Working for The Man (HSBC)

[BankDrone]

Hi,

I work for HSBC, The World's Local Acronym. (Sometimes we call it 'Happily Shanghai-ing Broke Customers'.)

Just wanted to say I agree with Lauren. I think that everyone I have met working for HSBC either disagrees with the charging policy outright or merely pretends to agree with it. In a training session it was once insinuated that if it were not for the charging policy then basically our jobs would go to India where they are on tuppence a day.

We also had a good laugh about the ?10 stop cheque charge (we press one key on the keyboard to stop a cheque). There is procedures there for anyone who complains, so I am surprised by how many people accept things like this and we never have to go down that road.

But please remember! We are just people too, albeit in crummy jobs working with your money all day. If you have an objection, be civil. I'm much more likely to sympathise with a calm, level-headed individual than a shouty, sweary git.

"I'm bringing the place down from the inside - Viva la revolution!"

[tash]

bring on the revolution :P

[lobster]

indeeedy well said natasha....

im always nice to my bank tellers as they are great girls...

its the top of the tree fat cats i dont like.....


lol YES BRING ON THE REVOLUTION indeed :lol:

[mada]

Originally posted by BankDrone@Jul 20 2006, 07:09 PM
Hi,

I work for HSBC, The World's Local Acronym. (Sometimes we call it 'Happily Shanghai-ing Broke Customers'.)

Just wanted to say I agree with Lauren. I think that everyone I have met working for HSBC either disagrees with the charging policy outright or merely pretends to agree with it. In a training session it was once insinuated that if it were not for the charging policy then basically our jobs would go to India where they are on tuppence a day.

We also had a good laugh about the ?10 stop cheque charge (we press one key on the keyboard to stop a cheque). There is procedures there for anyone who complains, so I am surprised by how many people accept things like this and we never have to go down that road.

But please remember! We are just people too, albeit in crummy jobs working with your money all day. If you have an objection, be civil. I'm much more likely to sympathise with a calm, level-headed individual than a shouty, sweary git.

"I'm bringing the place down from the inside - Viva la revolution!"
What's the procedure for informing HSBC an account is in dispute and would they call off a DCA as per FSA guidelines?

Also can you confirm about the PRA procedure?

[staceylee]

It is tough working for a bank especially with all this going on.

i have personally had many personal insults towards me regarding this. ive told a few customers i dont get anything out of the charges its not me personally that wont give them back!

we do get giving 'phrases' to use when justifying bank charges and it is preferred not to use your pra unless absolutely necassary.

your pra depends on your grade, your 'average' employee, that being one not at a higher level only has ?75 per customer!

[pensioner]

When we phone we should realise that the people on the end of the phone are unhappy and embarrassed at having to tell the management's story.

Let's not give them too much grief. The money is coming back anyway.

[skyebee]

I like to treat people on the end of the phone the way that I like to be spoken to, with civility, and respect. Had one the other day from the Halifax, chasing my daughter, rendering her to tears, and the bitch very soon hung up on me. Waiting patiently for them to call again. :angry:

[andypandy]

Originally posted by skyebee@Aug 13 2006, 08:47 PM
I like to treat people on the end of the phone the way that I like to be spoken to, with civility, and respect. Had one the other day from the Halifax, chasing my daughter, rendering her to tears, and the bitch very soon hung up on me. Waiting patiently for them to call again. :angry:
Whilst I agree there is no excuse for being downright nasty to the bankclerk. The bank employees on here should try & remember that many of the people who do get nasty are often not just upset because of having to pay rip off bank charges but because of the banks conduct their whole lives are rapidly going down the pan in front of their very own eyes.

One of the consequences of the banks rip off charges & additional interest is that very often unknown to the customer DD's don't get paid & the receiver who is very often a mortgage or finance company then slap an additional ?30 on the account for sending a letter to say it hasn't been paid & that doesn't include the default which is registered on their credit file for all to see

The result is that the banks ?30 penalty soon becomes ?60 plus interest in charges imposed on the customer & that's just 1 unpaid DD. This is how the debt, like Topsy, just grows & grows.

