HSBC-They like running credit checks (HSBC)

Member Name: Lunar13

Product:	HSBC
Date:	19/05/09 (185 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Convenient hours and location of branches

Disadvantages: They ruined our credit rating with un-necessary credit checks

I have had a bank account with HSBC for around 3 years now. The reason I opened the account was because a new branch opened near to me which open on Sunday and until 8pm week nights. This is the branch located in Meadowhall Sheffield. I do use internet banking but sometimes you really do have to go into the branch in person and I liked being able to go on any day of the week.

I now have several accounts with HSBC so I will go over them all separately.

Current Account

I have my wage paid into this account every month and have several direct debits set up to go out from this account. I also have one standing order which I set up in the branch. I do not have an overdraft set up on this account but have found myself overdrawn on one occasion to the grand total of £2.54. having been a Barclays customer for years I expected charges to be added to my account, however to my pleasant surprise there was no charge, not even a mention of my error by HSBC. I have never had a problem with this account. My transactions and bill payments have all gone smoothly.

I have searched the website this morning for 30 minutes to try and find out the interest rate on this account and it doesn't seem to be anywhere. I don't get paper statements so I am really not sure what my interest rate currently is or how to find out without phoning them or going to the branch. Needless to say that in current times the interest I have received it literally pennies on this account.

I just have the basic account so there is no monthly fee, it is not possible to have an overdraft on this account. They have other accounts available including fee paying accounts, student and graduate accounts and premier accounts for those lucky enough to have a yearly wage of over £100,000 of over £50,000in savings. The HSBC home page has a really good outline of which account would be suitable for you.

Online Bonus Saver

When I first joined HSBC this had a brilliant interest rate however this has plummeted to a rubbish 0.75% AER with a bonus of 0.25% AER if you don't withdraw any money from it during the month. Ad the name suggests you have to open this account online, however if you have any problems once it is open the branch staff can help you out with any issues.

Cash e-ISA

Again as the name suggests has to be opened online. As I am sure everyone knows you can put up to £3600 into this account per year which will be tax free. Following the budget in April this will increase to £5200 next year. Like all my other accounts the interest rate on this has gone down to a rubbish 1.75% AER.

There are many other savings accounts with HSBC and once I have sorted my finances out after moving house I plan to open a regular saver account and a high interest deposit bond to make more out of my savings (not that there is much left after buying our first house!).

Credit Card

I originally opened my credit card to take advantage of the interest free period on a balance transfer. The current offer is 0% interest for 15 months with a 2.9% transfer fee. The variable rate after this is stated as 16.9% APR however this can change on individual basis dependant on your credit check so you cant find out until after you have applied. From my own experience and that of other people I know they seem to start you off with a limit of around £1000 with the option to increase this after 6 months if the account is running smoothly. I paid off my balance before I had to start paying interest and closed the account. I may have kept it if they offered any cash back incentives on purchases.

Mortgage

We have just opened our mortgage account with HSBC and I cant begin to tell you what a nightmare it has been. Firstly ignore whatever the website tells you, the offers are always out of date when you try asking over the phone or in branch. Also don't bank on an offer in principle being accurate when it is time to actually apply. We were initially told we could have the mogtgage with a 10% deposit, then they wanted 15% finally they said we could only have the mortgage if we put in 25%. We decided at this point to look around for a different mortgage provider. I took a look at our credit ratings to check that everything was OK, to my horror I found that HSBC had done 8 credit checks on each of us over the space of 6 days! Prior to this we both had ratings of 900+, now we both have ratings of just over 600.

After speaking to several banks we were left with no choice to take the HSBC offer and find the 25% due to our now low credit rating. We have managed to get a fairly good offer, 3 years fixed at 4.99% but given the choice we would have got our mortgage elsewhere. We do plan to complain after we complete, which is this Friday but I doubt it will get us anywhere.

Online Banking

I have to say HSBC online banking is very efficient and easy to use. Transferring money between accounts is instant as is sending money to others, if I send money to my partner it shows in his account within 30 seconds.

In Branch

the staff have always seemed polite, helpful and knowledgeable about their products, with the exception of the mortgage that is. I have to admit I love the array of machines they have in the larger branches, my favourite is the coin counter. You just put in your card, tip your money onto a tray and it is counted as you watch and paid into your account. There is also machines to pay in cash, cheques and separate ones for business use. There is always staff on hand if you are looking puzzled at the machines.

This is an outline of the products and services that HSBC offer which I have used. They offer a full range of banking services which you can read about on the website at www.hsbc.co.uk I have used several branches due to moving twice while I have been with them, the customer service has been good in all branches I have used however the older ones have less facilities and older machines so you have to rely on the counter service more and there can be a long wait for this.

Summary: Just avoid them for your mortgage