Consumer complaint received 2020-08-22
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: OR
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem accessing account

Complaint:
I have several deposit and credit accounts with HSBC and lately there have been several issues with their HSBC Security team, online banking access and their ACH funds transfer system. I have gone through the traditional channels to have these issues addressed, but each time they fix one problem another pops up. Trying to call their 800 number for customer service often results in hold times approaching one hour, even for XXXX customers, which, being stationed overseas, costs real money in telephone charges. 

1. The first problem started on or around XX/XX/XXXX when I initiated an ACH ( Bank-to-Bank ) transfer from my personal checking account to a business account at XXXX  XXXX XXXX. After about two days I got a vice mail message and an e-mail from HSBC Security to call regarding an issue. Prior to calling, I tried to log into my online account and found it was blocked. 

Calling HSBC Security, I was directed to speak to a security specialist who, unfortunately ( but from prior experience with HSBC Security is totally not an anomaly ) had the most dismal English language skills I have ever experienced. I could barely understand more than one or two words from every sentence he spoke. After a struggle, I understood him to say that the transfer was cancelled because transfers to business accounts were not permitted. I thanked him and hung up. 

I then called normal XXXX customer service and reached a customer service representative who was not only failed to understand the issue, but was argumentative and hung up the call on me. I called again and reached a second CSR who explained that any external account for an ACH transfer must share the same name and be a personal account. She stated it is in the online banking Terms & Conditions, but then HSBC has XXXX dozen different XXXX XXXX XXXX so who bothers to actually read them all. 

In any event, what HSBC should do is warn people when they set up the external account and not even let them enter a name other than the name of the XXXX personal account holder. 

2. On or about XX/XX/XXXX, having been told that the ACH transfer was not possible and was cancelled, I set up a bank wire to the same external account. Two days later, I again found my online account blocked yet again and instructed to call HSBC Security. Again, the security representative was exceptionally difficult to understand because of his extremely dismal English language skills. One question he kept asking me was if I had been to " Ooode ''. I had to get him to repeat that XXXX a dozen times before he spelled it out : U T A HXXXX Utah. After that he verified the bank wire and unfroze my account. 

3. On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I logged in to see that the wire had been successful. I also saw that they also withdrew the money for the previously supposedly cancelled ACH transfer thus overdrawing my checking account by over {$40000.00}. Ultimately that money was returned to me after three days. 

Why would they allow a supposedly cancelled transaction to process? Why would they allow a transaction to process that would overdraw an account by over {$40000.00}? 

Also, why do they block an online account just to verify a transaction? In order to simply log into my account in the first place to even set up the transaction I needed to go through their 2-factor authentication. Then, in processing the ACH or wire transfer I needed to verify an additional two security codes sent over my cell phone. Blocking an online account to later " verify '' a transaction is absurd. And even then, when you call to verify you reach someone insecurity who is functionally illiterate. 

4. On or around XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from HSBC Security stating that a new authorized user was added to my credit card account and that there had been an address change made. Although I knew this was because my XXXX Relationship Manager had followed my instructions to add my wife as an authorized user, I still logged into my account to further confirm. Although my login was not blocked, when trying to view my personal contact data, I was blocked. There is a screen stating there are issues and an error code of GSP-500 is given. I then called and again an hour on hold only to be told they don't know what the issue is and will check.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation