First up is an article published on www.malaya.com.ph last year Nov 15, 2006. It details a story of a 19 year old girl using an HSBC Philippines supplementary credit card getting embarrassed and humiliated because of HSBC inefficiency. She was accused by HSBC of using a stolen credit card.
I reprinted the article here as the original one is no longer on the main site. The only other copy was on a google cache. Article is credited and has been written by: A.P. Macasaet Read on.
The arrogance of HSBC
“Monica paid with monumental embarrassment and humiliation for the arrogance, negligence and inefficiency of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp.”
* * *
This is the story of a 19-year old girl who has a supplementary credit card from her mother. The card was issued by Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank without being asked for it.
The mother never asked to raise the credit limit of her card. HSBC raised the limit. The record shows that the billings were reasonably small compared to the limit but they were all paid on time.
On Nov. 7, Monica Macasaet went to Power Books in Ayala Alabang and selected two books and bookmarkers. The items cost P3,300.
She presented her extension card to a Mom Jess, a lady, for payment. Forthwith she swiped the card on a machine. The machine said "please call." So, Mom Jess called HSBC.
Mom Jess wanted to see Monica’s identification card. What she had at that time was an ID from the Manila Polo Club which unfortunately she failed to sign. Monica and Mom Jess were arguing for 30 minutes.
The poor girl was getting embarrassed. HSBC told Mom Jess that Monica was using a stolen card.
Monica told Mom Jess that she has been using the card for about two years. No questions were ever asked. No doubts were ever raised. In fact, Monica used the same supplementary card in practically all of Central Europe during a tour with her grandmother.
No problem with the card.
Monica told Mom Jess that four days earlier, she used the same card to buy clothes from Zara, a shop in Glorietta. No hassle.
Unmoved by her explanation, Mom Jess was told that her mom will pay for the books.
She wanted her card back. Mom Jess said she could not do anything. She had to keep Monica’s card.
It turned out that Mom Jess was ordered by HSBC not to give the card or else she would be held liable. Embarrassed and almost in tears, Monica left Power Books for home to tell her mother how rudely she was treated by HSBC’s card department.
On the evening of the same day, at around 7:30 p.m., her mother called up HSBC to find out what happened. The girl at the end of the telephone said that the complaints department or some such office, would immediately call her – presumably within the same hour to explain what happened.
The call never came. She called up for the second time. This time she got the shock of her life. She was told that somebody – who else could it be but Monica or her mother -- must have reported that the card was stolen."
The mother asked who made the report and when. The girl could not answer but went on to say that Monica was using a stolen card.
Nevertheless, the HSBC card employee told her that somebody from the complaints department would call to explain. The second promise was as good or as bad as the first. The call never came.
Frustrated and feeling discriminated against, the mother called for the third time. This time she made sure that she got the name of the person she was talking to. Her name is Beth Punzalan. She asked if a call from the complaints department was ever made. No such call. Monica’s mother was put on hold.
When she got back on the line, Beth proceeded to explain what happened. She told Monica’s mother that the credit committee noticed that the PR number of the supplementary card of Monica and that of her mother are not identical.
It turned out that the PR number is a code that credits the card user with mileage with Philippine Airlines for every purchase. Neither mother nor daughter ever took advantage of it.
Isn’t it plain and simple for HSBC to understand that the principal card holder, in this case, Monica’s mother, does not assign the PR number? Nor does her daughter?
The difference between the PR number on the mother’s card and that of her daughter was a mistake made by HSBC.
In this case, Monica paid with monumental embarrassment and humiliation for the arrogance, negligence and inefficiency of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. Beth pointed out that as early as Nov. 6, a day before Monica went through the embarrassment of having her extension card illegally seized on order of HSBC, the credit committee decided to "recapture" the card. That word is not even a polite way of saying that the card was being confiscated, as it was indeed confiscated by Mom Jess of Power Books on orders of HSBC.
If HSBC did not have the intention of embarrassing Monica or if it treats its customers fairly, somebody from the bank could at least have called her mother to tell her that the supplementary card had been "recaptured," meaning confiscated. If a call had been made on the day the credit committee decided to cancel the supplementary card, things could have been clarified. Monica would not have tried buying the books with her supplementary card. She could have brought with her some cash and saved herself the embarrassment slapped on her by HSBC.
