Consumer complaint received 2017-05-11
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: MI
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Opening an account
Sub-issue: Didn't receive terms that were advertised

Complaint:
I took HSBC up on a checking account opening bonus offer and I 've held up my end of the bargain. They have not and they 've stated clearly that they do n't intend to. This is not an acceptable way to conduct business. Here 's the story : In   XX/XX/XXXX  H SBC began a promotion for their checking accounts : " Open a new HSBC Choice checking, Advance checki ng, or Premier checking by      XX/XX/XXXX   , and get a {$350.00} bonus with qualifying activities : Either : Pay at leas t two bills per mont h from your new HSBC checking account via HSBCs online Bill Pay for  three co nsecutive months within  120 cale ndar days of account opening.     Or : Receive at le ast one qualifying dir ect deposit per month into your new HSBC checking account fo r three consec utive months within  120 calend ar days of account opening. A minimum cumulative amount of {$3000.00} is required. '   XXXX      XX/XX/XXXX   - I applied for an HSBC checking account online.       XX/XX/XXXX   - I called to follow up on the account application that seemed to be taking too long. I was asked some questions about the source of funding and told things should be moving along.       XX/XX/XXXX  - Account still not opened so I called again and was told " almost ''  XX/XX/XXXX  - Account opened and received welcome letter Note : If we use  XX/XX/XXXX     as the account opening date, I 'll have to meet  1 of the 2 r equirements for the bonus before   XX/XX/XXXX   XX/XX/XXXX  -  Account gets funded with a transfer in from another financial institution where I also have an account. ( Note that it took 39 days from the date of original application to get a new checking account setup and funded )     XX/XX/XXXX  -  Added additional funds to account via transfer    XX/XX/XXXX    - Pa id 2 sepa rate bills using  HSBC  's bill pay service   XX/XX/XXXX  - H ad chat session with customer service to verify terms of the bonus and key dates. Was told I needed to m ake 2  more months worth of bill payments in   XX/XX/XXXX  and  XX/XX/XXXX .      XX/XX/XXXX  -  Pai d 2 sep arate bills using  HSBC  's bill pay service  XX/XX/XXXX  - Paid  2 sep arate bills using  HSBC  's bill pay service With the completion o f 2 bill pay ments on   XX/XX/XXXX  I s atisfied the requirement to pay at le ast 2 bills u sing HSBC 's bill pay feature from my account within 120 days of account opening.     The terms of the bonus offer state : " Qualified customers will automatically receive a {$350.00} welcome deposit into their new  HSBC  checking account approxima tely eight weeks af ter completing all offer requirements  '' 8 w eeks from  XX/XX/XXXX  is roughl y  XX/XX/XXXX . I wa s content to wait until that date and perhaps a bit beyond.     In earl y  XX/XX/XXXX  upo n logging into my HSBC account I was presented with a message that I had not completed the requirements of the bonus offer. I used HSBCs BankMail system to send a secure message inquiring about the issue. Betwee n  XX/XX/XXXX  and  XX/XX/XXXX  I  had a number of contacts via  XXXX . There was a lot of waiting in between messages until I suggested that I might be forced to file a complaint with the CFPB.     On  XX/XX/XXXX  I finally got firm language from  HSBC  : " Upon review, we notice that you have not met the bill pay requirements nor the direct deposit requirements for the promotional bonus. As such, the bonus was not credited to your account.     Please note : Pay at leas t two bills per  month from your new HSBC checking account via HSBC ? s onl ine  Bill Pay f o r three c onsecutive months within  120 calenda r days of account opening. OR ;  Receive  at lea st one qualifying direct deposit per month into your new HSBC checking account for three   conse cutive months with in 120 cal endar days of account opening. A minimum cumulative amount of {$3000.00} is required.     Since you have not met the promotional bonus requirements, the bonus was not credited to your account. '' I replied and asked for them to check that again since m y 3 consecutive months of bill pay did occur within 120 days of opening and there was no requirement to begin the 3 consecutive months within  any particular timeframe.     On   XX/XX/XXXX   in reply, they sent me this : " Please be informed that in order to qualify for the {$350.00} bonus offer a new HSBC Choice Checking, you are required to pay at leas t two b ills per month from your new  HSBC  checking account via HSBC 's online Bill Pay for  three cons ecutive months w ithin 120 calend ar days of account opening or receive at least  one qualifying  direct deposit per month into your new HSBC checking account fo r three conse cutive months within  120 cale ndar days of account opening.     Upon review, we confirm that the bill payments was processed on your account from the month of   XX/XX/XXXX .  However the bill payment needs to be  for three conse cutive mo nths within 120  calendar days of account opening. Please be informed that there were no bill payments in the month o f  XX/XX/XXXX  and  XX/XX/XXXX . As such, your account is not eligible for the {$350.00} bo nus. '' I replied and noted that there was no requirement to begin the bill payment sequence within any particular timeframe, only to complete  3 consecu tive months of at lea st 2 bill paym ents per month within 120 days.  ( Logically, the terms are designed to allow people to get their account opened and start the process of using their new account - that sometimes takes time - it took them 36 days to get my account opened - it would be nice if they 'd extend the same courtesy of patience to their customers. And they do in the way thei r terms are written - but I suspect the author o the terms and the interpreters of the terms for bonus paying purposes are not on the same page. ) Their final  XXXX  reply came on   XX/XX/XXXX   : " Additionally, we notice that you r Personal internet ban king service was successfully activated on   XX/XX/XXXX .  However, you initiated your first bill payment only in the month o f  XX/XX/XXXX .  As such, we regret to inform you that you do not qualify to receive the {$350.00} bonus. '' So, more of the same. So I turned to the phones.     I called customer service on th e  XX/XX/XXXX  to  attempt to address the issue. On the phone call, my last contact with the bank, I was told that researching the issue could take until   XX/XX/XXXX .      I realize that things can sometimes take a bit of time, but this is somewhat ridiculous. 23 days to research an issue that would seem fairly simple to address? I suppose for a bank that takes 36 days to get an account opened that should n't seem surprising, but at some point I start looking for an adult to step in and make a determination on things.     Their bonus terms were fairly clear and I satisfied them. A new account opening bonus is due. I do n't know why a bank that wanted to get a new customer and was willing to spend {$350.00} to get one would work so hard to now push that customer away, but that 's where we are in the process. I honestly do n't know what these folks are thinking.     I 'd appreciate a review of the issue and a final response from the bank so I can determine if we will continue to do business or forever be estranged.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation