Awful Experience in HSBC

[spirit]

Post removed upon request - I should have locked it too to avoid people stirring but better late than never The Administrator

[Sue]

Sorry to hear of your experience.

Have you thought of writing to HSBC's Head Office?

If you address it to the Chairman (probably a man) by name they will be bound to investigate and reply. I think.

Just closing your account may make you feel a bit better but won't change anything in the branch.

[EDOldie]

It will all be on video, I'd complain like hell.

[Marmora Man]

Complain, complain complain - even if you've had a bad response in the past. It's the only way to encourage HSBC to do better.

I'd also ask the staff to retain the video record before it's recorded over - I use that bank and the video should capture everything about the incident. Request they retain a copy of the video by letter and ask your husband / someone to accompany you as you hand the letter over to the local staff.

[buddug]

He was just a boor. It was a small, very unpleasant incident. Let go of it, or he's won. What if, like my sister, you'd just learnt you had breast cancer. Peace of mind is all about letting go of these petty irritations we all suffer from time to time. They're horrible, but in the scheme of things, they're nothing, are they, really? Yes, you were in the right, and he was in the wrong. So what? Do you know why? He has to live with himself, you don't. Find peace from that. And believe me, what comes around goes around. You don't have to do anything.

[espelli]

It will be on video and you can request a copy of it under the data protection act. This will mean that someone will need to trawl through the footage and it will make it more likely that they will investigate your complaint if you have a copy as well. They may charge ?10 for the privilege but it might be worth it to get them to investigate it fully. I agree with Sue, a letter to the top can be very effective.

What a horrible experience. The staff should have stepped in. I hope you are able to resolve this.

[BigPhil]

i agree with the formal complaint way.

Go for the jugular.

You could take HSBC to the cleaners if you really want to

Dont be pushed around by anyone.

[brenda]

that's awful!

[tommy]

If he deposited cheques - they can easily find out who he is (those boxes are cashed every few hours)

Sorry to hear about your experience - but concur with others here. I'd go all the way complaining (and then have closed my account)

[David Mc]

Chairman:

Stephen K Green

HSBC Holdings plc

8 Canada Square

London E14 5HQ

[Mikecg]

The guy was an ignorant bully, I am 6ft2" 18 stone, I'd like to see him try that with me I'd of punched him up the goans for a start, and as I always visit the fish monger before the bank I would have slapped him round the Mooch with me Rainbow Trout.

Don't worry about it tho' there are lots of nasty ignorant people in the world I try to step over them as if they were dogs muck, hypothetically speaking of course.

[lenk]

These people are only doing their jobs - writing to the chairman is pointless - there's at least 3 layers of 'gatekeeper' behind anyone like that (having been one of those people before at a government agency most are filed under 'B' for bin if they look like they might be anything more than routine) - you're best off putting in a formal complaint and moving your account elsewhere if you want to make a point.

I'd find a forum full of disgruntled HSBC-ites to repost what you posted here to as well, someone might empathise and advise as to how better do something with more potency.

[Mrs Y]

OMG that's awful! I agree you should send a formal complaint.

Take care

[David Mc]

Writing to the chairman is not pointless (though I can't speak for government agencies). Writing to the chairman of John Lewis got us 50% off the cost of a new kitchen after a nightmare installation experience.

[hellosailor]

It's dreadful that he behaved like that and appalling that the staff didn't help and challenged your version of what happened. You should definitely complain and get a copy of the video to back it up. take it to the top!

Hope tomorrow brings something nice to make up for it

[Weegee]

Im really sorry to read about your experience. Yes do make a formal complaint to HSBC head office. They will have video evidence.

And if they are not helpful..there are other avenues you can pursue...ie The Banking Ombudsman.

Good on you for closing your account..HSBC dont deserve your custom. And I hope the staff of that branch

get to read the thread on this forum...and realize how word of appalling customer service can spread round

this community.

[SteveT]

What a perfectly horrid experience, what a dreadful, dire little man, to treat you so rudely. What a useless employee not

to have taken the ugly situation in hand. I think you have done the very best thing by closing your account.

Find a more amenable bank to trade with, where you will feel more relaxed to do your transactions.

It is one of those upsetting scenes that we can all do without, but eventually we all have to deal with them in life and

hopefully move on, with as little aftershock as possible.