So with respect to all those bank employees they should remember when a customer is losing their patience it may not be just because they disagree with bank charges it can & often does go much deeper.

So far from those customers understanding the bank employees situation I think a little more understanding for the customer, from the bank employee, who's employer is ruining the life of the customer is what is needed.

Cutting them dead or refusing to help cos they ain't being nice isn't helping the bank employees cause

[staceylee]

you've got some good comments there.

what people fail to realise is that nearly all bank staff agree with customers with their comments but cannot say so as most are on a recorded line, or if in the branch there are always eyes watching.

we do take a lot of it on the chin and forget about it as soon as the conversation ends.

how ever i do not think we should put up with abuse to us personally or our families which unfortunately happens im a lot of scenarios.

some of my colleagues have been told, "I hope your house catches on fire and all your family burn to a slow and painful death" and "I hope you get cancer and die."

we've also had threats to blow up our office and kill us all.

whilst we remember your angry at the bank and not us remember we are humans and also customer's of banks getting the same charges.
a lot of bank staff go off sick with depression and stress due to abuse from customers, surely that should be thought about too.

[lizzie47]

I agree..you must come in for a lot of horrible stuff...am guilty in past of ranting myself..not as bad by a long way what you posted..but now...well.as some one posted earlier..i am as nice as the person on the other end..if they get stroppy i hang up am not taking any tickings off or haranging in my own home...at least now we have this site.we are more aware of our rights,and what we can get back ....so whats the point..as my avatar says don,t get mad(especially with the staff doing their job) hang up and get even.. ;)

[annwilburn]

Interesting topic!!!

I agree that you should speak to people the same way that you expect to be spoken to, but i have had conversations with individual bank workers on the end of a telephone line who have been extremely rude and threatening when i rang up to ask for HELP!!!!

One telephonist from the Halifax told me that as i wasn't prepared to pay the ?80 which i was over my limit (which may i add was ALL charges for 1 ?10 DD), right there on the phone that i would get the baliffs calling around!!!!

I would so like to speak to this little jumped up pratt now that i have just put my claim in against the bank he works for!!!!

Majority of the bank staff who i have ever spoken to have been fairly helpful, but it only takes 1 like the above to make you change your mind.

I also spent quite a few weeks umming and aahhing over whether to claim back the charges on my current Natwest account as overall they have been the best bank i have dealt with and i have never had any problem with the staff.................But i soon changed my mind when i realised they had taken over ?1000 in 2 years from me!!!! Hope they will still be nice to me afterwards!!!

A

[solar]

I find that most bank staff are very nice as a rule, EXCEPT those who work in the credit departments and they seem a different breed altogether, well the ones that call me seem to be anyway!

I have a friend who used to work for a credit card company, phoning people up to hassle them to pay up, debt recovery??? She was the sweetest lady you could meet, but her attitude to her job was as hard as nails. As far as she was concerned, if you took out the loan/credit card then there was no excuse to default regardless of the indiviual circumstances. Zero tolerance for defaulters was how they were trained to be, she said, sympathy was not in her job description. She left after a year, couldn't cope with the daily abuse! :D

But the customer service staff have usually been great in my experience and I have alot of sympathy for you all at the moment, it must be really tough. :(

I'm always nice to bank staff on the phone when they call me, even when they're trying to be nasty! Partly cos I know they're just doing their jobs but also because, after a few succesful claims, I really couldn't care less what state my accounts in anymore. :lol: :lol:

But you're all doing well at putting up with the extra stress this must cause you all. and it's worth remembering that even bank staff are still banking customers, still have accounts, still get charges, in fact I've heard the banks are even tougher on you when you are a staff member mismanaging your account. Is this true?

[andypandy]

Originally posted by solar@Aug 19 2006, 12:34 PM
I find that most bank staff are very nice as a rule, EXCEPT those who work in the credit departments and they seem a different breed altogether, well the ones that call me seem to be anyway!

I have a friend who used to work for a credit card company, phoning people up to hassle them to pay up, debt recovery??? She was the sweetest lady you could meet, but her attitude to her job was as hard as nails. As far as she was concerned, if you took out the loan/credit card then there was no excuse to default regardless of the indiviual circumstances. Zero tolerance for defaulters was how they were trained to be, she said, sympathy was not in her job description. She left after a year, couldn't cope with the daily abuse! :D

But the customer service staff have usually been great in my experience and I have alot of sympathy for you all at the moment, it must be really tough. :(

I'm always nice to bank staff on the phone when they call me, even when they're trying to be nasty! Partly cos I know they're just doing their jobs but also because, after a few succesful claims, I really couldn't care less what state my accounts in anymore. :lol: :lol:

But you're all doing well at putting up with the extra stress this must cause you all. and it's worth remembering that even bank staff are still banking customers, still have accounts, still get charges, in fact I've heard the banks are even tougher on you when you are a staff member mismanaging your account. Is this true?
OK I know it's a bit of a cliche but like debt collectors they DONT have to do the job

[andypandy]

Originally posted by annwilburn@Aug 19 2006, 12:03 PM
Interesting topic!!!

I agree that you should speak to people the same way that you expect to be spoken to, but i have had conversations with individual bank workers on the end of a telephone line who have been extremely rude and threatening when i rang up to ask for HELP!!!!

One telephonist from the Halifax told me that as i wasn't prepared to pay the ?80 which i was over my limit (which may i add was ALL charges for 1 ?10 DD), right there on the phone that i would get the baliffs calling around!!!!

I would so like to speak to this little jumped up pratt now that i have just put my claim in against the bank he works for!!!!

Majority of the bank staff who i have ever spoken to have been fairly helpful, but it only takes 1 like the above to make you change your mind.

I also spent quite a few weeks umming and aahhing over whether to claim back the charges on my current Natwest account as overall they have been the best bank i have dealt with and i have never had any problem with the staff.................But i soon changed my mind when i realised they had taken over ?1000 in 2 years from me!!!! Hope they will still be nice to me afterwards!!!

A
I hope your mentioned the bailiff threat in you letter of claim

[annwilburn]

Originally posted by andypandy@Aug 19 2006, 05:22 PM

I hope your mentioned the bailiff threat in you letter of claim [/quote]
Hi Andypandy

I didn't mention it in the 14 day letter although i did put in it that i wanted the default notice that i now have because of the charges REMOVED!!!!

Should i mention it when i put my moneyclaim in aswell as the default removal, although where do you put the request for the removal of the default on your moneyclaim paperwork???

Fanks Ann

[lizzie47]

Dont think it will fit in online...

[voicegti]

I can totally understand both sides of the argument. Many of us are in jobs that we hate doing. Having worked for a bank and a police call centre I know the kind of abuse that people can get (threats to your family etc) however nasty this is we do get paid and at least we have a job to pay the bills. Having been on the receiving end and been in serious debt (still am but recovering ?2k from Halifax helped a bit) it is an awfull situation to be in. Being terrified of the phone ringing incase it's the bank. 7 calls a day from HSBC at the worst time! I was never abusive to the staff but it certainly feels like a personal attack from them. When you read in the press about people commiting suicide over bank charges surely this brings it all home and falls on the side of the overcharged desperate customer. I realise that bank staff have an awfull job but all you need to remember is that some of these customers are so desperate for help that they have contemplated taking their own life. I know you're not samaritans but sometimes you just gotta accept that this person's life, and that of their family, rests in the hands of the bank. I know, like all the others that it isn't the individuals fault, but you can never get through to the people whos fault it is. Surely these sometimes out of order insults at call centre staff are nothing compared to what that person may be going through. Just take the call, and forget about it. Don't let it get to you personally and think about how that customer may be feeling.

No one deserves to be abused and threatened on the phone but it's only on the phone! It's not a reality that this customer may carry out the threats. What is a reality is that this customer may not sleep at night, may cry everytime the phone rings, be too frightened to open the post, and may not even make it through the next month.