She felt she was melting away when people milled around her. A few of them might have known that the card was being seized because it was, according to the HSBC, a stolen credit card.
Monica’s mother never noticed that the PR numbers are not identical. She simply did not care. Why should she? The PR number never meant anything to her or to her daughter. After all, the daughter has been using the supplementary card for about two years.
There were no questions in all purchases in all of those two years. The card has a limit of P500,000.
Beth began to sound apologetic. She admitted that the bank made a mistake. She proceeded to say, for the third time from the HSBC, that somebody would call to explain and that a new card would be issued.
Up to this writing at 8:30 p.m. of Nov. 13, no call from the bank has come. Nor was there a letter informing Monica’s mother that her daughter’s supplementary card has been "recaptured." The new card has not been delivered to Monica, nor was she asked to pick it up.
It is the policy of HSBC, like the rest of credit card issuers, to impose a surcharge for late payment. That nobody questions.
Following that policy, it should have occurred to the officers of the credit card department, particularly to its credit committee, that, arrogant as they are, they still have the obligation of making an apology if a wrong is done to one of its clients.
Monica is described by Power Books as a "preferred client."
Monica and her mother do not need the apology anymore, if such is ever offered.
No amount of apology will remove the pain of embarrassment HSBC sent Monica through.
- A.P. Macasaet
Email: apm@malaya.com.ph
I reprinted the article here as the original one is no longer on the main site. The only other copy was on a google cache. Article is credited and has been written by: A.P. Macasaet Read on.
The arrogance of HSBC
“Monica paid with monumental embarrassment and humiliation for the arrogance, negligence and inefficiency of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp.”
* * *
This is the story of a 19-year old girl who has a supplementary credit card from her mother. The card was issued by Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank without being asked for it.
The mother never asked to raise the credit limit of her card. HSBC raised the limit. The record shows that the billings were reasonably small compared to the limit but they were all paid on time.
On Nov. 7, Monica Macasaet went to Power Books in Ayala Alabang and selected two books and bookmarkers. The items cost P3,300.
She presented her extension card to a Mom Jess, a lady, for payment. Forthwith she swiped the card on a machine. The machine said "please call." So, Mom Jess called HSBC.
Mom Jess wanted to see Monica’s identification card. What she had at that time was an ID from the Manila Polo Club which unfortunately she failed to sign. Monica and Mom Jess were arguing for 30 minutes.
The poor girl was getting embarrassed. HSBC told Mom Jess that Monica was using a stolen card.
Monica told Mom Jess that she has been using the card for about two years. No questions were ever asked. No doubts were ever raised. In fact, Monica used the same supplementary card in practically all of Central Europe during a tour with her grandmother.
No problem with the card.
Monica told Mom Jess that four days earlier, she used the same card to buy clothes from Zara, a shop in Glorietta. No hassle.
Unmoved by her explanation, Mom Jess was told that her mom will pay for the books.
She wanted her card back. Mom Jess said she could not do anything. She had to keep Monica’s card.
It turned out that Mom Jess was ordered by HSBC not to give the card or else she would be held liable. Embarrassed and almost in tears, Monica left Power Books for home to tell her mother how rudely she was treated by HSBC’s card department.
On the evening of the same day, at around 7:30 p.m., her mother called up HSBC to find out what happened. The girl at the end of the telephone said that the complaints department or some such office, would immediately call her – presumably within the same hour to explain what happened.
The call never came. She called up for the second time. This time she got the shock of her life. She was told that somebody – who else could it be but Monica or her mother -- must have reported that the card was stolen."
The mother asked who made the report and when. The girl could not answer but went on to say that Monica was using a stolen card.
Nevertheless, the HSBC card employee told her that somebody from the complaints department would call to explain. The second promise was as good or as bad as the first. The call never came.
Frustrated and feeling discriminated against, the mother called for the third time. This time she made sure that she got the name of the person she was talking to. Her name is Beth Punzalan. She asked if a call from the complaints department was ever made. No such call. Monica’s mother was put on hold.
When she got back on the line, Beth proceeded to explain what happened. She told Monica’s mother that the credit committee noticed that the PR number of the supplementary card of Monica and that of her mother are not identical.
It turned out that the PR number is a code that credits the card user with mileage with Philippine Airlines for every purchase. Neither mother nor daughter ever took advantage of it.
Isn’t it plain and simple for HSBC to understand that the principal card holder, in this case, Monica’s mother, does not assign the PR number? Nor does her daughter?
The difference between the PR number on the mother’s card and that of her daughter was a mistake made by HSBC.
In this case, Monica paid with monumental embarrassment and humiliation for the arrogance, negligence and inefficiency of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. Beth pointed out that as early as Nov. 6, a day before Monica went through the embarrassment of having her extension card illegally seized on order of HSBC, the credit committee decided to "recapture" the card. That word is not even a polite way of saying that the card was being confiscated, as it was indeed confiscated by Mom Jess of Power Books on orders of HSBC.
If HSBC did not have the intention of embarrassing Monica or if it treats its customers fairly, somebody from the bank could at least have called her mother to tell her that the supplementary card had been "recaptured," meaning confiscated. If a call had been made on the day the credit committee decided to cancel the supplementary card, things could have been clarified. Monica would not have tried buying the books with her supplementary card. She could have brought with her some cash and saved herself the embarrassment slapped on her by HSBC.
She felt she was melting away when people milled around her. A few of them might have known that the card was being seized because it was, according to the HSBC, a stolen credit card.
Monica’s mother never noticed that the PR numbers are not identical. She simply did not care. Why should she? The PR number never meant anything to her or to her daughter. After all, the daughter has been using the supplementary card for about two years.
There were no questions in all purchases in all of those two years. The card has a limit of P500,000.
Beth began to sound apologetic. She admitted that the bank made a mistake. She proceeded to say, for the third time from the HSBC, that somebody would call to explain and that a new card would be issued.
Up to this writing at 8:30 p.m. of Nov. 13, no call from the bank has come. Nor was there a letter informing Monica’s mother that her daughter’s supplementary card has been "recaptured." The new card has not been delivered to Monica, nor was she asked to pick it up.
It is the policy of HSBC, like the rest of credit card issuers, to impose a surcharge for late payment. That nobody questions.
Following that policy, it should have occurred to the officers of the credit card department, particularly to its credit committee, that, arrogant as they are, they still have the obligation of making an apology if a wrong is done to one of its clients.
Monica is described by Power Books as a "preferred client."
Monica and her mother do not need the apology anymore, if such is ever offered.
No amount of apology will remove the pain of embarrassment HSBC sent Monica through.
- A.P. Macasaet
Email: apm@malaya.com.ph
2 comments:
Beware of HSBC Savings Bank! If you think they are as prestigious as other HSBC Banks abroad, then you are wrong.
They will jusr rob you of your hard-earned money. Better stash your money in your house than depositing your money through this bank.
Thieves pretending to be elite!
In August 2011, HSBC Philippines’ credit card company harassed me for not paying my monthly credit card payments.
I received a letter from the bank, saying that they froze my HSBC Savings Bank account because I was not paying my credit card balances. They actually found a way to get my hard-earned money by looking at another subsidiary – the savings bank. In the letter, they said if I fail to pay, they will take all my money from my savings account.
I said how can I pay the amount if they withheld the account access from me. When I paid the minimum amount, I immediately withdrew all my money and put it in another bank.
The following month, I requested for EasyPay installment so I can religiously pay my balances monthly. From September to December 2011, I was paying the minimum balance monthly.
In Jan 2012, I followed up my request. Sometime in February 2012, I received a reply that they turned over my account to a functional unit. After that I have not heard from them. Today, they hired a collection agency whose collection agents are now spewing out invectives to people at home because of the ballooned amount that HSBC should have paid attention to help.
My credit card was a by product of incurred interest charges. The amount wasn’t over 500,000. Only P180,000 – a product of ballooning interest - it should be less than that. Which means I was not a heavy spender, and their records will show that I would pay diligently. You can’t help but face some financial problems at one point but you want to keep up and manage your financial situation. But this bank wasn’t willing to help.
How can we escalate our problem to the right authorities because of HSBC Credit Card Philippines’s refusal to help its customers who want to start anew in their credit card payments?
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