I would rather not do anything about such a scene that would remind me of it in future days weeks or months. I am rather

cowardly I guess, I would rather let it go just so I'm able to move on with my life without prolonging the misery of

persuing some possible case with a bank which is for you, now, history.

Best of luck with your new bank. Go to bed with a couple of shots of your namesake.

[Huguenot]

Sounds a bit odd, and I can see you were upset.

Just to offer a balancing view: reading your description I'm confused about a few things. You say you were mid-transaction but in order for him to put his card in the machine, does that mean that yours wasn't? It seems like you weren't doing any transactions, you were doing paperwork?

I mean, it sounds like, as you described, that this was a packed and busy bank with big queues and only one teller. It sounds like you went and blocked everybody's access to the only machine whilst you did a load of paperwork using the machine as a desk?

It might even appear to others that having finished with your paperwork, you then started texting on your phone whilst still blocking the machine (even if you were actually using the calculator).

It also looks like having been asked to stop blocking the machine with your paperwork, instead of trying to accommodate your fellow customers, you starting to pick an argument whilst still blocking the machine.

It must have been exasperating for others who didn't understand why you couldn't do your paperwork and mobile phoning elsewhere?

Whilst it doesn't excuse his boorish behaviour, it doesn't seem to cast you in a particularly generous light either?

Rereading your account, it's also contradictory: if he was a little man, how did he lean over the top of you? I notice that 'leaning', becomes 'pushing' which them becomes 'thumping'. I mean, thumping is simply assault - which no sane bank employee would ignore (and very few customers either). If he had really thumped you, wouldn't this thread read 'Assault in HSBC'?

You'll forgive me for suggesting this doesn't ring true?

I mean, it sounds just a little bit, just a little bit, as if there's two sides to this story? Is this possibly the reason why the guys in the bank didn't offer you too much support?

(Edited for clarity)

[Keef]

Bravo

[JohnL]

This sounds just like the City Banker attitude of 'I'm so important that I can push in' that I see every day

By the way the HSBC said they didn't need my 80 year old mothers custom as they were still making a profit (or one of the tellers did) - what goes around comes around HSBC.

[red devil]

Having read the OP a couple of times I have to agree with Huguenots' comments. If he 'thumped' you that constitutes an assault and you should report it to the police...

[JohnL]

But Huguenot, why is everyone in parts of London in such a rush, Why is their time more important than people they share this city with. It happens all the time.

In Nationwidwe on Rye Lane, I waited behind a guy who set up his whole church finances before being served. I wanted to go to work too, but I waited patiently.

[Burbage]

There are lots of reasons people are in a hurry. Parking meters, unforgiving bosses and train timetables being three of them. And, despite being a self-employed bicyclist with no such pressures on my time, I sometimes get impatient with people who get their CBT from Post Offices, find the ends of escalators surprising or get caught out by the need for money at a checkout.

Although I can't really comment on the merits of the case, not having been there, I'm inclined to imagine there might be something in Hugeuenot's comment. Using a paying-in machine as a desk is likely to be as popular as using an ATM as a baby-changing table. On the other hand, ten paragraphs of outrage would be spectacularly impressive for an apparently minor incident, so there's probably some justification. I hope there is or, heaven forbid, this forum would be quickly swamped with minor gripes about shoddy customer services and rampant oikishness.

[paulino]

awfully sorry that you are upset, but I would have to agree with Huguenot's post. some people will have thought that YOU were the nuisance.

by all means complain ... but what do you want to acheive? will an auto-scripted apology from head office really make that much difference to you? it's really not worth getting into a tizz about. there are more important things in life.

the same thing could happen to you in your new branch too.

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Spirit, sorry for your horrid experience and I know its not want you want to hear but I have to say Huguenot's comments and observations seem relevant.

There is no excuse for his rude behaviour but he was probably totally pissed off with HSBC having just one Teller ( I closed my a/c with Midland/HSBC after 35 years recently), "perceived" you using the top as a desk and may have, understandable (wrongly) thought you were texting, as well!....

As for the Staff they cannot say this to you but they well have thought the same so adopted a "Neutral" stance, particularly as most people do NOT want "to get involved"...

In my local HSBC they bricked up one of the 3 positions for a Teller to use and sent the queues out into the street with all its implications for security. You also got wet in the winter as an added bonus and then their representative came on TV and said that they "never" have queues!

So, two sides to this, I feel but I hope you feel better in days to come and put this behind you.

Make a complaint but its 100/1 that you will receive satisfaction from this mob...