Consumer complaint received 2025-01-14 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Opening an account — Confusing or missing disclosures
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Dear Sir/Madam, On XX/XX/year>, I went to the HSBC XXXX branch to open an account. Before that, I had booked an appointment by phone to meet a customer service manager for the account opening, but when I arrived, I was informed that the manager was off that day, and the other staff present were unwilling to assist with the account opening. Due to their negligence, I almost got stood up and was unable to open the account properly. Later, when they learned that I could immediately deposit funds into the account, they reluctantly agreed to have a random staff member help me with the opening, namely XXXX XXXX. Since she was an emergency substitute and not my future relationshi

p manager, she did not take the time to properly introduce the products. This included the very important promotional offer, " a {$1500.00} reward for depositing {$100000.00} within 20 days of opening the account or a {$2500.00} reward for depositing {$200000.00}, '' which she completely failed to mention! At that time, I clearly explained my situation to her, including
that I am a XXXX XXXX holder temporarily living at a friends house in the U.S., and so on. She told me to provide an address, but she never mentioned this promotional offer or advised me that a U.S. residential address was preferred. She only said that an overseas address would suffice. So, we followed her instructions and provided the address. In fact, as an employee of HSBC, she had a clear obligation to inform me about the offer, as I met the qualifications to benefit from it. However, she deliberately chose not to mention it, causing me to miss out on the opportunity to receive at least a {$1500.00} reward!

In late XXXX XXXX, I suddenly discovered this
promotional offer on HSBC US 's website. I immediately called them to inquire, and only then did they reluctantly admit that there was such an offer, but due to the 20-day deposit requirement after account opening, it was already too late for me. This behavior completely disregards and violates the customer 's right to be informed and to make an informed choice! I was fully eligible for this offer, but due to HSBCs staff deliberately withholding this information, I missed the opportunity!

I later emailed their Customer Relationship Manager, XXXX XXXX ( Case ID : XXXX ), but received no response. During the waiting period, I made countless phone calls without getting an answer and left messages that went unanswered. It wasnt until XX/XX/XXXX that I finally received an email stating that it was correct that I wasnt informed about the promotional offer because I had not provided a U.S. residential address. I clearly had a U.S. residential address at that time, but XXXX XXXX never mentioned that it was required. This is a gross violation of the customers right to be informed! As a bank, how can they be so irresponsible and casually dismiss their mistake? As a customer, I can choose to provide a U.S. address or another address, but as a bank, if it has such a promotional offer, the staff has an obligation to inform customers in advance! They acted as if it was unnecessary to inform me, and only chose to mention it when they felt like it. This is an extremely irresponsible and negligent performance! Therefore, I believe they have no reason to shirk their responsibility and must take accountability!

I request that they take responsibility for any economic losses I have incurred due to their negligence in informing me. This includes but is not limited to, the {$1500.00} reward that I was fully qualified to receive but missed out on due to their deceit and intentional failure to inform me.

I'm looking forward to hearing back from you. Thank you!

Kind regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation