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AIBU?

To think I'm a sucker for agreeing to this from HSBC?

43 replies

TunipTheHollowVegemalLantern · 26/11/2012 10:13

So, I just went into my bank to pick up a replacement card for joint account after losing my old one.
Lady goes to fetch card and when she comes back I notice she is holding an envelope with my old address on, for a house I sold 5 years ago.
Everything as far as I have been aware has been coming to our current house, I have not noticed anything going missing.

So I enquire and it turns out they have the old address as well as the new one despite our having informed them of address change, and they want me to make an appointment to go through the change of address details. WHICH THEY HAVE HAD FOR 5 YEARS AND HAVE BEEN USING CORRECTLY IN EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF THE ACCOUNT. So I need a special appointment just to DELETE an old address Hmm

Me: 'Can't I just fill in a form? Or do it now?'
Her: 'Oh no, we don't have a form, and I can't do it, you need to make an appointment again with Tam.'

So I have got to make a special trip to the bank just to put right some bizarre clerical error on their part. I am a sucker for standing for this, aren't I?

Are all banks this silly or is it just HSBC?

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agedknees · 26/11/2012 10:16

It will be a cunning ploy to try and sell you one of their products.

Trust me.

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MoomieAndFreddie · 26/11/2012 10:20

banks are incompetent idiots

don't stand for it, why should YOU have to go out of your way because of an error THEY have made Hmm

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TunipTheHollowVegemalLantern · 26/11/2012 10:21

I think you are right AgedKnees.

Maybe I need to go on some kind of assertiveness course to learn not to be a sucker.

It's a waste of their time anyhow because it's a joint account and I'm not buying any products without dh who tends to do the financial planning in our house because is a maths whizz and gets a kick out of saving a few ££.

Do you think the counter staff get some kind of bonus for the number of people they bring in for a pointless appointment?

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MistyB · 26/11/2012 10:22

Phone the telephone banking number and as them to sort it out. I wonder what's going on? I was on the phone last week about an address and missing post and they asked me about an address I was at 5 years ago. Odd.

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Iggly · 26/11/2012 10:23

Tell them to get lost and not to be so ridiculous.

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ChippingInLovesAutumn · 26/11/2012 10:24

I'd ring them up, tell them you will not be going in to sort this out, so if they have any questions or forms they need filling in they can send them to you, to the address they have had for FIVE years :)

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craftynclothy · 26/11/2012 10:25

Dh had similar issues with HSBC. They'd changed his address on one part of the system. All his statements etc were coming to our address. All fine until he needed a new card issued. They sent it to his previous address because they hadn't updated his address for that system "for security reasons" HmmConfused. Luckily it was his parents address but the first we knew of it was MIL phoning him to complain that he was getting post delivered to them.

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ArbitraryUsername · 26/11/2012 10:26

At least they're offering you an appointment with an actual person. We used to bank with HSBC but decided to change to a bank that didn't direct us to a phone (to speak to someone in India, usually) when we had come into the branch. If we wanted to do it over the phone, we wouldn't have bothered coming in to the branch.

Well, that and the debacle of setting up DS1's online banking. The woman on the phone kept insisting on speaking to a 9 year old who couldn't understand what she was asking him and telling her to speak to me. It was an absolute nightmare, and I was exasperated by the end of it. It was particularly irritating as I am the signatory on the bloody account, and he couldn't take money out or do anything to it without my permission. But, did that mean I could set up the online banking...

I hate HSBC with a passion.

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TunipTheHollowVegemalLantern · 26/11/2012 10:29

Interesting that you've had a similar problem Crafty.

The original card actually came to the current address, despite their supposedly having the old address attached to it.

Security reasons - pah! If they were so keen on security surely leaving an old address on a card and not bothering to check it is correct is a fucking massive security risk? She said they had 'gone away' correspondence for the old address - so you might think the moment that happened they would have contacted me at the address they knew worked to check the situation?

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ParsingFancy · 26/11/2012 10:37

Yep, I've had this with HSBC, address changed on one part of the system and not another.

Don't try to deal with it verbally: send them a(nother) letter updating your address, and pointing out the part of the system where it hasn't been changed.

Add "Principle 4 of the Data Protection Act requires you to ensure that personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. Failure to update your records when informed of a change of address is a breach of the law. I therefore expect you to update all your records accordingly."

If you want to be really hard-core, tell them you'll be making a Subject Access Request in 4 weeks' time to check they've actually made the change...

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FryOneFatManic · 26/11/2012 10:43

I'd agree to doing it in writing, and keep a copy. The appointment will definitely be to try and sell financial products. They tried this with me, but I sat and smiled and did the broken record thing "thank you but I have that covered." Not accepting appointments in future.

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MariaMandarin · 26/11/2012 10:43

HSBC have been getting on my nerves recently so I definitely think YANBU. Had to go in for an apparently crucial meeting to do with my new mortgage where what actually happened was that nearly 2 hours of my time was taken trying to sell me insurance products that I do not want. I wish I had the balls to just tell them to shut up and leave. I kept thinking we were about to get to the important bit but we never did.

