Consumer complaint received 2019-07-05
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: NY
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: You never received your bill or did not know a payment was due

Complaint:
I received an HSBC credit card and set up automatic payments from my XXXX brokerage account as well as e-statements this past spring. 

HSBC sent me an email saying automatic payments were scheduled. When I looked online I saw that the payment was made and they have been made monthly. 

Sunday XX/XX/XXXX I opened a paper statement that was sent to me from HSBC that said a payment for {$84.00} was made and a charge for {$84.00} was also made. I have not used the card and found the charge alarming since it was the same amount as my payment. I also thought it was odd to get a paper statement. 

When I went to log online to my account, I could not access anything and was further alarmed it may have been hacked. When I called customer service on back of my card, it was closed. So I began to chat with a rep online who told me my account was past due and it had been closed and sent to collections! 

I never received a notice my payments were not made, HSBC never called and only email I received regarding payments was that my XX/XX/XXXXpayment was scheduled. 

I called a number the customer rep in the chat room gave me and entered my routing and account number for XXXX and immediately paid the {$120.00} that was due. This routing and account number are the same ones used in my electronic payments. The {$120.00} payment went through and while my account is no longer past due, it is still with collections : who have never called nor emailed me and I can not get ahold of collections. Also, my credit report which has never had a missed payment in its 20+ years history now has delinquent account and account closed on it. All happening while I need to get financing for my son 's fall college tuition, and now I can't!!! 

I have mailed proof of payment to HSBC from XXXX. HSBC has said there is no way to expedite this, or connect them with XXXX. They do not have a fax number nor an email I could send proof of payment. 

Lastly, today, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX from HSBC that the account is closed and in collections with a number to contact, but the number is -again- customer service and they could not help me at all because it sits with collections who no one has any means of contacting. 

How can they process two payments but reject two all from the same account then say it is past due, close the account and send it to collections without any attempt to contact me via phone, email, or post ; nor marking online that the account is past due? The only emails I received on my account specifically were 1 ) confirming I was signed up for email alerts and notifications, 2 ) that a XX/XX/XXXXpayment was scheduled and 3 ) my XX/XX/XXXX statement ( XX/XX/XXXXand XX/XX/XXXXwere not emailed ). 

Today when I called HSBC -again- they further told me that I had to call them every month on the XX/XX/XXXXto find out what I owe because I set up electronic statements and the account is now closed they can not mail me statements. Ludicrous! 

HSBC clearly can not process direct debit payments from one of the world 's largest financial institutions, but their system error is marring my credit!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation