Complaint Against: hsbc credit card
 

complaint: i have had my credit card with this company for about 6 years and i called today to get my limit on my card and it said my account was closed. when i transferd to a cusotmer service agent she said it was because they didnt have my address!!!!! this is the second time they have done this! i asked to speak to a supervisor and when she got on the phone i asked her how in the world can they cancel my credit card because of that? they odvously have my address if they send me a bill in the mail every month and it is paid on time. she said when i open my acount 6 years ago it was a p.o. box. she said that bec! ause of the patriot act she cannot make my card active. she asked me if i would like to apply for another credit card with there company!!!! i would advise everyone not to do business with this company. they are very rude.

Complaint: Always pay in full and on time. My account closes the 6th each month and I just received bill on the 5/19. Payment due 5/26 (Memorial Day and a mail holiday). Complained that one week is just a scam for cc company to charge late fees ($35). Was told I could pay by phone ($15 fee for this privilege). How nice! I had been scheduled to be out of town 5/19-5/21 so I got lucky. I was looking for the bill no later than 5/16. They are just trying to trap people anyway they can. Told me the billing goes out the 6th but the postal system is the problem. BS deluxe. I will mail my payment the 5/20 and I predict my check will clear 5/23. The postal system is good handling my mailings but evidently not so good getting my cc bill to me. Can't think of any reputable business (electric, gas, phone, etc) that has trouble getting my bill to me in a timely manner which allows me a couple of weeks to pay. What a scam!

Complaint: Dear HSBC/ Orchard Bank Credit Card, I am trying to rebuild my credit after some mistakes I made when I was 18. I want to buy a home and be approved for a mortgage when I find my dream home, this is why I accepted your "pre-screened credit card offer". I have been loyally using your card for almost a year, I charge things then I make every effort to pay them off. I guess paying off credit card balances before they incur finance charges makes me a BAD customer, no money in your pocket huh? Back in February I made an online payment via your electronic payment system. All my account information was saved in "your system" so I just clicked "submit payment" and that was it! It was so easy and convenient till I found out you never collected payment from my bank account. You said the payment was declined! I checked with my bank to see why the payment wasn't processed, turns out you didn't submit my full account number when collecting payment. My full account number is saved in "your system" and has worked every other time I have made a payment so what is the issue? I write to billing disputes and question this error, no response from you! Good thing I sent my query via certified mail now I have proof you are a jerk! I also call and email your company but am told the insufficient funds fee on my account will not be removed. You made an error with my account number, I didn't- it's not my error it is yours! Next I contact consumer action and they recommend I write someone more important so I send another certified letter disputing my insufficient funds fee that nobody answers... Oh, look! I just got hit with a late fee on that account for not paying the amount I have been disputing for the last 4 months! How lovely, it just shows how you will stop at nothing to screw your bill paying customers. If we are not racking up charges we cannot afford to pay you are just going to play games with our payments to ensure you are making money huh? Guess it doesn't matter if you are a responsible consumer or not, ultimately the credit card companies just want to screw you! I'll just have to warn everyone I know and perhaps file a complaint with the BBB... You suck!

Complaint: A new debit card wow! Why me? Why am I so lucky. My wife puts 400 in my savings so that I may use the debit card. For all those who don't have one of these cards, The idea is when you use it you must give the merchant a pin number to complete the tansaction. The advantage according to my wife is that these transactions are usually small and don't clutter up a bank statement. Also should you need some petty cash, you can ask for the cash and get it using the debit card depending on how much cash there is in the account. Sounds good? Now here's the catch. You must maintain a minimum balance which my wife told me was $100. I don't know if there is interest on it, but ok. Now, say you need gas, which is no longer a small item, and your balance is $150 and say your car was pritty low and the cost comes to 60. You just went below your balance! and the penalty is $35DOLLORS! But but, how could I have known? Gee Wiz I had a hundred and fifty dollors when I put the card into the gas pump, now I'm out $60 for the gas PLUS another $35 for the penalty, not to mention, how it may effect my credit down the line. Here's another.. Say you're buying something in a retail store and the merchant takes the card and you aren't sure how much you have in your account. Since the card can convert into a credit card, they will accept it no matter how much is in your account. They get paid anyway. So How can you control this? you put in your pin and Bang! another 35DOLLORS! Why don't they stop you when you are about to draw into your balance? Well, they don't. It simply, quietly, kicks into credit-card mode. Very confusing.

Complaint: Do not use the mastercard used by Orchard Bank or HSBC Services. They do not stand behind bad charges. Do not use the card in Mexico. They will not remove any bad charges from out of the country. I have been trying to remove a bad charge since May 1st. and they tell me my account has been closed and will not remove any charges after my account was closed. The kicker is that I never closed my account. The late charges just rack up and they won't do anything about a charge that wasn't mine from mexico. I am fighting this tooth and nail. Also, If you go to Mexico and want transfers, do not use the company Olympus Tours. T! hey will not refund any paid transfers even with 2 months notice. They pretend they speak no english. Two BAD companies who steal and do bad business. Stay away from both of them.

Complaint: I had an orchard bank card managed by HSBC. I have tried to cancel the card after learning I could no longer waive my yearly fee (they did once). Since that initial call, it has taken four other calls, the last being to 'account supervisors' who ensured me the account was zeroed out and closed, and that any negative credit reports would be cleared. Today when I checked on my balance, it still had a balance and the card is still active.

Complaint: I have a card issued through Orchard Bank, HSBC is the parent bank. They offered me a low interest rate on their original offer. Approximately 3 months ago I received a notice that they would be raising my interest rate because they evaluated my account again. Please note, I have not been late on a payment. They gave me the option to opt out of and close my account. I called their customer service line, talked to a representative to close my account. I explained why I was closing my account and asked if the current interest rate would remain in effec! t. She told me yes, the interest rate would not be increased, I asked if I had to notify them in writing as the mailing had stated or if this phone call to the bank would suffice. I was told yes this would be fine, the account would be closed and the interest rate would remain the same. What a surprise when this month's bill included the interest rate increase. I called HSBC, talked to a customer service rep who informs me that I will have to talk to an account manager. The account manager tells me that the customer service rep provided wrong information to me, that I needed to inform the bank in writing. She did apologize for the "incorrect information, they made no attempt to correct the mistake the customer service rep had made. By this time I was very unhappy with what had taken place. The account manager told me that her manager would call me back in 2 hours. I have been waiting over 10 hours for this phone call. What can be done with predatory banks who suck consumers in with offers of low interest? Are businesses bound by any kind of code of conduct or laws to honor what their customer service representatives do?

Complaint: I just want to say..Report this company to the BBB. They've (Household)done just about everything to me as I have read done to others. They need to be shut down and raped of every penny they have stolen from their customers. I hate this company with a passion. They call me day and night and are constantly adding on fees after fees after fees. I have had contact with them numerous times and they are of no assistance. There has got to be something done to stop this kind of theft!

Complaint: Well according to them I am dead. I might as well be, They have ruined my life. What right did they have to report that I died, especially without a death certificate. I am on limited income and now I have a mess to deal with trying to get myself alive again. What are they doing? Nothing, only harrassing me for the balance I owe them. I told them if I get an attorney, they are going to owe me!

Complaint: Cramming of unauthorized charges for worthless membership programs offered by Trilegiant. Travelers Advantage, PassporttoFun and Complete Home are 3 that I know of that I have been hit with. They send you a check that clearly states that if you cash the check you sign up for the program. Well you even when you DO NOT cash the check you get signed up for it anyway. I know because I always shred those checks and I did not want or need these membership programs. HSBC has already provided your account information to these people and when no one cashes those checks - they just sign you up. Internet retailers are also pushing these programs - fill out a survey for money off you current order - or miss that tiny print with a prechecked check box and you have signed up. There are laws against this - but they continue to it anyway

Complaint: Best Buy (HSBC Financial Credit Card Service) (Master Complaint File!) Something needs to be done! We All Need To Take A Stand! I heard calling your Better Business Bureau and creating a petition against this bank may get thru the net enough to make them reform their payment processing techniques! Ok! First Thing, Legally They Can!! Warning about paying on-line for this credit card. Make sure you pay it at least a week in advance, because their payments on line don't get processed for 4 days. I was also told that they don't process any payments over the weekends! The problem is that I just received the statement 3 days before the due date! So much for instant bill pay. Stay away from this card!!....lousy customer service and they try to get you with the late fee (39.00!) any time they can..... I cancelled my card!--use your own regular charge card, don't get theirs! They are thieves! Ever heard of credit card sharks? Next Comment! Yes, I've encountered the same issue. Lousy customer service from their department and no resolution. I had a late charge on my bill but paid the entire promotional online and the payment was processed a few days later. The payment was received 5/1/08 and my billing cycle ended 4/27/2008 if it was two days late they could revert the late charges but it was four days. I told the customer service I was told the charges would be dropped and that I had another $7.94 promotional charge due by 5/20/2008 plus paying minimum payment. I sent in $25.00 and was still charged the late fee because it did not cover the minimum payment. The next month resulted in additional late charges. Apparently, the late charges accumulate finance charges even though I was on a deferred promotional no interest plan. The late fees were added to the minimum payment thus causing more late fees because I did not pay that minimum payment which included minimum payment for the promotional purchase and the late fee. UPDATE: Best Buy EECB Scores A Direct Hit Reader Jason just finished paying off his 0% Best Buy/HSBC credit card, or so he thought, because this devilish card just sucker-punched him with a load of hidden fees. He did some research and found out he was entered into a program that makes him pay for "debt cancellation," something Best Buy never discussed with him. He also discovered that there are many other people who feel tricked into joining this strange program. To make matters worse, HSBC, the card issuing bank, is giving Jason the runaround about reversing the fees. Jason's letter, inside... I’ve been a reader of the site for a quite a while and have come across an issue I’ve been attempting to resolve completely, with five different levels of call center supervisors without success. I applied for a Best Buy credit card with the normal 12 months, 0% Interest deal that they offer consumers on large items and purchased an HDTV in December 2005 in San Antonio, TX. As of yesterday my account is closed and paid off, much longer than I had expected it to be open for, though reviewing the last two months statements I came across monthly miscellaneous charges that I wrote off as being fees associated with deferred interest due to its unspecific, generic Transaction name of “Debt Cancellation-TX”. The “Debt Cancellation” charges varied monthly, but it ranged from $1.96 to to $2.93 to $5.57. Billed monthly, sometimes twice a month. The name of the service that they signed me up for without my consent I have discovered is “Account Shield” or “Account Secure”. A 100% profit charge that the credit card provider stuffs into their pockets, especially considering they’re signing up their customers for it without approval or notification. Yesterday on the 20th, I called over 10 toll-free numbers. 1-800’s, 1-888’s. I tried Executive Customer Relations for HSBC (Got their number from Consumerist) but they don’t handle Retail Services accounts. Any outsourced (overseas) CS calls I placed resulted in dead ends. They’d only let me talk to their supervisor whom kept repeating the same scripted response over and over— about how apparently I must have elected to subscribe to the “Account Shield” service as that’s the only way it could’ve been added to my account. Nevermind the pages and pages of people at this site whom experienced the same thing, signup for this scam of a service without their consent, signature, approval – whatever you’d like to call it. MSNBC details another person whom has gone through the exact same thing I did. Dead ends, no one would admit that they even had the CAPABILITY to refund the charges. Finally, I spoke with Yvonne Thomas, Badge Number “Y1T”, at the Wood Dale, IL call center for HSBC. I had spoken with 3 levels of supervisors / escalations (she represented herself as a supervisor) before getting to her. After going through the same process of explaining what happened, how I did not sign up for this, she would not understand where I was coming from, that I had not signed up for this service, it had been added to my account without my consent and as it has a generic name, I wrote it off as a financial charge that was required. I asked to speak to her manager and she obliged, unfortunately it resulted in only a voicemail being left at “Renee Teresina”’s mailbox. I pleaded my case quickly to make sure the entire message was recorded and hung up. Not two minutes later, Yvonne Thomas called me back and said that her manager was in meetings all day but she agreed to reverse “half” of the fees that they can see a history of. Apparently they only see back one year into my history which means $62.87 in charges. She’d be willing to reverse $32 of that $62. I said that would work for the time being until I could speak with Renee directly and she said she’d go ahead and reverse that portion of the charges. I called the overseas “Debt Cancellation” department back and somehow they were able to see the entire account history of the Debt Cancellation charges on my account that total $172.37. To me, $32 being refunded is not enough as this is a service that I didn’t agree to and wasn’t warranted. I’d like to see if my story can be heard and looked into, hopefully getting more if not all of the $172 refunded. Some quick research uncovered that there are many that feel they have been tricked into this program. The most common scenario is that a Best Buy employee offers you 0% interest on a credit card for 12 or 18 months. The employee tells you to sign here and here, but what you have done is unwittingly signed up for "debt cancellation." Some customers say they never signed up for such a program and virtually all of them say that they were never told about it by Best Buy. Some employees may have even told customers that this program is required to be approved for 0% interest, but it simply isn't true. What is debt cancellation? MSNBC says, What happened to [the victim] is that he was signed up for something called debt cancellation, which is very similar to credit insurance — once commonly offered by credit card issuers. Consumers pay a few dollars a month, based on an outstanding balance of the loan, and if they die or are incapacitated, the loan is forgiven. But debt cancellation is a relatively new development, slightly different but much preferred by retailers. Debt cancellation doesn’t involve a third-party insurance company, so the retailer and its credit partner keep all the revenue. Also, it's been deemed a non-insurance product by federal regulators. That’s important, because many state insurance regulators now limit the price of credit insurance, and mandate clear disclosures. Debt cancellation, on the other hand, is hardly regulated at all. Debt cancellation really insures the store, not the consumer, who is generally dead at the rare times the policy is invoked. The store gets paid, even when the consumer is no longer in a position to care. As with credit insurance, consumers should always decline the product, says consumer advocate Birny Birnbaum, from the Center for Economic Justice. "This does nothing for consumers," says Birnbaum, who is the former chief economist of the Texas Department of Insurance. “It's 99 percent profit for the companies. Just say no, no, no, no." Jacksonville, FL: Best Buy is coming under fire for a number of unfair consumer practices. One of the Best Buy complaints that LawyersandSettlements hears about most often is that the company applies payments to credit cards late, even if the customer has paid well ahead of time. This is the complaint that Tony (not his real name) has about Best Buy since he purchased a digital camera from the company. "It still gets me mad every time I think about it even though it was in 2003," Tony says. "I just want to be a consumer advocate and maybe someone else will be alerted to it and not fall into Best Buy's trap. Best Buy Card"I made a purchase there and they had advertised that on purchases of $299 or more, you could get 18 months of no interest if you opened a Best Buy card and made the purchase on your card. I made my payments dutifully, sending them in 10 days before they were due. "After my first payment I realized that I was being charged a late payment. I called and spoke with a Best Buy representative and the late charge was removed. But the exact same thing happened next month. There was a late charge and the interest rate had defaulted from zero percent up to something astronomical, above 18 percent. After that I just paid the card off so as not to deal with them and I'll never go back to Best Buy. And I'll take any opportunity I can to tell people about it. "I put my payments in the mail 10 days early, which should have been plenty of time to get to their offices. It wasn't around the holiday season—it was in February, March and April—so there was no reason why they couldn't credit my account on time. I've had no dealings with Best Buy since then. I still have such a bad taste in my mouth because I was so careful to keep a good credit rating. Four years later I'm still mad. "People who want a Best Buy credit card should be careful and read the fine print. I would be leery of Best Buy. I have heard stories about Best Buy and their shenanigans. It just seems like they're taking cheap shots when if they ran the business with concern for the consumer they would be fine." Best Buy: "Watch Out if You're Using Credit" December 19, 2007. By Heidi Turner Middletown, NY: Wayne Markle just wanted to purchase an HP Compaq Presario from Best Buy. What he did not realize at the time was that the computer purchase would become a huge headache for him; one that would eventually damage his credit rating and result in him receiving dunning letters from a collections agency. Best Buy deferred credit card payment is deceptive. Markle had a Best Buy credit card issued by HSBC bank. He was told by a Best Buy employee that he could make his payments at an HSBC bank, which he decided to do after initially paying online and then mailing his checks. Sometimes Markle made the payments himself but because he is disabled this was not always possible, so his roommate also made some payments at the bank. Markle says that in every case they were at the bank well before the payment deadline date. Best Buy Credit"On two or three occasions when I made payments at the HSBC bank, the teller would ask me how the payment was working out," Markle says. "On one occasion, I said that they seemed to be okay and the teller said to me, 'Well, some of our customers are saying that they're getting late payment notices and it's not that we're sending the payments in late, it's that Best Buy is crediting the payments late.'" One day, Markle received an invoice from Best Buy stating that he was behind on his payments. In fact, Best Buy claimed that Markle was three months behind on his payments and added interest and penalties to his charges. So, Markle phoned Best Buy to try to figure his situation out. When he got through to a Best Buy representative, he was told that his account had been sent to collections that day. Markle could not go on to the Best Buy website to verify his payment history with the company because he was locked out of the website. Compounding the situation was that even though his account had been sent to collections, Markle continued receiving bills from Best Buy. "I sent letters to the collection agency and to Best Buy asking who I should pay to sort this out," Markle says. "The collection agency letter was returned unopened and the bills from Best Buy continued with no answer to my letter. I don't want my credit ruined. I wanted and would still like this to be settled. "I've received dunning letters and bills from Best Buy and no answers about who I should pay. Now, I'm so far behind