I wrote last year about my experience with HSBC following the theft of my credit card http://bartonflyer.blogspot.com/2008/03/hsbc-what-bunch-of-tossers.html - well the saga continued as, despite my thinking that I'd cancelled the card and was no longer a customer, some months after the episode, statements started arriving showing my balance of £0.00
After ignoring these for some 6 months, I finally decided to ring them and find out why they thought I was still a customer. Once again the automated system asks me to key in the card number, then my date of birth then it tells me I can't use that service as I haven't registered for it and don't have a security number (which of course I knew from the start!), by pressing enough buttons on the telephone I finally get to speak to a human being in the Lost & Stolen section. A pleasant enough chap but completely unable to help as the card is already known as being lost or stolen - well of course - it was me that reported it ... Doh!
Transferred to general card services, another helpful human being then confirms for me that the card is marked as stolen and HSBC know that I don't have a replacement card but that she cannot accept an instruction to cancel it by phone (why not - I don't have it, there are no transactions on it, there is no balance on it!) and I must write in to HSBC with an instruction to cancel.
OK, I'll do that, what is the address? HSBC's heplful human refers me to the address shown on the back of the statement.
I turn my statement over and guess what? Got it in one - there is no bloody address on the back!
Another interesting discussion ensues - I'm sure the helpful human thinks she's dealing with a congenital idiot as she keeps telling me the section on the back in which to look - I'm staring at it now - THERE IS NO BLOODY ADDRESS!
Just for reference if anyone else does need to contact this abysmal organisation the address is HSBC Bank plc, Chartwell House, 365 Chartwell Square, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS99 2UU
So, letter written, correctly addressed and successfully posted!
I wonder what will happen next?
