banks really do have us over a barrell and I just wondered if you had heard of such rigidity before, and, if so, what your take on the situation is?

 

I am so frustrated and upset and I dont know where else to turn. I have had another letter today requesting full balance payment. Even when in credit, still I cannot get HSBC off my back!

[vinegarvera]

Sorry, not sure if this is in the correct place...

[citizenB]

You will be going nowhere fast, talking to HSBC on the telephone. You need to write to them.

 

HSBC Bank PLC

Mortgage Service Centre

PO Box 1546

Sheffield

S1 2UJ

Attention: Centre Manager

Copy to their Head office address as well.

I suggest you head your letter "Formal Complaint"

Bullet point all the issues you want addressed and how you want HSBC to put things right.

You do not have to put up with the bullying by telephone and from what you are saying, it is now in your interest to have a detailed record of what is said.

It doesnt make sense that you are not in arrears, but because you are paying excess, it shows that you are ??

You require them to explain how that can happen?

You require them to Treat you Fairly.

They are able to move the payment date to one that better suits your needs. I think there will some adjustment, usually a few £'s on one month, but obviously it catches up with itself.

HTH.

[citizenB]

Sorry, not sure if this is in the correct place...

 

You can stay here, or I can move you to mortgages.. you choose, let me know and I will move you if required..

[vinegarvera]

Thanks CB! It seems they are all out to get me at the moment!

[citizenB]

I have also sent an S.O.S. to Ell-enn who might be able to offer some more advice..

[citizenB]

Thanks CB! It seems they are all out to get me at the moment!

 

 

Yes, I think I can understand that.. with a few well chosen words you can usually see HSBC back into their cage.. which is why I suggest writing.. you get the chance to think about what you are saying whereas on the telephone.. it is very difficult and once something is said.. it cant be edited out and resaid.

 

BTW, a couple of paragraphs that you might want to use where correspondence/communication with your mortgage is concerned..

 

 

We understand that the FSA now demands that all of your calls in relation to any “Mortgage” arrears must be recorded, so we would like to request a recording as well as a transcript of all recent calls that have been made to any of our numbers, even if these only discuss the “security checks”.

Please place on record that it has been our family policy for some time now to only communicate in writing when dealing with our financial affairs from our home, as it is our right to do so under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Edited August 8, 2012 by citizenB
correction

[Ell-enn]

I think I can see what their problem is - if for instance your payment is due on 1st September but you make the payment on 24th August they won't see it as the 1st September payment - they will see it as the 1st August payment made late

 

Just out of interest is there any reason why you can't pay a week or so after you get paid

[vinegarvera]

Thanks Ell-enn, I pay as soon as I am paid for budgeting reasons, and, ironically enough, because I am now paranoid about late payments, and rightfully so, so it seems!

[Ell-enn]

I can understand why you're doing it - you will feel that it's best to get the payment out of the way. However, the only way to stop this cycle of letters is to pay on the due date - do you have another account you could transfer the money into by internet banking on the 24th so it's effectively out of the way and then pay on the due date out of that account?

 

If you don't have another account try the Co-op basic account (you need to ring them up to apply), but you will get the account ok even if your credit rating is not good. The basic account comes with internet banking, a visa debit card and you can set up standing orders/direct debits- so you would be able to transfer by internet into the account and then pay the mortgage by debit card or standing order.

[vinegarvera]

Yes looks like that is what I will have to do... However, I feel it is morally wrong to harass someone for late payments when they have, in fact, paid early and in excess..

[Ell-enn]

I completely understand what you're saying - however I'm afraid that financial institutions look at things by calender month and although theoretically you are paying early, because it's in the wrong month it will always trigger their system. The only other way to stop this situation is to pay two months payments on the 24th of one month, which would effectively put you in advance (according to their way of allocating payments), but I'm sure you won't want to do that.

 

I think the best plan is to pay on the 1st of the month either by waiting or transferring the money to another account when you get paid.