and I don't know how. They've damaged my credit through this practice. I find it hard to believe it's a mistake, especially when customers say their payments are getting to Best Buy late. The HSBC bank stopped taking payments for Best Buy, which is fascinating because the Best Buy credit card was an HSBC card. "I kept up with my payments for at least a year. I tried paying online, but because of the Best Buy website I kept having to change the security settings on my computer in order to make payments, so I switched to mail and then went to the bank. But I don't know why the payments were late. Were they not being credited by Best Buy on time? I had the payment to the bank in time, so what happened? "Best Buy makes its name as being consumer friendly and helpful, but behind the scenes, when it comes down to it, there's no real people to talk to. If you try to contact someone at Best Buy you get someone you can talk to about your bill, if you're on time. They might be all right if you go in with cash, but watch out if you're using credit. If you can't afford to pay cash for a big ticket item, don't go for it." In the next Best Buy article, LawyersandSettlements.com speaks with another customer who says Best Buy repeatedly applied payments to his credit card late, even though he made the payments on time. When Paid in Full Is Not Enough News December 17, 2007. By Anita Black Knoxville, TN: When Jamie E. walked into his local Best Buy store with $3,800 in his pocket, he had no idea his purchase would continue to cost him money month after month after month. But after putting the remaining few hundred dollars of his total purchase price on Best Buy's deferred payment, no interest credit card, Jamie has been getting a bill every single month. It was spring of this year when Jamie decided to purchase two computers at Best Buy. He wanted one desk top model for his family to use, and one laptop for himself. He traveled a lot with work and wanted a way to be able to work while on the road and still stay in touch with family at home. "I had $3,800 on me and the two computers, with all the accessories, came to $4,000. I was a couple of hundred dollars short and the guy said 'get a Best Buy credit card with deferred interest and 0% for 90 days. It had a limit of $500,'" he said. Best Buy ComputerHe completed the transaction at the till, not paying too much attention as he was so focused on his computers and accessories and making sure he had everything he needed for his family. "I got all my stuff," he said. "It was about 30 boxes in total—the router—I got everything. I intended to have a complete set-up with all the accessories." He packed up his vehicle and brought his purchases home. In all, he said, he put $500 on the credit card and managed to keep a few hundred of the cash he had. His kids love the home computer. They even have a camera set up so they can talk to Grandma. He uses his work computer extensively as he is usually gone from home for a few weeks at a time. Jamie knew he had to make a monthly payment on the card for the first two months and dutifully sent the $20 minimum required. In the third month—the end of the 90 day 0% interest period—his wife called Best Buy for the pay-out balance. "It was $461.74. It made sense so she paid it off by check in the mail," he said. But that wasn't the end of the story. Three weeks later, Jamie got a Best Buy bill in the mail. It was for about $90! Apparently, without his knowledge, Best Buy claimed he had agreed to pay for insurance on the balance carried on his credit card. "In case we couldn't make the payment," he said. "Logically, it didn't make sense as we paid $3,500 cash. I called them and argued then said fine, you got me. I paid the $90 to be done with them. I had no time. I travel a lot and my time is valuable." Thinking he was, again, done with Best Buy, life carried on. But Best Buy wasn't done with Jamie. 'The next month there was another bill," he said. "It was a late fee to pay off the insurance fee as that wasn't paid in the 90 day period. They tacked on for back due interest for the entire 90 days for another $90." He called, spent half an hour on hold, spoke to a few customer service representatives and a couple of supervisors and told them at first that he would not pay. "I was mad," he said. "I was inconvenienced. I don't need to be spending my time doing this. We should be done with this, so I paid it." Basically, Jamie was now out $180 for the privilege of using Best Buy's $500 for three months. "I paid two late fees because I paid the second one off late," he said. "Apparently you can't stop it. They send the bill and it's already late when I get it. I travel in business and my wife is home with the kids. If there's an issue with a bill, I call, so here we go again." With the second bill paid, he thought he was done with the whole mess. But yesterday, Jamie received another bill for a $35 late fee. "I'm torqued. Seriously, what's the best thing? Sue? They know they've got you as it's not enough money to get all up in arms about." Finally, Jamie had had enough and went to his Best Buy computer to search the Internet to see if anyone else has been having the same problem. He found many people suffering the same kind of predicament. More than that, he is certain that Best Buy knows there is a problem. "I am ticked off to have the computers," said Jamie. "I will never go back there again. I would love to take the computers back and get my money back and buy them somewhere else." LawyersandSettlements would like to hear from people on the west coast who have had a problem with Best Buy similar to the one Jamie E. experienced. Several people in California have already filed complaints with LawyersandSettlements against Best Buy regarding their deferred credit card payment. One disgruntled customer is Jordan H. of San Francisco, California (not his real name pending a lawsuit). He says he was charged late fees on Best Buy credit card when payments were mailed 10 days before due date. Even though his payments were sent with plenty of time for processing prior to due date, they were not applied to his balance This resulted in late fees and a higher default rate (not the 0% rate for six months as promoted). "I have paid off the card's balance, destroyed it and closed my account and I will never again purchase anything from this retailer." check This Out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxpbDbAVEyI Complaint: Do not apply for HomeBank Credit cards (issued from Best Buy). They charge ridiculous fees for no reason and do not go by the standard post mark date. So although I mailed my payment in advance of 5 days, they claim it was late by 3 days and charged me $35 plus $2 plus $3.80 in late fee charges, on a bill that was only $50. They customer service is no help. It's their word verses mine in regards to if the payment was late or not, even though the check is dated a week prior to the due date. Needless to say I canceled my card ASAP, but unfortunately I had to pay ~$40 in ficticious charges. (Plus they never deliver the free $25 gift card incentive that is promised when you sign up for the card) I write this, not to get my money back or anything, but just hopefully to warn others of this thievery. Jayson Florida Complaint: HouseHold They signed me up for a master card that i did not give them authorization to do so, along with that they signed me up for there insurance without my signature. i have 5 different numbers to get rid of 2 charges. recieved a letter from one of there departments stating that they were reporting that i missed bill payments when i did not. the department that sent me the letter has no phone number and can only be contacted by phone. no one department appears to know things from the other department. i am getting the run around. if this could be done over again i would have never used it to purchase a computer at best buy. it is the best buy credit card. worst thing that you could have. i did not recieve statements for 2 months because they had my wrong address yet, my best buy rewards card and best buy sent me mail with the correct address and it was all from one form L. michaels Complaint: My exwife got a household bank credit card (best buy). I paid the bill twice with one of my checks. Although my name was not on the account nor on the application. They continue to apply notices to my credit bureau of late payments. I disputed this and they sent me a copy of my check that I had paid them. They say this assumes ownership. I have asked them repeatedly to provide the application to show my name was on the app and they refuse. I have had to acquire and attorney to try to get this resolved. P Perkins Complaint_against: HCSB - Best Buy Credit Card Complaint: I purchased a microwave from Best Buy and received a 90 day interest free period. The second payment I made was online on the day it was due and I was charged a $29 late fee on my next statement. When I called to complain, I was told that it took 2 days for online payments to be posted--but they did waive the $29 fee. I called on the day the final payment was due and was told if I wanted to avoid another $29 late fee, I had to pay by phone that day...of course there was a $15 "Direct Check Fee". Opting to pay the $15 vs the $29 I paid the entire balance due. The following month, I received my statement with a $15 balance; however, I noticed that the $15 was listed as part of a "promotional payoff amount." and that it had to be paid 19 days after the statement date and a full 6 days before the regular payment due date. When I called to question why, I was told that the $15 "Direct Check Fee" was actually taken out of my full payment, which left $15 on my prom! otional purchases. Had they not done this, I would be charged daily interest on the $15 Direct Check Fee since it was not a promotional purchase. Does this make sense to ANYONE? How can a fee accrue interest? Johnny Oklahoma Complaint_against: Best Buy (HSBC Financial) Complaint: Best Buy- you know the big electronics guys that openly advertise 12months no payments and not interest. A little piece of advice from me to you, if you don't pay bills VERY consistently and timely you'll definetly want to stay away from this company. Late Fees $29, interest charge on each late fee $13 dollars, the price of keeping your credit good PRICELESS. 6 Bernz Complaint_against: Best Buy Credit Cards Complaint: I do not like how Best Buy and Retail services handle the payments. I paid my payment three days earlier, but those morons consider it late because i didn't pay before 4 pm. Hey, i pay my other credit online the same way. They credit my account the next day. Last time ,I checked Friday is business day. Also, Whatis with a sunday Statement date.? I should've charge a late fee because my payemt came to them next day! Let this be a cautionary tale about all fine print on credit cards. This story about a Best Buy rewards card shows that what you see on the surface and what you see buried in the fine print are totally different things. A Best Buy credit cardholder was charged over $300 on a $700 purchase because the card company claimed that he didn’t get his bill paid on time. Their explanation? That the bill needed to be paid five days before the due date posted on the bill, as stipulated by the fine print. Basically, that due date meant next to nothing. This is core to why so many people are up in arms about the fine print. Credit card companies can argue about it and say, “Look, it’s right there in writing,” but the above practice is pretty devious. There is no good reason for the bill to be due five days before the due date on the bill. It seems explicitly designed to make people default. This is core to why there is legislation on the docket to make fine print terms more obvious: what you see is what you get. And don’t think that just because you don’t have a Best Buy card that this is not going to happen to you. While Best Buy has been particularly guilty of these types of practices, the same complaints are leveled at other credit card companies as well. This why I implore people to look at their credit card bill every month – even if they spent no money the previous month. There may be new finance charges on a program that you didn’t sign up for, or a sudden change in your APR. Even if you are not able to reduce that APR immediately to what it was before the change, you might change your spending habits and attack that balance head on. Dr.X! PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THESE BEST BUY SCAMS EVERYONE! BEST BUY WILL FALTER SOON BECAUSE OF THEIR TACTICS! STOP BUYING FROM BEST BUY! THIS STORE SUCKS! SAY NO TO BEST BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Complaint: a few years ago i had a credit card through HSBC. We were in the process of moving and i forgot to give them my new phone number and address. upon moving a friend of mine asked if she could take over my old phone number as a second line into her house. i said sure. some time had passed then my husband and i were starting to look into buying a home. our realtor did a credit check on us and i came up deceased. quite upset about this i had called my friend to tell her this. come to find out HSBC was calling my old number, my friends new number, she became tired of the phone call! s that came in about 10 times a day. instead of her giving them my new phone number she told them i died.. about 2 day's later HSBC called her back for the date of my death and she gave them a date of january 21st. instead of HSBC getting any documentation on this, like they are suppose to they immediatly through me in the credit bureau as deceased. i had called HSBC and they told me i needed to notorize a copy of my drivers license and fax it to the deceased department then it would be taking care of... they took care of nothing..... i called back a few months ago same thing notorized copy of drivers license. i asked the lady if she had a notorized copy of my death certificate and of course she said no.... the point of my story is my girlfriend can just say i'm dead without proof but i can't call and tell them i'm alive..i'm unable to obtain a job because employers do a soft check on your credit plus i cannot apply for a car, home or anything else you need credit for....it! 's really pretty scary when you think about it... and one more thing, there was no documentation what so ever to prove i was deceased...