[granby]

or even comit suicide like that poor student because of the level of harasment
and threat's of severe finacial hardship because these financial instituton's canot wait to put ccj's and default notices on your credit reference file's

[bigbloke88]

i'm a first direct customer and have hhad to deal with the hsbc credit services dept......

i thank you for trying to help us customers from the inside.....

i alsi agree that keeping a level head generaly gets thing done smoother and more constuctively....

and the guy /girl at the other end of that [hone is onle a person who has to go to work each day and earn a wage just like the rest of us

i don't put up with taking any abuse from anybody while at work, so it's only fair not to give out any abuse..... unless it's to the man in charge of the orginisation who impliments these charges etc.....

[Smrgol]

I work in a call centre too where I would suffer abuse and threats every week (Warm Front, you might have seen us on Watch dog lol) (luckily I'm off of the phones now) so i dont give anyone at the bank (HSBC) any hassell when I phone them or, as is more often the case, they phone me.

What does annoy me though is when someone from the call centre in India calls me 4 days before i get paid (its always 4 days for some reason no matter what month it is) to tell me to not use my account until i pay money into it. And regardless of how many times i tell them I dont have any other money to top my account up with they keep asking - would I have used that account if i had money else where?

I do feel sorry for any member of staff who is threatened or abused, just remember 1 thing I learnt a while ago, It is illigal in the UK to swear or be abusive down the phone, its some random bylaw of BTs when they owned all of the phone lines (BT actually did something right).

I am currently waiting to hear back from HSBC about my claim for just over £3800 they have had out of me over the last 6 years (oh and they took £128 out today, so that will be claimed back too :p) I will let you all know what happens

[slinkyman]

It's fair to say that the Bank staff don't agree with charges and most are generally sympathetic and understanding. Best comment I've ever had from a staff member at HSBC was that penalty charges are basically "money for nothing" from the bank's point of view. Funny how none of their bigwigs or pr people ever put it like that isn't it?

And as for another definition of HSBC - my wife and I use Horrible Sh*tty Banking Company.......

As someone that has dealt with people face to face and via the phone, I can agree it's not nice to be yelled at, threatende or abused for doing your job. However, most managers looking after customer facing teams really couldn't care less about any abuse received by their staff.

[hungary97]

I read on another message board about someone trying to borrow from HSBC once their claim had been settled and all borrowing capability has been suspended does anyone else know of this happening??

I have just had my claim settled by HSBC and already have overdraft, credit card, loan and mortgage with them and i am hoping to move in a couple of months and therefore will need a new mortgage with them and am now worrying.

I have quite bad credit report and therefore would struggle to get a mortgage anywhere else

[OnePablo]

What does annoy me though is when someone from the call centre in India calls me 4 days before i get paid (its always 4 days for some reason no matter what month it is) to tell me to not use my account until i pay money into it. And regardless of how many times i tell them I dont have any other money to top my account up with they keep asking - would I have used that account if i had money else where?

So let me confirm Mr Smrgol you will make a payment to your account today?

And Mr Smrgol please tell me if you have another contact number?

[solomondogs]

I dont envy you working for the bank, especially HSBC! Its not the people on the desk dealing with the public every day that are annoying, far from it, some in my local branch are personal friends and have great sympathy for those of us unfortunate enough to get clobbered. Its those hidden in offices that we speak to on the phone that try the patience just a wee bit!. I had my account suspended last year without my knowledge(until I tried to pay for fuel) on ringing the bank and eventually getting through to someone I was told there was nothing they could do about it, it wasn't thier fault but good luck!!! That month because payments were late entering my account the bank charged me nearly £500 in charges which led to them suspending my account albiet temporarily. I then tried to claim back my charges and was told that they were perfectly reasonable and legal! Then I heard about this site and YEEEEHAAAARRRR. Bring em down!!

[Alice_in_webland]

A revolution sounds good to me... where better to start than the greedy fat cats from the banks making colossal profits and huge bonuses.

