HSBC - aggro with ID

[Pugwash]

A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from someone saying they were from HSBC and wanted to know if I had used my visa card recently. Explained that I would not talk over phone and that they should write to me. They did and it transpired that there was a fraudulent transaction involving the visa card on the joint account I hold with my husband.

Advised to cut up said card and that a new card had been ordered, but in meantime I needed to go to HSBC with my id documents for security purposes. This I did on Thursday 28th Nov. Spent over an hour in the bank, waiting for customer service lady and showing my documents. I had our joint account statement which had arrived the day before showing the illegal transaction, my passport and a driving licence (old type). I had to explain that I do not use my married name and that although my passport says YYY there is an entry on the last page which says that the holder is also known as XXX. I pointed this out to customer services lady who obviously had not come across this at all. I explained that I was a professional person and all my qualifications etc were in the name XXX, that she could see from my own personal account that I was paid under name XXX. I had to explain that I wanted to retain my original name when I married but that the Passport Office had declared that any married woman had to have her married surname on the passport but any other names I used professionally could listed on the last page. The lady was not convinced, I explained that many actors have an equity name which is different from their 'real name' and get paid under their equity name. She saw the point I was making.

Was told that when I received my new visa card I just needed to activate over the phone and everything would be fine.

When I got home, post had delivered my new card. tried to activate it over phone and was told there was a security block on it. Explained that I had left HSBC less than an hour ago and taken in all my documents. They did not believe me and said there was nothing on the system.

On Sat. got a letter from HSBC asking me to contact them re illegal transaction. Today did so, again they said there was a security block. Went through all the rigmarole of what happened last Thursday. Was told that since I could not produce photo evidence i.e. passport of my name XXX, there were still security issues. Asked how I was expected to have a passport in 2 names YYY and XXX. That in all the time I have had a joint account with my husband ( over 32 years) I have never had all this fuss. All I have in a photo ID in the name of XXX was my bus pass and security pass for work. I have taken out ISAs, loans etc over the years and my passport and proof of address have always been taken without bother. They are not worried about my personal account also in the name of XXX, just my joint account, as I could not prove my ID and that they could not talk to me any more over the phone as I did not have security pass for telephone banking. Explained I did not want telephone banking or on line banking, I just wanted to activate my visa card and sort out who/when/where someone had used my visa card for an unauthorised transaction. Was told to go back to the branch with all my ID again and ask them to reset my security!!!!!

Has anyone else had similar experience with HSBC or other banks? I hold a Lasting Power of Attorney for my father in the name XXX and deal with Nat West and Barclays and had no problem with them. Is there anyone in the banking world who can explain what the hell is going on. I do not have sufficient leave to take another half day off to go to the bank again. Is this a case for the banking ombudsman ?

[lane lover]

Usually when I get a call from my bank saying there has been a fraudulent transaction, I tend to take it seriously as it can prevent future losses. They tend to cancel the card there and then, issue a new card and it is reactivated shortly thereafter. I cant remember the last time I ever actually went into a bank.

Your post is long and hard to follow, but I am guessing the two names are confusing everyone involved. Is there a way you can just use the same name on all documents?

I recently changed my name and had no issues at all.

It seems like your situation is confusing everyone. I dont think its a case for the ombudsman, as the bank is just being cautious and doing their job.

[Jeremy]

Pugwash Wrote:

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> Explained that I would not talk over phone and

> that they should write to me.

Why?

[Siduhe]

I had to explain that I do not use my married name and that although my passport says YYY there is an entry on the last page which says that the holder is also known as XXX. I pointed this out to customer services lady who obviously had not come across this at all. I explained that I was a professional person and all my qualifications etc were in the name XXX, that she could see from my own personal account that I was paid under name XXX. I had to explain that I wanted to retain my original name when I married but that the Passport Office had declared that any married woman had to have her married surname on the passport but any other names I used professionally could listed on the last page.

I'm in exactly the same position as you, but when I renewed my passport 2 years ago, I wasn't required to change it into my married name - I was able to keep my maiden name. There is some useful guidance here which says you can keep your passport in your maiden name if you use that name for all purposes, and get a note attached in the passport saying you "are the wife of".

It is only supposed to be where you use both your maiden and married names that the situation you are in arises - when the passport has to be in your married name with the note that "you are also known as".

I appreciate it's not a solution to your immediate problem, but could you get the passport changed into your maiden name, which is what it sounds like it should have been all along?

[reeko]

Erm lane lover, I don't think it is pugwash that is being difficult, I think it is the system.

