HSBC Business

From several months try to contact them after few hours waiting they put the phone down.bank is giving same no to contact. Few time someone pick up the phone put it back . neverever use them

I started a new company and applied for an HSBC business account. I have completed everything my end but it has now been months and HSBC have done nothing with it!! Every time I get through to some one on the phone and ask how much longer it will take they tell me they say they do not guaranty time scales. I have been left using my personal current account to run my business which is going to give my accountant to have a breakdown... I have written this review while in a phone que to speak to HSBC customer service....

ABSOLUT F G SHAMBLE!!!!!!!

HSBC is a bank where customer service has been cut to below the minimum. Its hard enough to find the right number to call on their website and when you do you will be on hold forever. And I mean forever - unless BT cut you off first. An account for people with time to burn. They have an automated assistant on the website which utterly hopeless.

We are a small firm of solicitors and have used HSBC for over 10 years. Initially the relationship was good. We had an accessible business manager and the local branch was helpful. The first big shock was when they sent £1.7 million to a mortgage lender on a property sale instead of the £700K owing and the £1 million balance to the seller. When we challenged this monstrous error they responded that they would get "our" money back. We pointed out that the lost money was HSBC's money since they had no instruction to send the £1 million to the lender and faced with immediate recovery proceedings they refunded the money from their own funds. It took them three weeks to recover their money from the lender! Since then we have encountered many errors with CHAPS payment instructions. Staff at the local branch are always ignorant, unhelpful and impolite.

The final straw was when we were no longer able to access one of our accounts on the HSBC website. The response to our logon was just "sorry". It caused us a serious difficulty as it resulted in a late payment. Our complaint was met with arrogance: we were told that HSBC blocks access without warning when an account is not accessed for three months and that a complete new application was required regardless that all of our other accounts were still being accessed with the same logon.

We are now moving our business accounts to Metro Bank where we have 7 day service by polite staff and a usable internet service.

Applied ONLINE for a start-up UK company, took over three months, dozens of emails and phone calls, no one answers or if get answered some time they don't know what to do next, 3 times visited branch, even branch manager failed to find out what going on. Keep asking to sign American IRS W-8 form for 2 months. I refused and told them I am British and have no business now or in future with US and my accountant refused as well and advise that its unusual demand by HSBC and not required by law in UK. after two months HSBC told it was wrong form asked to fill another form which I did. after over three months received calls that we don't open the account for consulting and investment purpose. They could told this immediately after application and I would open account with another bank without problem. Its not only disappointing but somewhat scary to see such costumer service. You can not get hold of any one who knows what to do.

Horrendous application process, every call resulted in being provided in different information requirements. Each call result in a 'sorry you were told wrong information'. Don't hold your breath for return calls, I am still waiting on 3 I was promised.

Getting through to speak to anyone results in a 30 minute on hold process.

After a number of weeks of being messed about I went to Santander and had an active account within days.

HSBC have lost my business, would never consider them again.

Apart from all the other irritations that other reviewers have mentioned, the most irritating thing by far is that you can only make international transfers between 8am and 3.30pm Monday - Friday. I find it hard to believe I am even writing that in 2016! This makes the account next to useless for businesses with international suppliers, which I would guess includes a large number of SMEs these days. Our suppliers in California do not open until 5pm UK time, so when we get an invoice from them on a Friday we, rather embarrassingly, can do nothing to pay it until the following Monday. I am pretty sure 'The world's local bank' was some kind of in-joke that someone in their marketing department took seriously. DO NOT get an HSBC business bank account if you ever plan on doing any international business, or even if you have any hopes or plans for your business to grow.

I was very well received by a young representative which was quite happy to help me in opening a bank account. She programed me for Friday at 10 a.m where I will have an appointment with the Bussines Specialist in Plymouth

In contrast to my experience of Natwest online CSR ( ignored repeated query, impossible to find a phone contact) and Barclays ( astonishingly rude, thoroughly unhelpful, CSR in rgds to my reluctance to post off my passport to them for proof of ID), HSBC responded to my online complaint (a minor one re 0845 calls costing unnecessarily high amounts because of long response time) by hard copy letter.

They replied in courteous detail. This was no 'we care about your business' brush off. Unfortunately they only addressed half of my complaint(length of wait for call pick up). So I am yet to discover why all businesses now make it a cost to us to lodge a legitimate complaint re their actions. Howeever come July the banks, at least, will no longer be allowed to do this. For which: 'Hurrah'.

I made my business account at HSBC online application at the beginning of March. Subsequently, I went into the Branch with my passport and prove of address. The Business Manager told me that everything was fine on his end and that it would be reviewed in Leicester for final decision, he said that it is looking quite straight forward.

During this process I rang to find out the status of the application and found out on 26/03/14 that my application was deleted, they could not find my files. They asked me to create a new application and to ring them again. I did this and then they told me that they found my first application but that the Business Manager in the branch declined it and therefore it was deleted from the system. The telephone customer service advised me that it was likely a mistake and they promised to ring me back to explain what happened this was also on 26th, they didn’t contact me as promised and on 27/03 I rang again, (again waiting almost 45min prior being contacted with the department). Then they said that they will contact the right department who then get back to me, 5 hours later I received a ring with a reference to ring the customer service dep. I rang and they said sorry without any reason given it shows that the application has been declined. So I thought ok I visit the branch once more, visited the Business Manager and he told me that he has nothing to do with it and Leicester made the decision. Many phone calls, waiting time and stress as a result and no business account. They couldn’t give any reasons why they acted this way. I am from abroad; live her for almost 9 years, held a job for the last 7 years, low mortgage, and no debts at all. Great credit rating, good business plan and prospects for the business, no loans required and just a prospect of good incoming revenue, do you get this??

I surely don’t, very frustrating and unhelpful process when you setting up a new business, I just going to open one business account with my own bank.