Consumer complaint received 2019-04-02
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: KY
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I opened an online checking account with HSBC ( {$350.00} sign up bonus ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to mobile deposit check # XXXX for {$5000.00} into my HSBC account. The money was debited from my XXXX account on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to mobile deposit check # XXXX for {$5000.00} into my HSBC account. The money was debited from my XXXX account on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed that both checks were debited from my XXXX XXXX account but when I attempted to log in into my HSBC account through my HSBC application ( which I used to mobile deposit both checks ), I received the following error " The account or accounts do not exist in your internet banking provile. Please contact us at XXXX for further assistance. Ref. [ PC8 ] ''. Please note that the phone number provided is for their XXXX customer service, which I did not know until later ( please see below ). On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, I reached out to HSBC at XXXX to understand what could have happened to my account. I was on the phone for 17 minutes and 20 seconds. The lady on the phone explained that this account was closed due to suspicious activity and that the checks were rejected on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX and would be back into my XXXX XXXX account within 7 business days.On XX/XX/XXXX ( I decided to wait a little longer due to the holidays, to make sure I would have waited long enough ), I reached out to XXXX XXXX  as the funds were still not credited into my XXXX XXXX account. When I asked what other steps I could take to find my money, the lady stated the only thing she could do to help me was to give me an image of the checks. I informed her that I had access to this but was at loss and was not sure what to do next. She said that could not help me further since the checks were both paid to HSBC,  and that HSBC would be responsible for the funds. The same day, I tried to call HSBC but they were closed for the holiday. On XX/XX/XXXX, I reached out to HSBC at XXXX which was the phone number provided on my XXXXSBC mobile application, thinking it might redirect me to a specific department, more knowledgeable about my situation. I was on the phone for 50 minutes when the lady realized that I was a US customer and did not have a XXXX account. I was then transferred to the US phone number, spent 10 minutes on the phone with a really helpful lady who was willing to do a conference call with XXXX XXXX. In the process of setting up the conference call, the lady inadvertently hung up on me.I called HSBC again ( at the US customer service number XXXX ), spoke the a gentleman who transferred me to the ACH department who then let me know that this was the wrong department to talk to as my issue was about checks. The lady from the ACH department transferred me to the general customer service, once again. After waiting for about 30 minutes, I got a hold of someone and I explained my situation, for the third time to a lady. She explained that Check # XXXX was never accepted as it was " reported '' as suspicious funds ( which I assumed she meant by XXXX XXXX ), therefore, they automatically rejected check # XXXX for " not sufficient funds ''. We decided to do a conference call with XXXX XXXX. After a total of two hours of being on the phone, one hour being on the conference call, HSBC stated they could not write a letter stating what happened as my account was closed. XXXX XXXX sent me an Affidavit of Forgery, Unauthorized draft or Altered item in order to have a dispute started. XXXX XXXX claims both claims were deposited at " HSBC 1 '' and " HSBC 2 '' while HSBC claims they never accepted the checks and rejected the money. They also closed my account on XX/XX/XXXX but I received this letter at a later date. On the statement provided, we can see that no money was deposited from XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. There are trial credits by XXXX XXXX   that are showing since I initially tried to transfer the money electronically to HSBC when I opened this account but it appears the funds were rejected ( Even though the account was confirmed with those trial deposits ). XXXX XXXX said that the dispute would take 90 to 120 days. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX advised to reach out to HSBC to give them the information regarding my missing deposit, which I did on XX/XX/XXXX. HSBC stated that since the dispute was already placed, I would have to keep track of the dispute through XXXX XXXX and HSBC would be reaching out to them. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX stated that they sent a " Without entry Claim '' to HSBC and that the time frame would be 30-90 days. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX let me know that they had reached out to HSBC on XX/XX/XXXX and that HSBC informed them that they were still researching the request. I questioned what would happen after the 90 days mark, to which XXXX XXXX responded by stating that it would take up to 120 days. They asked me if I was able to take copies of the cleared checks to HSBC which I can't, because the closest branch is hundreds of miles away. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I am still waiting to hear back from HSBC.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation