Consumer complaint received 2024-03-20
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC. (CA)

On XX/XX/XXXX, I initiated an online bank to bank transfer via HSBC. The transfer was initiated from my HSBC account to withdraw {$50000.00} from my XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) savings account. 

Later in the day on XX/XX/XXXX, HSBC called me to confirm the transfer request and confirm my XXXX account. We spoke on a three-way call with a XXXX representative to confirm that the XXXX account was my personal account. I was then told the money would be transferred to my HSBC account in about 3 business days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX the status of the transfer online showed " Manual. '' I called the HSBC Premier customer service line and was told the transfer was now rejected and will be transferred back to my XXXX account. I asked for the reason this was rejected. I was told that my account " needed to be verified. '' I was confused by this because I confirmed the account already on XX/XX/XXXX via phone. The customer service agent confirmed that the account was indeed verified on XX/XX/XXXX but told me that I would just have to " try again '' once the funds were transferred back to XXXX. He told me the funds would be transferred back to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called HSBC Premier customer service again and asked about the status of the transfer of funds back to XXXX. I was told it would take XXXX business days. I let him know I needed the funds as soon as possible as we are closing escrow on a home in 1 week. He assured me then it would be deposited back to XXXX by the end of day. By the end of day XX/XX/XXXX, the {$50000.00} in funds was still not in my XXXX account. 

I called XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and they were unable to see any incoming transfer on record. I spoke with HSBC again that day and they said they were not sure what happened to the funds as they were supposed to be transferred back to XXXX by end of day XX/XX/XXXX. I reached out to my relationship XXXX who filed a formal complaint on my behalf with HSBC. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, there were still no funds in my XXXX account. I spoke again with HSBC customer service and they said from their end they could see HSBC attempted the {$50000.00} transfer on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, all resulting in failures to transfer the funds. After the third failed attempt, they said the funds were sent back to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and that I would need to wait XXXX business days from that time. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, there were still no funds in my XXXX account. HSBC customer service had escalated the issue to their supervisor and marked the issue as urgent. They noted from their end the {$50000.00} funds were credited back on XX/XX/XXXX but they were unable to provide updates on the status. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, my relationship manager reached out and let me know there was an issue getting the funds sent back to XXXX today and that was not processed. She was unsure what the reason was and had reached out to the wiring team to investigate. 

This unforeseen issue has now left me without my funds for 10 days and I urgently need access to these funds to close escrow on a home in 2 days. I have been calling HSBC every day for updates to no avail and I have made every attempt to expedite this through HSBC but they are unable to provide information on where the funds are ( they suspect it is with an intermediary bank but they have not provided me information on the specific bank and how to contact them ). I appreciate any assistance CFPB can provide with investigation of this issue and helping expedite the transfer of my funds back to my account as soon as possible.