And So It Begins..... - **WON**

[Rusty-London]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and after reading through the FAQ's and weighing up the pros and cons I've decided to go for it and put in a claim against HSBC.

 

I closed the account with them at the end of last year after deciding that I was sick and tired of there excessive charges when i had some financial problems after losing my job.

 

I've just completed my DPA letter and will send it off to the HSBC head office tomorrow morning by Recorded Delivery. I'm not sure how much the charges will add up to over the past 6 years, but I suspect that it will be a substantial amount!

 

Hopefully it will be plain sailing and they'll refund me my charges straight away.....But then again it's often been said that I live in a dream world!

 

I'll keep everyone updated with what happens and when.

[Cornucopia]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and after reading through the FAQ's and weighing up the pros and cons I've decided to go for it and put in a claim against HSBC.

 

I closed the account with them at the end of last year after deciding that I was sick and tired of there excessive charges when i had some financial problems after losing my job.

 

I've just completed my DPA letter and will send it off to the HSBC head office tomorrow morning by Recorded Delivery. I'm not sure how much the charges will add up to over the past 6 years, but I suspect that it will be a substantial amount!

 

Hopefully it will be plain sailing and they'll refund me my charges straight away.....But then again it's often been said that I live in a dream world!

 

I'll keep everyone updated with what happens and when.

 

Hi there, just wanted to wish you good luck! I haven't started an HSBC claim yet as they are my main bank account but today started with Barclays, Halifax and Tesco Personal Finance!

 

So, fingers crossed for you!!!! :)

[Rusty-London]

Thanks for that Cornucopia, good luck with your claims too!

 

I've got a quick question and was wondering if anyone could help?

 

The account that I'm claiming on was closed at the end of last year and I've moved house since then. I sent the DPA letter out with my old address on it and I have a mail redirection set up to my new address. Should I continue to use my old address which I used for the account and continue with the redirection, or should I wait for the response from the DPA letter then tell HSBC that I've moved and tell them to use my new address?

 

A bit of a strange one I know, but I'm sure someone will know what to do!!

[Cornucopia]

Thanks for that Cornucopia, good luck with your claims too!

 

I've got a quick question and was wondering if anyone could help?

 

The account that I'm claiming on was closed at the end of last year and I've moved house since then. I sent the DPA letter out with my old address on it and I have a mail redirection set up to my new address. Should I continue to use my old address which I used for the account and continue with the redirection, or should I wait for the response from the DPA letter then tell HSBC that I've moved and tell them to use my new address?

 

A bit of a strange one I know, but I'm sure someone will know what to do!!

 

Hi there, I personally would have made it clear that you have moved and provided your new address whilst quoting the old one too. I would say that when you receive your response via re-direction, you should write to HSBC and ask them to update any records they have because re-direction will only delay proceedings and maybe even give them an excuse to delay too!

 

Anybody agree/disagree? I should think that it will be difficult to pursue a claim from an address you no longer live at, so I would let them know as soon as possible. You could perhaps provide a photocopy of your DPA letter with a covering letter explaining your change of address? Send that recorded aswell!

 

Good luck and look forward to hearing how you get on!!!

[Spiceskull]

It is possible that they may ask for proof of ID, to verify that you are authorised to receive/request the data. However, as you are using your old address this may not crop up.

 

If it does, a quick trip to your local branch will enable them to make a certifed copy of a driving licence or similar.

 

Once you have your statements/transaction history, it may be prudent to notify the bank of your old and new address in your preliminary letter, and the reason for the change (that you have moved.) The reason is that this will simplify processes once/if you raise a claim.

 

Good luck.

 

To see the steps I took to recover unfair bank charges with the help of Consumer Action Group, please read my thread Spiceskull v HSBC.

[Rusty-London]

Many thanks for that guys, That's pretty much what I was thinking of doing.

 

When I receive the statements from the DPA request, I'll send a preliminary letter asking for the money and notifying them of the change of address.

 

Better safe than sorry!!

[Rusty-London]

I've looked through the FAQ's and numerous threads but can't find an answer for this....

How long does it normally take to receive the statements from a DPA request? and also is it normal for the bank to not send any kind of acknowlegement letter after receiveng the DPA request?

[barracad]

It took me about a month to get a response from HSBC. Other banks seem to manage to do it within a week or so.

 

They have 40 days to provide the information requested.

[Rusty-London]

AT last!!!!

 

HSBC have finally sent an acknowledgement of my DPA request. From looking through the forums it seems that it's the same bog standard reply that most people are getting from Ian Shepherd.

 

From now on should I sent all my letters to the Coventry address that this letter has came from, or should I continue to send them to my branch?

[maverik1979]

its up to you, they should all end up in the same place, via the internal system , however it may be easier to stick with one address for simplicity sake

[Cornucopia]

AT last!!!!

 

HSBC have finally sent an acknowledgement of my DPA request. From looking through the forums it seems that it's the same bog standard reply that most people are getting from Ian Shepherd.

 

From now on should I sent all my letters to the Coventry address that this letter has came from, or should I continue to send them to my branch?

 

Hello! That's good news. I didn't send a DPA request as I got all my info on-line. I have received an offer (approx £300 short of my actual claim) and I have returned my correspondence to the person who has written to me. My intial prelim letter was sent to my branch but offer came from Leeds. It is up to you I guess, but in my case, I will be corresponding directly with the person who has written to me!

 

Good luck!

[Rusty-London]

I finally got some statements through from HSBC today after my DPA request. I got the statements from opening the account in 2000 through to December 03. I totalled the charges up to £737.50 :o I was expecting my total claim to be around £300!!

 

Should I now contact HSBC and chase them up for the remaining three years of statements, or should I just wait until the 40 days is up on the DPA then get in touch with them?

[Spiceskull]

or should I just wait until the 40 days is up on the DPA then get in touch with them?

I would wait until they have a week to go, and then send a reminder.

 

However, I received two years worth of statements promptly, and the balance on the 40th day...

 

If you are keen to get a prelim out, then you can download ALL transaction history from the interenet, if you have set up internet banking with HSBC...

 

Good luck though, and keep us posted.

 

To see the steps I took to recover unfair bank charges with the help of Consumer Action Group, please read my thread Spiceskull v HSBC.

[Rusty-London]

Thanks for the advice mate, I'm gonna have a look through your thread now!

 

I just went down to check the post before and the rest of the statements have arrived:). I totalled up the rest of the charges and it came to a grand total of £1247.50!! The shock almost killed me when I saw the final amount:o.

 

I'm just going to send out a preliminary approach letter now and advise HSBC of my change of address.....Fingers crossed!

[Spiceskull]

Good luck - £1,200 should come in handy for the summer...

 

To see the steps I took to recover unfair bank charges with the help of Consumer Action Group, please read my thread Spiceskull v HSBC.

[Rusty-London]

Evening all...

 

As I said in my previous thread I've sent a preliminary approach and change of address notification to HSBC and addressed it to Ian Shepherd at the Coventry address. The letter was sent first class recorded a week ago and I've not yet received a reply. More worryingly I've tried numerous times to use the track and trace thing on the Royal Mail website and it just tells me that information is not available on the item.

 

The question I'm building up to is...................Do I just not worry about it then after the 14 days is up send an LBA, or do I send another letter but to my branch this time?

[maverik1979]

the address if it was one from this forum should be fine, however i would stick to your original timetable, and post of your lba as and when that dictates, but i would personally send it to your local branch, as then you know that there wont be any confusion

 

regards royalmail online, the digital proof (scanned signature) can take up to 72 hours, but standard confirmation is usually straight away

[Rusty-London]

Thanks for the reply Maverick, with regards the Recorded delivery, there isn't even a standard confirmation that the letter has arrived. Like many people in other threads have said, "We didn't receive your letter" never works for us with the banks, so why should they be different!

 

Roll on next Friday, then I can send them the LBA:)

[Rusty-London]

Well, time's up on the prelim for HSBC and shock horror....they never even responded! Well, that's not quite true, they sent a letter thanking me for my DPA request and telling me that the statements were on their way:confused: .....Shame I'd received them weeks ago!

 

So for now it's off down to the Post Office with the LBA....let's see whether they respond to this and how long they try to stall for if they do!

[Hennie]

Good luck Rusty with your claim. My HSBC credit card paid up straight away after sending the 2nd letter, though I've not actually tried my bank account yet, just requested statements so far.

 

When I requested my HSBC statements it took them about 2 weeks to respond and they sent my statements over the course of 2 weeks after that. Annoyingly, they sent the statements in different envelopes, a months worth at a time, so I had about 30 letters from them through my letter box one day when I got home from work!

[Rusty-London]

Well it seems that HSBC have got themselves in a right muddle!!

 

After responding to my prelim by saying they would send me out my statements???? They have sent out all of my statements again! My postman must hate me

 

I didn't get any response to my prelim and so far no response to my LBA. If I don't get any response to the LBA should I just go ahead with the MCOL, or should I send another letter chasing them up?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[HSBCrusher]

You have your recorded delivery proof, they got the letter, hit them with the mcol!

[Rusty-London]

I seem to have came across a slight problem with my claim...

 

I posted my prelim letter to Ian Shepherd at HSBC at the Coventry address, but after speaking to Royal Mail today, I've found that the letter has not been delivered and is now classed as lost:eek:

 

My question is.... Do I send out another prelim, give them 14 days, then send an LBA, or as my LBA deadline has passed this week, do I just go to MCOL as per the original prelim and LBA?

[barracad]

This is the reason I advise people not to use Recorded Delivery for sending these letters.

 

Chances are the item may well have been delivered but the system hasn't been updated. You've sent the letter and got proof you've sent it so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

In future just stick a First Class stamp on - that is perfectly adequate.

[Rusty-London]

Many thanks barracad. It's great this site, there's always someone around who can answer your questions:D

 

I'll put the MCOL through on Friday (payday!). Should I send a copy of the spreadsheet with the 8% interest when i do the MCOL as I didn't send a breakdown of charges with my LBA? From what I understand in the FAQ this seems to be the way to do it.