She did not wish to adopt her husband's name when they got married, yet the UK insisted that she use her married name on her passport, not her maiden name (god how I loathe that term). This is what has caused the confusion - not Pugwash. How about nobody changes their name, everyone just sticks with the one they were given at birth regardless of maritial status. That should minimise confusion.

Also Jeremy, I think I get at least three calls a week pretending to be from my bank, there are some really sophisticated scams out there. Refusing to deal with them over the phone seems a reasonable precaution.

Pugwash, although banks do have to be cautious, they must also be able to exercise common sense as well, which they clearly haven't in your case. I am not sure you are at the point of going to the ombudsman yet, but I do like Margaret Drabble in the Times - she might be able to get you some compensation for the inconvenience. As an aside I was in HSBC this week in Angel and there was a very irate lady at the customer service desk - I think she was also having trouble with ID (perhaps it was you!).

[Jeremy]

reeko Wrote:

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> Also Jeremy, I think I get at least three calls a

> week pretending to be from my bank, there are some

> really sophisticated scams out there. Refusing to

> deal with them over the phone seems a reasonable

> precaution.

Depends on whether they can demonstrate that they really from the bank (i.e. they know your personal details). If they called me and said "please tell me your account number, mother's maiden name, and home address" then I'd be a bit suspicious. But surely that wouldn't happen.

[edcam]

I've had several attempts at fraudulent use on cards over the years and have always sorted it out on the phone. I know there are worried about bogus phone calls but as long as you NEVER give anyone your pin number you should be fine. Going into a bank to sort something out is always going to end up a nightmare these days unfortunately.

[giggirl]

Also, beware of the scam where they tell you to call your bank but they don't hang up so when you pick up the phone and think you're dialling your bank, the scammers are still on the line. If this happens to you say that you will call your bank back, but on a different phone.

Like Jeremy, if my bank called me then I'd expect them to have relevant information and not be asking me for my account numbers etc. I shop a lot online so I get numerous calls/texts from my credit card/bank asking if I've made certain transactions (and I usually have).

[reeko]

no Jeremy,

the latest scam involves someone observing you using a cashpoint and following you home. Obtaining your home phone number (I guess from directory services) and calling pretending to be from your bank. They tell you to call the number on the back of your card and then they appear to hang up. You call the number, but as they have not hung up, you are still connected to the scammers. They then 'answer', confirm your address and that you took money out from X cashpoint the night before. They then send a courier around to pick up the card and go on a massive spending spree. Very very slick.

[edcam]

A bank should never ask for your card. In these cases they ALWAYS tell you to cut it up. As giggirl says, if you have a call like the one she describes, just say you're using a different phone to call the bank.

[Jeremy]

They send a courier round to pick up the card?

FFS... you've got to use a bit of common sense sometimes...

[Otta]

With the exception of perhaps a little old lady with no ideas about technology, I have very little sympathy for anyone that falls of these scams.

"We're going to send a courier round to collect your card"... Come on!!!

[kiera]

It sounds like the usual hassle you have to go through when.you don't have the exact foms of photo ID the banks (any banks) require.. It's very frustrating when you know you are the right person and can prove it, but they're not happy about accepting your documemts. I'm resigned to it and just produce all the ID I have When eventually it's accepted, I'm happy to set up a security number and password to enable me to deal with them.by phone.in future - like you, I won't be using it for internet banking.

[Carrie]

Could you fax them a copy of your marriage certificate to prove that XXX and YY are one and the same person

[reeko]

Yep - I don't think I would fall for it, but it is pretty fricking clever and I can understand why some people do get caught out by this one (as opposed to the Nigerian scams for example).

[LadyNorwood]

You don't have to change your name on your passport when you get married unless you want to...

https://www.gov.uk/changing-passport-information

[Siduhe]

It's worth checking out the document I posted above - if you are going to use your married name in any official context (bank account, mortgage, tax etc) then the Passport office do require you to change your passport to your married name once married.

It's only if you are going to carry on using your maiden name for all official purposes that you can keep your passport in your maiden name, which is what I did. It is pretty confusing and it sounds like the Passport Office took the wrong approach with Pugwash's passport.

[MrBen]

Sounds like poor training in a local branch? To be honest I find that local banking is a bit mickey mouse. At mine, LTSB, they're not used to much more than shop owners coming in with a days takings and little old ladies. Yes,really friendly staff who like a gossip are lovely etc but don't go asking them for more than ?1k in cash without having to sign the official secrets act, give fingerprints etc. In the City branches they don't bat an eyelid.

[giggirl]

I just had a text from my Mastercard provider; someone is shopping online with it right now at places I don't shop at. I've told them to cancel the card.

Thing is, I know it is all rather tiresome, but the people who are stealing our money are often very clever at it, so you can't really blame the banks for imposing stringent checks.

