HSBC Holdings review: they are extortionists! 8

MY husband and I have a best buy credit card which is held by HSBC bank. I thought it would be great if I could start receiving online statement notifications instead of a paper bill. The last paper bill that I receiv3ed was in June 2007. From July-October, I have yet to receive anything in wither a paper form or email notification.

I have made regular payments and to our surprise we received a collection letter from HSBC. When I called and was transfered to some place in India - the csr first thanked me for my payment and then yelled at me for being irresponsible because I am now in collections. My original payments for best buy was $29 a month, but I would pay $30. Apparently when we bought our computer from best buy the payments went up to $33 a month. So for 3 months, I shorted HSBC $3 a month, bringing a grand total of $9. For that $9, I am now in collections for $149.

When I called on 10/31/07, I spent 3 hours on the phone with over 6 people explaining and reexplaining that I haven't received any bills but still paid. They each told me that HSBC just sends out statements as a courtesy and it's my responsibility to know my amount. I have called every month since July complaining to HSBC regarding not getting an statements or notifications. When I mentioned that the csr(s) each said that I never called because they would have had a record of it. On October 31, 2007 I mentioned over 10 times that I wanted a manager. Each time, they either said that they don't have one, the manager's on the phone, and I have one supervisor flat out refuse to give me a manager telling me that I WILL ONLY DEAL WITH HER!
After 3 hours of getting a run around, I was back to square one, with the supervisor threatening to report me to all the credit reporting agencies and in essence because of shorting HSBC $9 - They not only have reported us but have taken away our promotional rate from Bestbuy. I am stressed out, my husband and I are fighting and I can't sleep. Can you help me? Does anyone know what to do?

I am having the worst experience with HSBC Retail Services. I bought a dog which I returned and the place I bought it from never gave me a full refund and since I financed it, HSBC kept sending me bills which I thought were already reimbursed. Then they charged me a late fee of $29.00. So I figured out the problem and sent them the check after the company I bought the dog from figured out they never reimbursed me. HSBC "LOST" the check. So tomorrow I am having the post office make those idiots sign for my package. They are scam artists.

I am working with HSBC Retail Services through a Yamaha motorcycle dealership here in Colorado and I am disgusted at their unfair practices!
In September, a check was sent to them in payment of my monthly bill, not due until October 11th. They claim they did not receive the check until October 11th and slapped on a $35 late fee. I was angered at this but blamed snail mail and didn't complain too much about it, however I had the foresight to phone in my next payment on November 8th - not due until Nov 11th. I used my debit card and requested that the payment be processed immediately. Confirmation number in hand, I felt secure that I had taken care of my business - that is, until I received my bill for December - an ADDITIONAL $35 late fee on top of a $15 pay-by-phone processing fee! Why the hell am I being charged another late fee. My $129 payment is now $214!
I hate HSBC Retail Services and the shady, underhanded, loan-shark mentality that they have.
There is NO website available for them that posts an e-mail address and al complaints are to be handled in writing - like they'd ever respond.
I NEED to know what to do. I want them out of business and I would like everyone to unite and fight these practices.

If anyone reading this has a way of contacting these criminals online, would they be kind enough to respond to this posting. I am working on a Teaching Assistant salary and can't afford this robbery.

They have done the same thing to us. It is driving me crazy. We bought a computer at Best buy. We got the 12 months no intrest plan. I maid the first 10 payments on time and always paid more then my statment required I was almost done paying it off. But we fell behind on the next two payments. I got a letter in the mail saying that our ballance had gone from $330.00 to almost $900.00 due to the intrest they added for the whole year and finance charges and late fees. But if I called them by the 9th they would offer me a deal to get it back down to the $230.00 balance. So I called them imediatly. We set up a payment plan were they would submit checks to my bank on the 4th of every month.(that was the day I had called them on) And my accout would be paid in full in 4 months. I checked my account daily to verify the charge and by the 10th there still was nothing. so I called them and got the same run around you all did I have talked to over 50 people ! I was told the same thing that my check had been returned for nsf and that I had recevied the $25.00 return fee and the 35.00 late charges also And that they had sent it back threw. I called my bank and no checks had ever come threw on my accoutn. so I called them back and finally after talking to about 8 people one women told me I had to send her proof of how much money I had in my account. I have also asked to talk to a manager every time I call and have been transfered to other people not one of them managers. They have also flat out fefused to let me speek to a manager. Then I found out they had done the same thing they were missing one number on my accout. By this time they had already sent the payment threw 4 times and charged me all 4 times. They then took back their offer of the price reduction becouse the first time my check they wrote out was returned on the 10th one day after the deal expired.. So now after paying them for 4 months $104.00 I still owe almost 900.00 I have sent letters and faxes and never heard any thing back from them. I am so tired of dealing with them. I dont know what eles I can do. PLEASE if any one knows what we can do let me know. This has got to be against the law. Cant we do some thing?

I am contacting the Attorney General in my State and suggest you do the same. This company cannot continue to get away with these dishonest practices!

I too have a horror story and I plan on taking them to court. I bought a flat screen supposedly with no finance charges or interest due until 2011. After about a year of them taking $20 out of my account monthly I receive an email that I am late in my payment. I called and asked how could I be late when they take the funds out automatically? The agent told me that after one year I needed to go online and set up the automatic withdrawals from my bank again. I did so and he dropped the $39 finance charge. Then a couple of months ago I received another email about a late fee. This is what hsbc now says to me: last september I had non-sufficient funds and so they compounded $200 in interest since then. Well, after speaking to four people (two supervisors) I got them to admit that there never were non-sufficient funds. I read them all my bank statements and every month for 18 months they have taken %20, and never once was there under $2000 in my account and certainly no nsf charges. So, the supervisor says to me: well then it was a technical error and now you owe $400 in finance charges. I told him I was not responsible for their technical problems and I wanted his name. He didn't want to give it to me, but finally he did. Then I said I wanted the address to send them the pay-off, He didn't want to give me that info either. Eventually I got the address out of him and said I was send them the pay-off of $1300 which is what we owe. He said no, you owe $1900. So in one afternoon I was told there were finance charges of $200, then $400, and finally $600! I am speaking to an attorney about this and have told my bank not to release any more funds to them.

I wrote the above story. I then went to the Federal Trade Commission website and filed a complaint. I suggest that each of us file a complaint. They have to be held accountable.

It's agreed. HSBC Retail is a full time theif...scammng people with late fees, holding payments, charging extra, individuals can't even pay off an account. Shouldn't this be ilegal? Does any one ever see justice with this group. I actually have proof...on statements and in writing from customer service...where the payments were held in order to charge late fees. One payment authorized over the phone was held for approximately a month in order to charge a late fee. I paid a larger payment in the meantime, thinking that the authorized payment would not go through. Did a stop payment on the $180 that never sappeared on the statement. One month later, HSBC tries to process the $180, calls it a return check and charges extra. Customer service responds with "we had incorrect banking information". Right...and pigs fly and HSBC is honest as the day is long. What can be done with this crooked group?