Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s chief investigator. He battles the reader’s corner, reveals the truth that lies behind closed doors, and wins victories for those left out of pocket. Below you can read how to contact him.
NG writes: My clothing store has been around for 23 years. We had to take out a bounce back loan and struggled through Covid, Brexit, strikes and the energy cost crisis.
But nothing has hit us worse than having our accounts frozen by HSBC under the pretense of a ‘protective’ review.
Tony Hetherington replies: A number of banks seem to be using ‘Know Your Customer’ questionnaires to list reasons for deleting accounts they don’t want, but most of the complaints concern HSBC.
Some HSBC clients who have accounts for local charities or clubs say the bank’s inquiries appear to be aimed at well-established commercial businesses with decent premises. If they can’t provide paperwork, such as utility bills in the name of the charity or club, HSBC responds as if the account holders have something to hide.
Bizarre: The reader’s appeal to HSBC went to an employee in Malta
You told me that you knew nothing about HSBC’s audit of your accounts until you discovered that your company’s assets were frozen. And when you called the bank, your call was answered by an HSBC official in Malta, not a local manager.
As a result, you were unable to pay the taxpayer on time and you were also unable to pay your telephone bill. You were in a very awkward situation with your landlord as your lease was up for renewal the moment you discovered you couldn’t pay the rent because HSBC was on all your money.
You were just days away from bankruptcy.
The bank has told you that it has sent two letters regarding its assessment, but it is clear to you that you have not received either. They were sent during a postal strike and neither letter was sent by certified mail.
HSBC says its security plan is “a series of initiatives designed to better protect all of our customers from fraud and financial crime.” So I asked the bank how the plan protected you when it actually ruined you. A spokesperson replied: “We do not comment on individual circumstances of customers.”
This was trash. I had given the bank your signed authorization to allow HSBC to speak to me. It had never rejected this before. Was this a new policy? Curiously, HSBC insisted the refusal to comment was normal. It took over a week to convince the bank that this was nonsense and that in the past it had always commented when a customer complained.
Meanwhile, HSBC suddenly shifted terrain. It told me it had reversed your bills, but it still blamed you for the whole problem.
You were contacted three times, an official told me, and you had consistently failed to complete the safety assessment. The bank had not made a mistake and was absolutely right in the action it had taken. So, were you contacted twice, as you were told, or was it three times? Were these contacts all by letter, or were there emails or phone calls? You might expect a bank to answer the phone before putting a regular customer on dry land.
HSBC reiterated that there were only two letters. The third supposed contact was a “banner” that would pop up when you logged into his desktop banking system – except this was useless since you don’t use that system. I asked for copies of the missing letters, but HSBC was unable to provide them.
With HSBC turning around, your business is now saved, but your confidence in the bank has taken a serious hit. Please note that HSBC in Hong Kong has frozen the accounts of pro-democracy activists. So you’re in good company, even if your couch isn’t.
Barclaycard says I’m a “bad payer.”
Mrs ST writes: I’ve had a Barclaycard for about 13 years and never miss a payment.
However, when I applied to increase my credit limit from £3,500 I was told my account was with the Collections Team. I dismissed this as an IT error, but months later the same thing happened again.
Barclaycard apologized and put £50 into my account as compensation but recently I asked for a credit increase again and was again denied as my account was with the Collections Team.
‘Bad payer’: When Ms ST applied to increase her £3,500 credit limit she was told her account was with the collections team
Tony Hetherington replies: You knew you owed nothing to Barclaycard, but what turned this affair into complete nonsense was that you are a Premier Account customer of Barclays and the bank itself had offered you a loan of £60,000, while at the same time the credit card department had been listed as a bad payer.
Even worse, Barclaycard blamed his computer system and told you that no one could have fixed it.
I asked officials at the bank’s headquarters to step in and say if you were registered as a bad debtor with credit bureaus.
They quickly told me that your credit record was clean, and your Barclaycard account was never even with the collections team.
Barclays told me, “We recognize that we have not provided the level of service our customers rightly expect and have offered compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.”
You shouldn’t have any further problems, and Barclaycard paid you £200 to say sorry.
If you believe you have been the victim of financial misconduct, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large number of questions, no personal answers can be given. Only send copies of original documents, which unfortunately cannot be returned.
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