Consumer complaint received 2023-11-07
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Foreign currency exchange
Issue: Unexpected or other fees

Complaint:
( 1 ) THE FRAUD EVENT On XX/XX/2023, I withdrew cash from an HSBC ATM in XXXX XXXX, using my XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX debit card. I requested XXXXXXXX XXXX withdrawal, and at the final step on the ATM screen I was presented with a choice to ACCEPT or DECLINE the transaction. I was surprised to see that I would be charged XXXX pesos in surcharges in order to withdraw XXXX XXXX  (! ), so given the option to ACCEPT or DECLINE, I pressed DECLINE. Nevertheless, the ATM machine dispensed XXXX XXXX  ( XXXX XXXX notes ) and gave me a receipt showing the XXXX in surcharges ( total, XXXX pesos, image attached below ). 
In USD terms, I got about XXXX USD in local currency from that ATM, and my XXXX  account was charged XXXX USD! A Scam!!! 
It is noteworthy that an on-line search ( which I did after becoming a victim ) reveals that others have experienced this same fraud at HSBC ATMs XXXX XXXX. 

( XXXX ) ACTIONS TAKEN On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, I went to an HSBC branch to complain about this problem and implore them to check their surveillance footage. I got nowhere ; they said I must take up the issue with my bank. 
I therefore called XXXX on that same day and spoke with the fraud office. After many phone calls, I was told that the problem would be investigated and that I would meanwhile be issued credit for the amount lost in the scam. I felt reassured. And on XX/XX/XXXX, I saw that the amount of {$460.00} was credited to my account. I had no further communications with XXXX  and saw no further messages in my XXXX  phone app or on my phone or email account. I continued my travels in XXXX. ( Cash withdrawals at other bank ATMs were unremarkable, involving " normal '' expected surcharges. ) In late XXXX, I noticed in my phone app that the credit of {$460.00} was reversed ( taken back ) by XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX. I found, via my app, that the claim had been closed ; XXXX 's response letter attached an ATM transaction log from XXXX XXXX XXXX. The transaction log proved what I was saying -- that XXXX XXXX  were dispensed to me, and that XXXX + XXXX XXXX  in tax and surcharges + XXXX XXXX  in banknote delivered = XXXX XXXX  ( {$520.00} USD ) was charged to my account. XXXXXXXX XXXX case review consisted entirely of punting the issue to XXXX XXXX XXXX, and the reviewer at XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( the person who made some annotations on the log ) did not even comment on the extreme surchages shown in the log. In fact, the reviewer seemed to claim ( despite the evidence in the log ) that I received the entire amount in XXXX banknotes. The log and the reviewer comments did not prove that I did not press DECLINE when presented with this extreme surcharge. But I really feel that I would be in the right in calling this a scam even if I had pressed " accept '' at the final step of the ATM transaction. ( But again, I didn't ; I pressed DECLINE. ) IN SUMMARY : - Did this monstrous and ridiculous ATM surcharge fraud occur, at my expense? YES, IT DID OCCUR. I told XXXX that on XX/XX/XXXX, and they did not need XXXX XXXX XXXX  to tell them that again. 
- Did I explicitly approve this fraudulent transaction? NO, I DID NOT, and the investigation does not show anything to the contrary. 
- Would such a monstrous surcharge be legitimate in any scenario ( approved or declined )? NO, IT WOULD NOT. 
- Did XXXX XXXX XXXX, acting as XXXX  consultant, add value to the investigation? No, the ATM log confirmed that only XXXX XXXX  was dispensed, and their annotations written on the log -- suggesting that XXXX XXXX  in various banknotes were dispensed -- were fabricated and not derived from the log itself. 
- Did XXXX do any investigation of its own with regard to HSBC, the bank responsible? APPARENTLY NOT. They might have asked for their surveillance camera footage, as I did without success.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation