HSBC ¼­Âह¤ëd me switching ÆÃÊ̼êÅö because I had an account 21 YEARS ago: CRANE ON THE CASE

  • D.W opened account in 80s when HSBC was Midland Bank, and ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëd it?in 2003
  • HSBC says he can't get ¡ò205 switching ÆÃÊ̼êÅö as he banked with it ÃÏ°Ì¡¤Ç¤Ì¿¤¹¤ë-2018
  • Have you been wronged by a ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤? Email helen.crane@thisismoney.co.uk

Late last year, HSBC was ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ðing a ¡ò205 cash ÆÃÊ̼êÅö for new ¸ÜµÒs switching bank account.

I checked the small print and qualified for the ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ð, so I ŬÍѤ¹¤ëd and got the account. But I realised later I never received the ÆÃÊ̼êÅö cash.

When I called HSBC to ask why, it said I wasn't Ŭ³Ê¤Î because it was only for new ¸ÜµÒs who had not had any HSBC accounts since at least 2018.

I once had an account with Midland Bank (now part of HSBC) but I ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëd it more than two £±£°Ç¯´Ös ago. Can you help? D.W, Grimsby

Denied: Our reader was told he couldn't get the ¡ò205 cash bonus for switching his account (stock image)

ÈÝÄꤹ¤ëd: Our reader was told he couldn't get the ¡ò205 cash ÆÃÊ̼êÅö for switching his account (ºß¸Ë¡¿³ô image)

Helen Crane, This is Money's ¾ÃÈñ¼Ô »Ù»ý¤¹¤ë¡¿Í¥¾¡¼Ô, replies:?Until recently, swapping your ·Ð¾ï¼ý»Ù to a different bank was a lucrative game.?

Today there is just one provider ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ðing such an incentive ? Lloyds, which earlier in the week ³«»Ï¤¹¤ë¡¤ÂǤÁ¾å¤²¤ëd its new?¡ò175 Club Lloyds switching ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ð.

But in 2023, high street banks were Íî¤Á¤ëing over themselves to reel in new ¸ÜµÒs with a bit of ²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê cash ? and a µ­Ï¿¡¤µ­Ï¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µ­Ï¿¤¹¤ë number of us took them up on it.

November saw the highest total number of ·îËè¤Î ·Ð¾ï¼ý»Ù switches since the ¸½ºß¤Î Account Switch Service was ³«»Ï¤¹¤ë¡¤ÂǤÁ¾å¤²¤ëd over ten years ago, with more than 162,000 people taking the µÞÍî¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤·ã¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë.

HSBC's ¿½¤·¹þ¤à¡¿¿½¤·½Ð in the autumn was ÆÃ¤Ë tasty, dangling a ¡ò125 carrot for ³«»Ï an HSBC Á°¿Ê¤¹¤ë or ¼óÁê ·Ð¾ï¼ý»Ù, and then another ¡ò80 on ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹ for ³«»Ï a Á´À¤³¦¤Î Money account for overseas spending.?

You went for it, but not before you duly checked all the small print to make sure you played by the »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ës to get your ¡ò205.?

CRANE ON THE CASE?

Our ½µ´©»ï column sees This is Money ¾ÃÈñ¼Ô ÀìÌç²È Helen Crane ¼è¤êÁȤà reader problems and ¸þ¤³¤¦¤º¤Í the light on companies doing both good and bad.

Want her to Ä´ºº¡¿Áܺº¤¹¤ë a problem, or do you want to ¾Þ»¿¤¹¤ë a ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤ for going that extra mile? Get in touch:

helen.crane@thisismoney.co.uk

Banks make switchers jump through hoops to get their ²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê money, because their goal is to get people to use it as their main bank account rather than ´Êñ¤Ë switch, pocket the cash and run.?

This can ´Þ¤à setting up a ³Î¤«¤Ê number of direct debits on the account, depositing a ÌÀ³Î¤Ê¡¿ºÙÉô ÎÌ of money in a »Ï¤á¤ë¡¤·è¤á¤ë time-¤Ç¤Ã¤Á¤¢¤²¤ë¡¤¿Í¤òºá¤Ë´Ù¤ì¤ë or making a particular number of ½èÍý¡¿¼è°ús.

And to stop people getting too switch-happy, they usually À©¸Â¤¹¤ë the accounts to new ¸ÜµÒs only, or those who have not banked with them for a ³Î¤«¤Ê number of years.?

In your »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô HSBC µ¬Äꤹ¤ëd that to get the ¡ò205, ¸ÜµÒs were not µö¤¹d to have had an account with them since at least 2018.?

You didn't think this was a problem, as your last HSBC account was a no more than a distant memory.

In fact, it wasn't an HSBC account at all when you opened it, having done so in the 1980s with the now-¾ÃÌǤ·¤¿¡¿»à¤ó¤À Midland Bank. HSBC acquired the ¾¦Çä¡¿»Å»ö later in 1992, and you ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëd the account in 2003.

That was 21 years ago and the year The Da Vinci Code was published, England won the Rugby World Cup with a team featuring À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ë player Jonny Wilkinson and Yugoslavia was ²þ̾¤¹¤ëd Serbia and Montenegro.

Our reader closed his HSBC account in 2003, when The Da Vinci Code was published
Also in 2003, England won the Rugby World Cup with a team featuring Jonny Wilkinson

A long time ago: Our reader ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëd his HSBC account in 2003, when The Da Vinci Code was published and Jonny Wilkinson's England won the Rugby World Cup?

So how could that stop you ³«»Ï the account today?

When you didn't receive the ¡ò205 ÆÃÊ̼êÅö, you called HSBC to ask why. First, you were ´Êñ¤Ë told you had had an account after the ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë-off date of 1 October 2018.

That didn't make sense, so you dug deeper and ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë out the account you had was ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëd on 6 September 2021.

You had asked for the account to be ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëd in 2003 by Îá¾õing a letter to the Caerphilly »ÙŹ of Midland Bank, as this was before you ? and many people ? had Àܶá to the internet.

But HSBC never took ³èÆ°¡¿ÀïÆ® on your request, and the account had in fact stayed open all these years.

It still ¼­Âह¤ëd to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â you the ¡ò205 after you explained what had happened, and that is when you ÀÜ¿¨¤¹¤ëd me.

You think HSBC should »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â you as it was the bank's error that account was never ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëd.

I can understand why, after going through the annoying rigmarole of switching a bank account, you would be ¼ºË¾¤µ¤»¤ëd to ·ë¶ÉºÇ¸å¤Ë¤Ï¡¼¤Ê¤ë with no reward.

Most banks have a À¯ºö to Åà·ë¤¹¤ë or ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ë accounts if no ½èÍý¡¿¼è°ús are made for a ³Î¤«¤Ê period, ¡¼¤¹¤ë¤¿¤á¤Ë ˸¤²¤ë them getting into the ¼êÅϤ¹s of fraudsters.

Acquisition: HSBC bought out Midland Bank, with which D.W opened his account, in 1992

¼èÆÀ¡¿Çã¼ý: HSBC bought out Midland Bank, with which D.W opened his account, in 1992

In HSBC's »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô, an account is ÉáÄÌ¤Ï classed as inactive or ³èÆ°Ää»ßÃæ¤Î if it hasn't been used for two years. However, it may take much longer for the bank to identify and ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ë it ? and in your »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô, it stayed open for 18 years.

I ÀÜ¿¨¤¹¤ëd HSBC and said I thought it should »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â you the ¡ò205. It's now impossible to work out what happened to that letter you wrote in 2003, but it is abundantly ¡Êµ¿¤¤¤ò¡ËÀ²¤é¤¹ that the account has been inactive.

It checked its µ­Ï¿¡¤µ­Ï¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µ­Ï¿¤¹¤ës for the last 10 years and ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë the account had not been used in that time, so it agreed to honour the cash ÆÃÊ̼êÅö.?

An HSBC ¹­ÊóôÅö¼Ô said: 'We are sorry [the ¸ÜµÒ's] request to ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ë his account wasn't ³èÆ°¡¿ÀïÆ®d at the time.

'We can see [he] did not use his account for 10 years »öÁ°¤Î to us ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëing it in 2021 and we have now credited his account with the ¡ò205 »Ùʧ¤¤¡Ê³Û¡Ë.'

However, HSBC did also say that it had sent you some letters over the years ¼¨¤¹ing that the account was still open.

You said you had either not received or not opened these, perhaps throwing them away assuming they were junk.

I am glad you got your cash ÆÃÊ̼êÅö in the end.

Fan: Our reader was hoping for a signed copy of the new book from Les Miserables star Michael Ball (pictured on stage in 1988) - but she didn't get one

Fan: Our reader was hoping for a Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd copy of the new Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë from Les °¥¤ì¤Ês À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ë Michael Ball (pictured on ¹Ô¤¦¡¿³«ºÅ¤¹¤ë¡¿Ãʳ¬ in 1988) - but she didn't get one

Where's my Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd Michael Ball Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë??

In December, my husband and I went to an evening in conversation with the West End À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ë Michael Ball at a theatre in London, where he was talking about his new Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë.

I paid ¡ò106 in total, which ´Þ¤àd ¡ò73 for the two tickets, a Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ëing ÎÁ¶â and an extra ¡ò25 to get a Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd copy of Michael's new Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë. The evening was organised by the events company, Fane.?

The talk was wonderful, Michael Ball was his brilliant self and even sang at the end.?But when I went to collect my Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë, it sadly wasn't Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd.?

There was a gentleman next to me who was waiting to Áª¤Ö up his wife's Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë and he was also disappointed for the same ¿äÏÀ¤¹¤ë¡¿Íýͳ, as were two other groups I spoke to.?

I paid ¡ò25 for a Èó¡¤ÉÔ¡¤Ìµ-Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë that I could have bought for ¡ò10 on ¥¢¥Þ¥¾¥ó, so I would like my ¡ò15 »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë.?

I ÀÜ¿¨¤¹¤ëd Fane and it said there was no ¾Úµò that a Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd copy of Michael's Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë was Ìó«d. I looked »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë on my invoice and it just said 'Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë'. But I am sure it was advertised as ¸ºß a Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë.??

Why else would so many people say the same thing? Can you help??H.F?

Helen Crane replies: I'm glad to hear you still enjoyed the show, but sorry to hear it didn't end on a high ¸ø¼°Ê¸½ñ¡¤Ç§¤á¤ë as you Ĺ¡¤Î¨¤¤¤ëd home without a copy of the Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë.?

Michael Ball is known for his ¶ÈÀÓ¡¿À®²Ìs in Les °¥¤ì¤Ês, ¤ÎÃæ¤Ç other West End ¹¶·â¤¹¤ë¡¤¾×Æͤ¹¤ës, and you were left feeling ¸øÀµ¤Ë¡¿¤«¤Ê¤ê °¥¤ì¤Ê yourself as you didn't think you got what you paid for.

Read more: Should my water Ë¡°Æ DOUBLE if I »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶⠷îËè¤Î instead of twice a year??

We recently received our ºÇ¿·¤Î Ë¡°Æ from South East Water and are ¸ºß ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âd ¡ò272.25 for six months.

But if I was to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶⠷îËè¤Î, the Ë¡°Æ says I would need to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶⠡ò83 per month. That would mean ¡ò498 for six months or ¡ò996 for a year. Can that be ¸¢Íø?

Often with Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ìó¤¹¤ë ¾®Î¹¹Ô¤¹¤ës, the Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë is sold Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd - or there is at least the ÁªÂò to stay around at the end and get your Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd by the author if you wish.?

While I can't find any ¾Úµò that the Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë you pre-¹ØÆþ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd was advertised as ¸ºß Ä´°õ¤¹¤ëd, I do think it is possible that this was the »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô.

I ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë an advert for another date on the same Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ìó¤¹¤ë ¾®Î¹¹Ô¤¹¤ë - not organised by Fane - which said the Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ìó¤¹¤ë ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à ´Þ¤àd in the ticket price of around ¡ò35 - so the fact you paid an extra ¡ò25 for an unsigned Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë on ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹ of your ¡ò36 ticket does seem pricey.?

I ¼êÇÛÃæ¤Î¡¤¤ª¿Ò¤Í¼Ô to ask Fane about this, and check that you weren't ¸ºß ÉÔ¸øÊ¿¤Ë ¸ºß done out of your autographed copy.??

But sadly, that was impossible. Fane doesn't have a phone number, Àâ on its website that the phones are ¸½ºß¡¿°ìÈÌ¤Ë 'not ¸ºß ´Æ»ë¤¹¤ëd' and and directing people to its online FAQs.

I ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë a ÀÜ¿¨¤¹¤ë form and have sent three ¾ÜºÙ¡Ê¤Ë½Ò¤Ù¤ë¡Ëd messages to this inbox over the last month, but have had no reply.?

It is really irritating when companies do this, instead of making it Ê¿°×¤Ê to Áª¤Ö up the phone or send an email to a real person.

Hilariously, the only ÊÖÅú I did get was an ¼«Æ°²½¤¹¤ëd email asking me to Ψ Fane's ¸ÜµÒ service. That was not music to my ears.?

I take that to mean that the company will not be loo king into this »öÊÁ any ¤½¤Î¾å¤Î, and I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.?

But if anyone reading this has a ÀÜ¿¨¤¹¤ë for Michael Ball, and he might be willing to Ä´°õ¤¹¤ë a Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë for a disappointed fan - do get in touch.?

CRANE ON THE CASE

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