[Kaz6]

I am always calm, polite, and firm if I need to make a complaint or enquiry. When I am treated as an imbecile, or sworn at, hung up on, or deliberately left waiting (yes, you CAN hear the conversation in the background), then I tend to become rapidly not very polite, or calm or even rational. All of these things have happened to me in the past. Now i just hang up, redial, and lodge a complaint against the staff member - it's much better for my blood pressure! However, this is in response to the treatment I get from the individual I speak to, not the original cause of the call. If that is dealt with courteously, then I am relaxed, informal and chatty. Otherwise - bank staff beware - I turn into a complete witch with a capital B.

[james-murphy]

The banks are very quick in chasing you when they want money off you. If you daughter is getting Halifax phoning your daughter alot i would get intouch with the FSO to make a complaint about harrasment.

[BankDrone]

I agree with mostly everything that people are saying. However, with regards this comment:

I can agree it's not nice to be yelled at, threatende or abused for doing your job. However, most managers looking after customer facing teams really couldn't care less about any abuse received by their staff. I personally have to disagree with that point. My managers are all really nice people and care greatly about us. They don't like the situation either. Remember the call centres are almost separate entities from the powers-that-be down in Canary Wharf, and with such a huge organisation it's our job to dampen down the impact of the charge refunds so by the time it filters back to head office it's just another list of numbers to contend with rather than actually people's lives.

[BankDrone]

I also should point out, after reading some other posts, that officially HSBC will refund all charges once, but will not neccessarily stop or withhold services purely out of spite. I'm guessing that the average person claiming charges back would not have what the bank deems to be a 'healthy' account (ie has been over a limit recently), and this would contribute to the withdrawal of lending services. If you allow your account to recover over about 3 months and don't break the rules again then you should be able to use all services.

however, if you break the rules again and then ask for a refund, wave bye bye to all your accounts and services with HSBC, you get them all closed immediately.

[Crapaud62]

Good to see you back Bankdrone, the site is better for having a mix of views. I have to agree with you about the management looking after the staff but of course it is not always the case. I always take the attitude that the front line staff are not paid enough to take too much hassle. I've had junior staff in tears from customers who talk down to them on the phone. My policy is to always tell them to transfer any difficult calls to me as I am paid sufficient to take any grief. The staff work much better when they know they can rely on support from their management. Unfortunately, I do know of some weak managers who will treat staff like the Generals treated the foot soldiers in the trenches in WW1 and see them as expendable cannon fodder.

I believe that good managers are in the majority.

Once you go above the general management level and into the more senior management/director roles then you do get the people that only make occasional visits to Planet Reality. I have been in board meetings with people who had led a priviledged upbringing (Eton, Oxbridge etc) who have absolutely no idea about the lives of the majority of their customers. However, even these people are becoming aware of the general consumer revolution and they are being forced to acknowledge it.

Sid

[monkeydiva]

My mum had an issue with the HSBC this week. On a statement printed out on the 12th March it showed a direct debit had gone out that same day leaving the account overdrawn by £52. My mum paid the money in, spoke to a woman on the front desk about it, told it was fine and thought that would be that like it has been in the past.
The following week on the 19th, it showed the same payment again going put of the account, along with the details of charges the week before as the initial DD had been returned on the 12th March.

My mum is easily confused, so I explained they had returned the DD despite the money being paid into to cover it and she had been charged £25.

To clarify this she spoke to someone on the front desk who directed her to another clerk at another desk. We waited our turn and when called to the desk, we greeted her politely and explained the situation. From the offset the girl sat behind the desk was of no help whatsoever. Her whole face read 'I aint interested and I ain't going to help'.
Her answers were conflicting, stating that the DD is returned immediately and when questioned why it wasn't showing as returned on the statement she then said it isn't returned till the end of the banking day which is 5pm.
Her attitude was cocky and her body language was the same. As we pointed out that her answers were conflicting you could tell she was getting angrier (the bouncing of her leg getting faster gave this away ;o) ) We went away with our heads spinning as to what was correct and incorrect.

The following day we went to the branch in which my mums account is held. The lady we spoke to could not have been more helpful. To start with we put questions to her and she answered them as honestly as possible. When we explained the situation we had to contend with the previous day and the conflicting answers the previous clerk had given she checked them out for us.
All our queries were answered and she even rung the head office to clarify them. She even refunded the bank charges that had been applied to the account as a gesture of good will.