Complaint: I work as a private investigator and I will tell you the truth. This company will be investigated by me. I Tried one of these cards with a 300 dollar limit in 04. Payed it off in 05. Told them I no longer wish to use there services and they said ok. I have confirmation # and everything but I still get billed for annual fees. So I called and they say they are sorry and I get anouther. KEEP YOUR CREDIT REPORTS SHOWING CLOSED ACCOUNT! When I get all their information I will post it for everyone to see. Thank you, Dennis.

Complaint: You talk about arrogant people, and a place that wants to rape their customers for money.... I posted my payment electronically 9/30, it cleared my account 10/1 and they waited till one day past the due date to post it to my account. I emailed them explaining that they had payment before that. They said basically, to bad pay the late fee of $35 and that I should allow 5-10 days for their sorry asses to post payments....odd that Discover and one other card I have was able to post the payments to them in one day !!!! If you have HSBC - beware - and if you can, trash them! That is what I have done - they are gone, fired and I will let everyone I can know NOT to do business with them!

Complaint: I just want to let anyone who is trying to regain their credit score. Due to fraudalent problems. Don't go with Orchard Bank Credit Cards for bad credit. If you have been recently married or have had a name change. I was just married in Sept. Well,,I applied for a secured card and on the site it said that I was APPROVED. And that I had to make a deposit of @ least $200.00 as a security deposit. Well,,here it goes..I kept waiting for the card to come. I got a letter from a bank (Luckily I opened it..cause it was from a bank with not their name on it ,,and from Oregon). Well it was a paper stating that I ha! d a savings acct. with them through Panhandle State Bank). Enclosed with it was a letter from Orchard bank stating that a savings acct. was opened with this bank. And if APPROVED I would receive my new card in two weeks. And I could call or go online to check my status. 1. I was already told when I applied that I was APPROVED. 2. I should've of already had received the card by this time. 3. WHEN I CALLED THE NUMBER,,I HAD TO ANSWER FOUR QUESTIONS. 5. I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND THE GUY..LANGUAGE BARRIER.6.I TALKED TO A SUPERVISOR AND TOLD HER THE PROBLEM. 7. I DIDN'T KNOW ANY OF THE ? BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING OFF OF SOMEONE ELSE WITH MY NAME,,AND NOT MY SOCIAL. 8. I WAS TOLD IT WOULD TAKE THIRTY DAYS TO GET MY MONEY BACK,,WHICH WAS MORE THEN THE TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS. 9. I WAS TOLD TO CHECK PUBLIC RECORDS. 10. CHECKED PUBLIC RECORDS AND THERE HAD BEEN SOMEONE WHO LIVED IN MY TOWN WITH THIS NAME,,,BUT LIKE SEVEN YEARS OLDER THEN ME. 11. WHY WOULDN'T THEY GO OFF OF MY SOCIAL??? I AM GOING TO GO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU,,,LAST TIME THAT I KNEW..CREDIT CARDS GO OFF OF YOUR SOCIAL..NOT JUST YOUR NAME...SO WITH ANYONE WITH A FAIRLY NEW LAST NAME..DO NOT GO WITH THIS COMPANY...I ALREADY LOST MY IDENTITY,,AND NOW TO THINK THEY HAVE TELEMARKETERS..WHO JUST PULL UP PUBLIC RECORDS BY NAME,,,AND NOT THEIR SOCIAL..WOW??? HOW SAFE IS THIS..I THINK,,I WILL JUST FIND ANOTHER WAY TO REBUILD MY CREDIT..AND TO THINK I JUST BOUGHT TWO BRAND NEW CARS AND PAID CASH...SHOULD OF PAID FOR MOST OF IT..AND THE REST MADE PAYMENTS ...THAT WOULD OF BEEN A GREAT WAY TO RESTABLISH MY "CREDIT!" SO TO ANYONE LOOKING @ THIS CREDIT CARD...THINK TWICE..IF YOUR NAME HAS CHANGED.. HAVE A NICE DAY!

Complaint: Recieved an annual charge of $59.00 on Sept 21st statement. called the company 10/6. They told me they could waive 1/2 the annual charge or to have the whole charge removed I would need to close the account. I closed the account. I had made a purchase on the account 9/28. They did not tell me this amount would be due a week before I would recieve my closing statement on 10/26. Recieved my bill and low and behold the annual fee was still on it along with a late charge of $29 for the annual charge not being paid. called the company they said they would wave the late charge or the annual fe! e but not both. The late fee was assessed because of the annual fee. I feel that I was duped. I was told that I needed to follow the account information on the back of the bill. No where on the bill does it state that you need to pay the final bill a week before you recieve it.

Complaint: My Direct Merchants Bank credit card was my first credit account. I have it for over thirteen years. It has served me well over the years. (Even if has always held one of the highest APR’s) I guess it was recently bought out by HSBC. I recently received a “NOTICE OF CHANGE IN TERMS.” My already high APR is going to be raised higher by the first of the year 2009. If i do not agree with the changes I need to writhe them with in 30 days. and get this, "When we receive your notification, your account will be closed"... Blah , blah I did not accept the change. They closed my account! It is frustrating, that “the rules” can change while the game is already in play. It saddens me that my non-acceptance of the change in terms has to terminate our relationship, with no questions asked. I have had other cards request a letter of non acceptance, but they did NOT terminate my account! My balance is $500.00+ I have only been using the card here and there... They loved me when I had thousands in debt with them... I just realized I have another HSBC card that carries a $9.95 monthly fee for a credit reporting feature. Otherwise I don't use the card. I think I may close that account. Thanks for the memories.

Complaint: HSBC will not work with card holders to pay off their card balance. They offer you a reduced pay off amount but will be recorded negatively on your credit report for up to 10 years. If you have missed a payment, the interest rate jumps to a rediculously astronomical rate of almost 30%! They will NEVER renegotiate or discuss a reduction in the interest rate on your balance unless there are timely minumum payments for 6 consecutive months. The problem is if you want to try to pay off the balance BEFORE 6 consecutive months. HSBC WILL NOT help reduce the interest rate. Regardless of how long you have been a card member or how much you have paid in fees and interest, HSBC will not negotiate a win-win situtation with their card holders. They are the only BIG winners with their almost criminal interest rates.

Complaint: HSBC does credit cards for Bonton stores. The terms of the account include a 23-day grace period, but what is not disclosed is that the bills are not mailed for a week or so after the date. This seems intended to give exactly the legal minimum time to pay without getting late charges. A call to the company only provided the option to close the account. Any challenges have to be in writing to the credit processor.

Complaint: I am tired to contacting HSBC about the wrong finance charges being applied to my account since May 2008.There was a promotional period between march and april 2008 where any purchases made with in this qualifies for 0% APR for six month. I made the purchases exactly with in this time but guess what? Instead of 0% I started to receive finanence charges from 29% and I am still battling. I have contacted with HSBC customer service several times and each time I am being told issue is resolved. Now not only issue is not resolved I am being penalized with late charges of wrong finance charges. Horrabl! e service, bad APR and don't know what to do with this card anymore.

Complaint: Today's date - 1/15/09. My payment is due 1/19/09. I want to make a payment now on their website. The earliest posting date is 1/20/09. That is 5 days to post. I must pay $15 to make a rush payment so it will post in time. I could drive to the payment location in California or Illinois faster than their online payment service. This is not reasonable service.

