Household HSBC Watch

When it comes to ignorance on the part of HSBC this fully researched and documented case is outstanding. A man in Texas reported: “HSBC Finance (Credit Card division) is routing a portion of their after hours support calls to my cell phone. The credit card holders belive I work for HSBC and give me their credit card numbers. This has been happening for 1 year. I have reported this to the BBB and FCC, to no avail. HSBC stated in a call last week (Aug 28, 2008) that they “choose not to address the issue at this time” and suggested I get a new phone number. Meanwhile, their card holders are in jeopardy for fraud.”

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HSBC needs the money. If there is an possible away, HSBC Finance would like to raise your HSBC crdit card rate to 30.99 percent or higher. excuses to customers are questionable at best. With no ‘late-30’s’ and timely payments, HSBC told one customer “you have a lot of bills” and raised the interest rate to 30 percent. Constant credit report reviews show how HSBC trolls the credit reporting agencies like bottom feeders, looking for any excuse. Clearly with billions in subprime losses HSBC needs the money.

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The Manchester Evening News (see) reported something we already knew. BARCLAYS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and NatWest all offer below average customer service, according to the latest Which? Money current account survey. They also continue to offer paltry amounts of interest on credit balances. Just look at our own survey, located to the right of this article, to see customer service ratings.

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HSBC Holdings and an unidentified Chinese bank are among potential buyers of Lehman Brothers, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing a financial industry source. State-owned KDB confirmed on Tuesday it was in talks with Lehman. Lehman prefers KDB over other contenders as KDB plans to keep its current management after an acquisition. If HSBC intends to get serious about this venture something must be done to satisfy all parties involved, including regulators.

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LA in Pennsylvania said: “I work at Sears. You post that Sears is no longer affiliated with HSBC. This is wrong. Sears currently has two banks running their credit cards: Citibank and HSBC. When a customer applies for a Sears Card, his credit report is first run by Citibank. If Citibank approves him, then he never has any contact with HSBC, but if Citibank is unable to approve him for a Sears Card, his credit report is then run by HSBC. This is automatic. If the customer is approved by HSBC, he is given a preapproved offer for a Sears Solutions Card by HSBC. The customer is given the chance to refuse or accept the offer. Most people accept. The majority of people who apply for Sears Cards are either approved by Citibank or denied by both. But I would say about 15% of applicants do end up being offered an HSBC card.”

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We received this editorial via email: I believe H.S.B.C. to be a fine institution. The problem is they purchased Household International whose Management had failed, then allowed them to stay in power. The same management ran it into the ground the first time and now they are doing it all over again with their obnoxious ways. They like to paint a picture of pure and white to the outside world by supposedly doing it the “right way”.

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I worked for HSBC for 19 years, most of that time in collections. I was recently fired for a bogus reason. Many of my fellow co-workers with 15-19 years of service for HSBC have also been let go. One individual was fired because they did not delete an email that was “inappropriate” sent to them by someone else 4 years ago. It seems there is a pattern with HSBC letting people go with 15-19 years of service. Many of these employees including myself are grandfathered under the Household Pension Plan. I believe HSBC is doing everything in it’s power to get rid of employees to save on pension costs. Customers — you are not alone. HSBC screws it’s employees in the very same way. If you are an employee who has been fired after 15-19+ years of service, please write your blog. Do I hear class action law suit?

Kudos to The Guardian for this article. As bad as finances are in the U.K. we found out that executive perks at HSBC remain untouched. The TUC PensionWatch report identifies a senior HSBC finance director who ‘receives an executive allowance of 55 per cent of annual basic salary to fund personal pension arrangements’. The average contribution rate for ordinary workers’ defined contribution (DC) schemes is around 6.5 per cent.

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It seems like the Irish are not the only HSBC employees losing jobs. HSBC’s Livingston call center is closing. The bank said that although the staff would hopefully be absorbed within the company’s Scottish workforce it is no longer cost effective to keep the West Lothian location open. HSBC admitted that some jobs may go to India. A previous report said HFC Bank Ireland was closing immediately. These changes make one ask what is really happening at HSBC. Did the bank carry a lot of dead weight until the U.S. subprime and Household International disasters caused huge losses? Or is this a subtle way to justify huge pay increases awarded to senior executives?

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In another move designed to alienate customers HSBC will stop paying interest on current accounts. Not satisfied will aggravating customers in the United States with computer malfunctions that delayed direct deposits, HSBC found a way to anger even more customers. It is a trait learned from HSBC Finance. Granted, not paying interest on current accounts in the U.K. does little for customers, but it will save HSBC approximately £7million a year. It is the thought that HSBC simply says ‘this is how it is and shall be!’

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