[DaveR]

"It's worth checking out the document I posted above - if you are going to use your married name in any official context (bank account, mortgage, tax etc) then the Passport office do require you to change your passport to your married name once married."

I think you may have misread the document; it says this:

" A married woman who continues to use her maiden name, and is known by it for all purposes, may on request have the observation ' THE HOLDER IS THE WIFE OF ................. (name of husband)' entered in the passport."

but that doesn't impose any obligation to change your passport just because you got married. Similarly, the OP said:

" I wanted to retain my original name when I married but that the Passport Office had declared that any married woman had to have her married surname on the passport"

which I'm pretty sure is wrong (although the OP was obviously told or believed that it was correct).

There are also no specific requirements re bank accounts/mortgage/tax etc., although in some circumstances you may be required to prove that you are married if you do not have the same name in your ID documents.

Going back to the specific problem, HSBC will have an internal process for handling and escalating complaints. I would call them, ask to be put through to the complaints people, and then if whoever you speak to doesn't come up with a solution, ask them to escalate to the next level. In my experience you generally get someone eventually who will actually have the authority to make a decision that will sort it out.

[Loz]

giggirl Wrote:

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> Like Jeremy, if my bank called me then I'd expect them to have relevant information and not be

> asking me for my account numbers etc. I shop a lot online so I get numerous calls/texts from my

> credit card/bank asking if I've made certain transactions (and I usually have).

You'd hope that was the case, but it not always is. I once received a call saying they were from my bank and they needed to go through some security to prove it was indeed me they were talking to. I replied that since they had rung me, could they prove they were actually from my bank - say a full account number or other detail. They said the DPA didn't allow them to do that. I said they needed to prove their identity before I would respond to their security requests. At this point the caller got annoyed, told me to ring my bank (!) and put the phone down. I thought, "Ha! Take that, scammer."

Except it turns out that the call really was from the bank. It was a few years ago - I rather hope they've improved their practices since then.

[Siduhe]

Thanks DaveR, I get what you mean about the document. I was more referring to what I was told when I applied to renew my passport as a married woman, pretty much the same as what Pugwash was told, and I was directly sent a link to that document. They accepted it didn't apply to me because I wasn't planning to use my married name for any official purpose.

So someone the Passport Office Enquiries centre is definitely giving out this advice (or at least was 18 months ago). Thanks for the clarification.

[unlurked]

Change your bank.

[Pugwash]

Thanks for all your replies - I first got a passport in 1982 when I married, I actually went to the passport office with all my papers etc and said I wanted to continue to use my own surname (hubby has a non English name which everyone gets wrong). I was informed that the law at the time was that a married woman had to use her husband's name but I could have known also as .... to cover my original name. My surname is not the surname I was born with so my birth certificate does not count. I only have one old building society account with my married name on as my parents/parents in law and other relatives refused to use any other surname but my married name and that was the only way I could bank cheques. I do not use my married name for any other purpose.

Hubby has mislaid the original marriage certificate so I have to apply for a certified copy.

The original phone call from bank asked me my postal code and then started asking questions where I had used my visa card. The person had a very strong accent and was difficult to hear, and when I started asking questions, they would not answer, hence my request for everything in writing.

As I stated before, I hold an LPA for my father who is demented and have to deal with all his finances via, Barclays and Nat West. Nat West there were no problems proving my ID, Barclays got a bit muddled up and put the wrong name on the system initially.

I intend to photocopy all my documents again, and send with a letter directly to the Manager of Lordship Lane HSBC outlining the situation and ask them to sort things out. I even have the name of the customer service lady who saw me. I think from the accent of the lady I spoke with on the phone, this is a call centre in India and they probably do not have access to very recent documents. The fact that she stated I needed to have 2 passports one in each name suggests to me that they do not know what the system here is. Have spoken to work colleagues who do not use their husband's names and found that they did not tell the Passport Office when they married and just carried on using their original name.

I have to renew my passport next year and may opt for using my 'single' name. The system must have changed since 1982 and I had not been aware of this. I will get the certified copy of my marriage certificate first so I have more ID. Thanks for all your help/suggestions.

I had to resort to using the complaints procedure with Barclays when they closed down my father's account and put several thousands of pounds into a general account. The complaints officer was brilliant, but it took her several weeks to sort out as she said herself it was the people working in the other sections who were putting up barriers and refusing to cooperate with her. She did get me ?50 compensation as it took me 6 months in total to get Dad's money back.

[kiera]

I'll be interested to know if you are able to sort it out this way, without having to go into.the branch again. Good.luck and do let us know how you get on.