Complaint: THIS CARD IS " HIWAY ROBBER" MY DUE DAY IS jAN 19,2009. i AM PAYING VIA THEIR WEB SITE AND MY PAYMENT WILL NOT POST ON MY DUE DATE WHICH IS MONDAY, JAN 19 INSTEAD IT WILL POST ON JAN. 20. BY THEN THEY CAN CHARGE LATE FEE... AND IF YOU PAY BY PHONE THEY WILL CHARGE YOU $15.00. I HOPE SOMETHING CAN BE DONE . PLEASE DON'T USE THIS KIND OF CARDS...... . IMAGINE, PAYING FOUR DAYS EARLY IS STILL CONSIRED AS LATE !!!!!!!!!

Complaint: When I was Christmas shopping in December I went to K-mart in Acton MA. The girl at the service desk "pressured" me to apply for a card. I explained that I wouldn't get approved and wasn't interested, and she kept saying, just give it a try, there are no payments until June. Long story short, I got approved, and I used the card. Then the other day I got a bill in the mail, even though she told me that there would be no payments until June (6 months) I tried to get the card company to help me, and they wouldn't, and then they charged me a late fee and wont waive it just one time.

Complaint: I have had an HSBC account for about a year and a half and I have an excellent payment history. I charged $350.00 on Monday Feb 16 for car repairs and on Thursday Feb 19 I got an email from HSBC account central stating that I was over my limit. Impossible, I thought, and I looked at my statement that said I had over $800 available. When I called HSBC on Fri morning they told me that they had lowered millions of customers credit limits (on Tues Feb 17) without any advance notice. They told me that it was a business decision to protect the company from losses. So I asked them about my balance because it was not over the limit when I ma! de the charge. They told me that I would have 30 days to pay my account down to its new limit and then if I didn't I'd be charged an over limit fee. Now I ask you how much money is HSBC going to cheat its customers out of with this scam. HSBC IS BAD!!!!!!!

Complaint: I am dealing with my credit card company and their 3rd-party 'Account Shield' for months that has not only caused raised my interest rate by almost double, but has caused numbers of fees tacked on to my account. When I signed up for the plan through HSBC (Best Buy Rewards Master Card), they said they would cover life events such as moves that cover your minimum due for 4 months. I moved and claimed the event in November. I have two cards with them, so they sent two forms that were identically. Once rows said list account(s). So I listed one, and a week later got a confirmation that it was active. So not worried about it, turns out they only activated one card. I called about this, and they said I needed to fill out the same form twice regardless of if it said account numbers. I informed them it wasn't my job to know their processing process, since I am a consumer and just do what the forms tell me. If something illogical is in the process, then they need to tell the customer. So, I called Account Shield, they admitted error and made retroactive. Well, this is a different department than Customer Service, who is in charge of adjusting the fees on the account and doing the math to get the interest and payments back to where they were since the activation. I have called multiple times starting in the begining of December, and they are 'working on it'" but in the meantime I have been technically late for a couple months and my minimum due went from $44 to $141 and my interest rate to 30%. Great protection, huh? I get harassing phone calls from there collection department, which is another department, with no insight to what is going on. The last note I received today was that I needed to call Account Sheild... which doesn't do the adjustments on the account. I have been given the run around and I want all of you out there to know Account Shield is a SCAM and HSBC is doing nothing to take responsibilty for the additional prodcts they pitch you every time you call.

Complaint: Husband has been an AFSCME Union Card holder for many, many years. We did not use this card regularly, ever, and had no problems until in 07 we used it on a trip to the East Coast and when the bill came, it had the credit insurance charges on it. I called them and they told me we had signed up for it. WE DID NOT, EVER sign up for the insurance. We paid the card in full approximately July or Aug. of 2007 and never used the card after that. We got a letter from them in Nov. 08 that they had closed the account from our not using it and for purposes of fraud protection. No contact from ! them prior to that alerting us that if we didn't use the card we'd be canceled. We would have used it and paid it off, to keep it active and keep my husbands credit score up. I've not had the heart to check his credit score as he says he's not borrowing any more money anywhere (he doesn't understand about credit scoring affecting EVERYTHING). So, I was pretty upset they canceled this card but in reading all the above posts, I think I am glad. We had another card with about the same credit line and for as long as we had this one, so I'm hoping his credit score wouldn't be hit that bad.

Complaint: I went into my acct. to cash in my Rewards and was unable to access them. Then, saw where my acct. had been closed. When I called, I was told they closed it due to inactivity (6 mos.) but could call the Rewards Center direct. However, they were unable to do anything because of the closed acct. I ended back up with Card Services - who told me nothing could be done; but, I should be getting a letter notifying me of the closure. After demanding to escalate my concern, I talked to two other people (supposedly managers). Finally, the last one said he could request a payout for cash-back ONLY. I did not! have the option of an airline tkt (which I could have gotten 1 full tkt up to $400). Now, he 'hoped' I would accept the cash-back since it was my only option. He could not tell me how much it would be; but, I knew it would not be enough to equal the airline tkt voucher! THEY decide how often you must use your card & if they want to just drop you, they can...losing all Rewards credits. If you only use your card for travel/vacations, you might get a big surprise when you go to use it & it has been closed. This is not the only time we had trouble - also had incorrect charges against the card. And, once they called me at home to get me to give them my checking acct info to make a payment so it would not be late & be charged service fees. Have they not heard the news about fraud & not giving info to anyone calling you?!?! I gladly accept them closing my acct and will NEVER use them again!

Complaint: DO NOT EVER APPLY FOR THIS CARD!!!! HSBC- Orchard Bank mailed me a card right out of bankruptcy four years ago. Since that date, my credict score is in the high 700's. They only increased my limit three times in four years, and the interest was over 21%. In 2008, I cancelled the card while speaking to someone in the retention department, adn they told me that as long as the card was paid off before 11/09, there would be no interest at all. However, I was advised that if I was late, or did not pay off the card by 11/09, that compound interest of 28.99 would incur. I have faithfully made my payments, but was naive and have not really checked the account. I called them b/c the interest has remained and at 28.99%!!! They said that there was no lower rate to offer, and said that no one else could assist me with the issue.