In light of this, it seems to me the whole of HSBC needs to be retrained, so at least the customers are told the truth. Some, not all, bank clerks make it up as they go along, this is what the first clerk we dealt with did. The second clerk had the decency to take the time to ring head office and check out her answer.

[calvi36]

Personally i will only go so far over the telephone or in a branch when speaking to someone, I will never be rude but I will be firm and thanks to this site I now know where I stand and I inform them that I know what am talking about. (SMUG SMILE) I also tell them that if they do not refund the illegal charges that I shall face them in court if they ever decide to have the gonads to show up.

[monkeydiva]

I don't ring the bank anymore when I come across a problem, I'd rather talk face to face or if its just a small query I'll e-mail.

I won't even talk to them if they ring me. A number of times they ring and ask to speak to me and when I tell them it is me they then ask me to confirm my date of birth.
The last time they rung I told them and asked for this I simply replied that I wasn't willing to give those details as they could be anybody for all I know. She simply said, 'I can assure you that I am an employee of HSBC and I require you to confirm your date of birth before I can access you account' (Hang on, your obviously into my account otherwise you wouldn't be ringing me!)
My reply was, 'I can assure you that I am the person you require and as you are ringing me then you must be in my account already as you have my contact details, what can I help you with?'

HSBC employee - ' Before I can discuss this content of this call with you I require your D.O.B and it is important that we speak to you.'

ME- 'Well I am not willing to confirm my details because for all I know you could be anybody, you could be somebody who lives at a different address and received my bank statement and now your ringing me to obtain more details in hope to de-fraud my account. If the problem concerning my account is such an issue please contact me in writing and I will then contact my branch regarding the matter.

It may seem like I was being awkward, but if there is one thing that cheeses me off it is when they ring me asking me to confirm my details yet I have no way of proving who they are. And I am sorry, but with all the fraud that goes on nowadays you can't be too careful.
I soon put a stop to it, I logged onto to my account online and deleted all the contact numbers they had for me, haven't had a phone call since!! LOL!!!

[LIGHTON]

I don't ring the bank anymore when I come across a problem, I'd rather talk face to face or if its just a small query I'll e-mail.

I won't even talk to them if they ring me. A number of times they ring and ask to speak to me and when I tell them it is me they then ask me to confirm my date of birth.
The last time they rung I told them and asked for this I simply replied that I wasn't willing to give those details as they could be anybody for all I know. She simply said, 'I can assure you that I am an employee of HSBC and I require you to confirm your date of birth before I can access you account' (Hang on, your obviously into my account otherwise you wouldn't be ringing me!)
My reply was, 'I can assure you that I am the person you require and as you are ringing me then you must be in my account already as you have my contact details, what can I help you with?'

HSBC employee - ' Before I can discuss this content of this call with you I require your D.O.B and it is important that we speak to you.'

ME- 'Well I am not willing to confirm my details because for all I know you could be anybody, you could be somebody who lives at a different address and received my bank statement and now your ringing me to obtain more details in hope to de-fraud my account. If the problem concerning my account is such an issue please contact me in writing and I will then contact my branch regarding the matter.

It may seem like I was being awkward, but if there is one thing that cheeses me off it is when they ring me asking me to confirm my details yet I have no way of proving who they are. And I am sorry, but with all the fraud that goes on nowadays you can't be too careful.
I soon put a stop to it, I logged onto to my account online and deleted all the contact numbers they had for me, haven't had a phone call since!! LOL!!!
WICKED I LIKE YOUR STYLE. i NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT WILL TRY IT NEXT TIME THEY RING HA HA HA

[Helford]

I just get all my personal information wrong (Terrible memory!!!), drives them nuts! Can't verify identity, so they can't speak with me!

Hey ho.

[LIGHTON]

Like that to he he he

[monkeydiva]

Why thank you. It is great fun when doing it, just giving back a taste of their own medicine.

My mum can never remember the security information on her account and she now does what I do. Its even funnier watching her do it.