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TunipTheHollowVegemalLantern · 26/11/2012 10:49

If I go to the meeting I'm taking my 3yo, I'm not wasting my precious child-free time.

My broken record if they try to sell me stuff will be 'My husband deals with all that'

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Pomtastic · 26/11/2012 13:15

Had same problem here for both DH's & my separate accounts - statements sent monthly to new address for several years, replacement cards sent to previous address.

Updating address on internet banking doesn't help, but doing it via telephone banking does.

Weird glitch & very very annoying. Sent a few cross emails about it & was just stone walled in replies back! Must cost them so much, let alone the fraud implications.

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Floggingmolly · 26/11/2012 13:22

Be careful that they haven't been sending duplicate bank statements to your old address. Bizarre as that sounds, it happened to me.
I actually had to close the account and move it elsewhere as they finally admitted that the way their computer system had linked the accounts didn't allow for one to be deleted.
(They'd opened a new one, instead of simply changing the address on the original one as requested).
So they gave my account details to someone else on a monthly basis for almost a year. Hmm

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cozietoesie · 26/11/2012 13:25

I'm with RBS. Everything was done by phone and filling in one form which had to be sent to somewhere like Burnley. (They have COA centralized to avoid fraud.)

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EscapeInTheCity · 26/11/2012 13:32

My parents had the same issue with HSBC. All statements arriving at their house but cards arriving at my house (previous address).
They didn't have to go and get an appointment though to have the address changed.

But I still receive junkmail for them from HSBC. Obviously, they still haven't updated all their mailing lists....

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TunipTheHollowVegemalLantern · 26/11/2012 13:41

FloggingMolly, that sounds entirely possible. I get the impression they've been sending something to my previous address.

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Kafri · 26/11/2012 13:57

When you book an appointment listen out for the magic words 'individual review'. They'll want to o through every product you have and try to flog u a paid version cos its better for you!! Bullshit - it's not better for you but each product sold = points for the branch and meeting points target = CASH BONUS FOR STAFF! Simple as that. They've tightened up on targets now so it's harder for branches to meet them therefore harder for staff to get their bonus so they'll try everything to get people in.

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TunipTheHollowVegemalLantern · 26/11/2012 14:07

Poor staff, they're not going to sell me anything Sad

(even though I am a sucker)

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PrincessSymbian · 26/11/2012 14:29

Just trekked on two buses to open an account with the Co-Operative bank.
Got there and they only work on an appointments basis so have to go back on Wesnesday!
And they now require you to fill out a monthly budgeting form with your application. I am so tempted to scrawl none of your fucking business all over it but I won't

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TheCatIsEatingIt · 26/11/2012 15:47

I had a pointless HSBC Financial Review when I went in to change my name after I got married. Or maybe when I had to go in the second time once I'd got my DH to sign the form to consent to me changing my name on the joint account - that being the change from my maiden name to his name, evidenced by the marriage certificate from my wedding to him, that he had signed at the time. Pretty well everything she asked required the answer "I'd have to talk to my husband about that." I'm not a surrendered wife by any means, but long-term financial planning is something we decide together - is that really so big a surprise?

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Iamnotamindreader · 26/11/2012 16:07

I'm with Sancrapper and wentin to change the address on mine and DHs joint account. All went fine except they couldnt change him to being at the new address as he wasn't at the appointment.

So now all correspondence is addressed to Mrs. Iamnotamindreader and Mrs. Iamnotamindreader. Hmm

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TunipTheVegedude · 26/11/2012 16:12

DH was with me this morning but they couldn't do anything there and then supposedly. I can just imagine turning up on Wednesday and being told I need to make a new appointment with him present.

I think tomorrow I'll grow a backbone and ring them and say I'm not coming. I'll tell them if they can't find a way to formalise the address changes without me making a special appointment, I'll look around for a new bank. What are the odds they'll suddenly discover I can do it by writing a letter after all?

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zipzap · 26/11/2012 16:44

I would also tell them up front that you hope that getting you to go in person to change the address at a different time is not a ploy to do an individual review because you are perfectly happy (give or take their inability to update your data correctly) with all your banking and related products from them and your other suppliers so you do not want to hear about nor will not be signing up to any new or changed products from them - and that any attempts to make you listen to any sales pitches will make you close down your accounts with them.

That has worked for me in the past when they have tried to get into the bank under false pretences in order to flog me new stuff!

DH tried to get hsbc to add me to his account for it to become our joint account. they lost the first two sets of forms that we filled in (although as he was making a different change too at the same time we know they made that change ok).

it's not just hsbc - I kept finding old addresses popping up on my lloyds accounts, despite changing them more than once. Years and years and I'd think I'd get it sorted and then it would appear in strange random places. Madness that they do not have a global 'change address' function on their systems that changes everything!

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