Complaint: I had applied for a HSBC credit card in the month of June, which was received on 28 th July 2008. I had made a purchase of about 3800.00 RS on 15 th August . I received a call from HSBC on 3 sep 2008 stating that my outstanding balance was 5300.00, for which no bill was posted to me .I had consulted HSBC Customer care centre for a clarification for this during which I learnt that I have been charged with a Late fee of 400.00 plus there were two premium paid for a TATA AIG policy each Rs 500.I had asked the Cust Care exe. To immediately cancel this policy as I had not applied for it. During which I was intimated that I would have to pay the first premium on RS 500 as I had not cancelled this policy within 20 days. They also offered me certain bonus points if I paid this amount.I repaid my actual outstanding balance for which I had made a purchase of Rs. 3800 immediately, but I did not pay the 500 RS which was premium for the policy. In the following month I intimated HSBC that I have crushed/lost their card and no longer wish to use it. I also visited HSBC office at SB Road Pune,which asked me call Customer Care directly as they don’t deal with Credit card queries. I made several requests through email to info@hsbc.co.in after which I was emailed this scanned copy of the document I had signed .My complaint no. was Reference Number: 290224567. Email Subject as per HSBC I wish to let you know that I this document was signed in complete ignorance ,that I was signing the documents for the application of the credit card I promised by the agent.I also did not receive ant TATA AIG policy with this credit card so that I could cancel it within 20 days. Now I have been getting threatening calls from HSBC recovery department stating that my outstanding balance is around 3500.00 ( 500 .00+ interest). They are asking me to pay atleast 1000.00 Rs to settle this matter. I feel completely cheated ans misguided all the way. Please help me out of this.

Complaint: CREDIT CARD DETAILS RECIEVED FROM CIBIL: Account type: CREDIT CARD Account Status: WRITTEN OFF Amount Overdue: 26,797 Reported by: HSBC Account Information: Date Reported:31-10-2008 Due to personal reason (Lost the job for couple of months), I made the settlement for HSBC credit card on 25 of June,2007 as per the settlement document received from HSBC bank. But the executive collected the cheques from me had mentioned 26 of June, 2007 (i.e. 1 day late) on the payment reciepts as he said that it is not possible for him to deposite the money on 25 of June, 2007 as bank were closed in the evening. I too missed to check the settlement date in the settlement letter but I verbally confirmed number of times that I have nothing pending now against my credit card. Now after 2 years when I applied for loan, I got refusal as the HSBC bank has updated the status on CIBIL stating Rs.26,797 outstanding against my credit card account. On enquiring to HSBC bank they state that as I made the payment a day late then the date mentioned in settlement letter so accordingly your settlement stands null and void. After requesting HSBC bank n-number of times stating the fact th! at it is not my fault as I made the payment on 25 of June, 2007 but your executive had put the date 26 on the receipts, there is no hearing. I had mailed atleast 10 times to HSBC bank but they are not responsding. Everytime they are giving excuses like my phone is not reachable or they will call me with in 4-6 working days. But still there is no staisfactory response from their end. Please help. FYI I have settlement letter as well as the receipts with me as well. Thanks & Regards, Nitin Sindhwani

Complaint: In February of this year, I had an HSBC credit card with a $5000 credit limit. The account was in good standing, and I have never had a missed or late payment anywhere in my credit history. When I received my tax refund this year, I paid my $4000 balance in full on this credit card. HSBC immediately lowered my credit limit from $5000 to $1740. Less than two months later, they closed my account outright "due to inactivity". It has only been a month since I used the card, and in 8 weeks I went from a $5000 credit limit to a closed account! This is my reward for responsible spending? At this point, I am greatly concerned that my other creditors will see a greater percentage of my credit being used and do the same thing. Something is seriously wrong when I pay off debt responsibly and in turn have my credit score lowered. My husband has been serving in the army for 5 years, and our plan has been to start a dental practice next year. We are now concerned that our credit rating will be in the toilet simply because we paid down our debt, and that we will not be able to secure the loan we will need to start his business. Help!

Complaint: I moved from my previous residents aug of 2008. My phone company did not have a forwarding service and I thought all of my mail was forwarded to my new address. I changed all of my bills to my new address however HSBC sent there statement to a pittsbugh address(I have lived in NY my whole life)Due to all of the mergers with banks I didnt think twice about getting in touch with HSBC because I didnt use there credit card for a long time and didnt realize I still owed them 1500 which I would have gladly paid. I just starting shopping for a new car and on my credit report it stated my account was deliquent. I found out they ! sent this account to a collection agency and HSBC never got in touch with me because they sent my statement to Pittsburgh. Does anyone know how I can clear this up.

Complaint: I have been a costumer with this credit card company for 2 years. I have paid my payments on time and always the amount or more that is due. I recently called for an account balance and was told that I had more credit avaliable than I actually did. With this information that I was told by a customer service rep I believed that I had a sufficent amount to use on my card. After one purchase that was under the amount that I was told I had avaliable..my account suddenly became overlimit..which I was then charged and overlimit fee and my APR was DOUBLED. This i! s the problem with credit card companies..they miss inform you of information that you ask for help on to rip you off and make more money for their companies that already are million dollar companies. How is the economy going to get any better when you cant even trust your personal credit anymore?? This should be against the law and im some way Im pretty sure it is..these companies should be the ones held responsible for these kind of decieving antics..not the credit holder. People wonder why it is so hard to get out of debt..its because not matter how much you are on point and do what your supposed too, these companies doctor different ways to take advantage of you.

Complaint: I'm filing a complaint against the afformentioned credit card companies. I had been paying my bills every month and on time, on a rare occasion a bill or two was sent late. Since December my hours were cut to 20hrs a week permanantely. I have been unsucessful finding a full time job due to a struggling economy. With my rent,food,and other utilities...I have been unable to pay my credit card bills. These 3 companies ( HSBC, Citibank, and Capital One ) call me numerous times throughout the day, Citibank and HSBC will call me 4 times an hour. I explained my situation to them but it falls o! n deaf ears, their late fees and interest rates are so high. This seems wrong in every sense of the word. The phone calls alone are harassing, and I want it to stop.Once every hour to four times an hour is harassment. I want this stop and I want it to stop now.