A Utah man had a bold plan, which we told you about last year. His house was going into foreclosure unless he could come up with $21,638.02 to pay HSBC. So he announced to the world that he would burn his car and post the video online in exchange for donations. He raised about $15,000 and even sold $1,200 worth of advertising on the side of the car. He tried to work with local fire departments to get them to let him burn the car, to no avail. So he did it on public land and now he’s in court and getting fined, reports KSL. [More]
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HSBC Joins List Of Banks Warning It Will Probably Get Fined For Improper Foreclosure Practices
By 2.28.11 — Updated: 11.7.12
HSBC is the latest in a string of banks who warned investors via their SEC filing that they expect to get fined after getting a letter from regulators chastising their improper foreclosure practices. On Friday, Wells Fargo, Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) and SunTrust banks made similar announcements. [More]
Subprime Credit Cards Are Back, Now With Extra Interest!
By 1.13.11
After a couple years of hiding in the shadows, credit cards targeted at consumers with less-than-stellar credit ratings are once again making a push to gain new customers. [More]
HSBC Just Assumes You Want The $90 Check-Printing Service
By 1.13.11
Adam never received checks for his new HSBC account, so he stopped by his branch to order some. He must have struck bank employees as the kind of guy who demands nothing but the best, since branch employees handed him the order form for the most expensive checks. The ones that cost $90. [More]
Know Your Bank's New Checking Fees To Avoid Getting Slammed
By 1.10.11
The first reaction to your bank instituting new fees on your “free checking” account in 2011 might be sheer, overwhelming panic, or maybe rage, indignation, or some combination thereof. But don’t be afraid, fee-haters, there are ways around extra charges to your account. [More]
HSBC Redefines "Opt-in," Won't Accept "No" For An Answer
By 12.10.10
Daniel came across this page while logging in to his credit card account. “I can sign up, sign up, say yes or be reminded later. I couldn’t find anywhere on this page that would let me say ‘No, I don’t want this’,” he writes. “It seems kind of, well, wrong to not give a customer the option to NOT opt in.” [More]
HSBC Closes Bank Account Over 14 Cent Overdraft
By 8.19.10
“Don’t overdraw your bank account” is pretty sound advice. However, reader Phil advises that if you do happen to overdraw your HSBC account–even by a few cents–the bank will mercilessly close your bank account with no warning. That’s what happened to him. [More]
Man Who Offered To Set Car On Fire Saves Home
By 7.27.10
The guy who offered to set his car on fire in exchange for “loanations” (his word–he says he’s going to pay back all donations) managed to raise enough money to prevent the foreclosure sale of his house yesterday. Below is a video of him handing over a check for $21,000. The only problem is, now he’s saying he might not burn the car. [More]
Man Offers To Set Car On Fire To Save Home From HSBC Foreclosure
By 7.26.10
John admits on his blog that he’s responsible for falling six months behind on his mortgage. But once he got over his divorce and losing his adopted son and started trying to make things right, he ended up in loan modification limbo at HSBC. The bank never moved forward on any modification, and now he has to pay $21,638.02 today if he wants to keep his house. Logically, he’s offering to burn his car and post the video online in return for donations. [More]
HSBC Paid Me In Monopoly Money, Gave Me A Fun New Hobby To Track Down The Reason Why
By 6.15.10
Normally you’d hope a bank pays you in legal tender and not with a piece of green construction paper that the guy down the street pulled out of his laser printer after creating the document on Microsoft Paint. And yet when Tracy pulled out some cash to pay her rent at an HSBC branch, one of the Benjamins was counterfeit. [More]
Reach HSBC Finance Executive Customer Service
By 5.24.10
Here is some contact information for HSBC Finance. It’s good for when you have a Sisyphean customer service issue that you’d rather have the sneakers of Mercury. [More]
Woman's $10K Mortgage Payment Vanishes Into Thin Air
By 5.2.10
File this one under “U” for Uncool: After a woman transferred $50,000 over five days from her bank account to her mortgage lender to pay down her mortgage, somehow $10,000 of that money just… disappeared. Or so it seemed. [More]
Reach HSBC Executive Customer Service
By 12.7.09
HSBC Card & Retail Services
James R. Lane
Vice President, Executive Resolutions
831-772-6248
james.r.lane@us.hsbc.com
Does Living In California Make You A Higher Credit Risk?
By 9.21.09
Paul Smith, who lives in San Diego and has a credit score of 751, had his HSBC credit card limit lowered from $7,000 to $1,400 recently for mysterious reasons. He called HSBC to find out why.
HSBC Cancels Traveler's Credit Card, Pays For Their Mistake
By 8.11.09
Bank of America isn’t the only bank that enjoys canceling their traveling customer’s credit cards. HSBC canceled my card while I was living in New Zealand, and as part of their “continuing efforts to fight fraud,” sent an active replacement card to my address 9,000 miles away.
Best Buy Charges $15 To Pay Bill On Time
By 6.29.09
Owners of Best Buy credit cards (via HSBC) are being charged $15 to pay their bill on time online. The only way to avoid the fee? Pay at least two business days early.
HSBC Credit Card's Pay-By-Phone Fee Is Higher Than The Bill
By 5.12.09
Why does HSBC charge $15 to make a payment over the phone? Other, often smaller, companies charge $3 or less, as MG notes in his email below. In this case, since the alternative is so unwelcome—a possible late payment, and a corresponding hit on MG’s credit score—it seems pretty outrageous to hold him hostage to a $15 fee.
HSBC, Wells Fargo Accused Of Racism In Mortgage Issuing
By 3.15.09
The NAACP this week filed a class action suit accusing Wells Fargo and HSBC of charging unfairly high interest rates to African American homeowners with high incomes and high credit scores. The banks were quick to slap down the charges as “totally unfounded and reckless,” even in the face of convincing evidence from the NAACP.
