HSBC wanted me to answer some questions to 'safeguard my account' I couldn't answer them to their satisfaction, after spending hours trying.
They threatened to close my account.
I said 'please close it then'.
They have sent me more forms to fill in, with questions I can't satisfactorily answer...
stuff the chinky bastards
We had a not dissimilar experience, with a community account where one of the signatories decided to decline to act. And they can't help you in the branch, it's all handled "centrally".
HSBC: avoid, avoid.
Did they initially contact you with a phone call?
Are you sure the forms were posted from HSBC?
At least they have so far only threatened. They nuked a couple of village hall accounts of a neighbouring parish a couple of years back because their treasurer was on summer holiday for a month.
Same sort of confirm your ID anti fraud measures or else threat. HSBC seem to be particularly bad for this sort of thing.
Barclays and Natwest just lose important paperwork. You pays your money and takes your choice. Santander 123 accounts used to be good when they did what they said on the tin. Nationwide isn't too bad either.
The best impossible security questions I have ever been asked include:
Q1: Name the hotel where you stayed in Chester last year? A: I have not been to Chester for more than a decade.
Q2: Name a road that connects to your street? A: A19
There are no street names where I live and haven't been for more than a century. I alternate between "Main Street" and "No Street Name" on the websites that insist on me having a street name.
Those two were "security" questions for the final instalment prior to installation of a fitted kitchen at the cardholder address!
Q3: What was the house number you lived at in 1994 (~25 years ago)? A: 14+/-4
That was a question Experian demanded off me after their big data breach left me exposed to prove to them that I was me. I only lived at that address for a few months after returning from Japan and had no idea what house number it was. I could answer the UK address prior to that though.
The "correct answers" were:
Q1: Lumley Castle, Durham (displayed on screen as Chester *le Street*) Q2: Redacted. I have looked an answer up on a Victorian era map. Q3: Redacted. I looked it up once I had access to the Experian database.
Banks seem to specialise in "security" questions that not even the rightful owner of the account can answer without considerable research!
No
I downloaded them from HSBC
When I first wanted to enable online banking for our joint Lloyds-TSB account, I encountered stupid security questions. If it had been an ex-Lloyds account it would have been fine, but for ex-TSB accounts, they could not separate my spending from my wife's, so were asking me how much I'd spent at Tesco the day before and "Nothing, my wife did the shopping", was not good enough!
Ordinarily, obeying an official request to safeguard ya account sounds like a good idea, but seems you might be a bit upset why ye can't keep using password123 in your sign in.
There must be a list somewhere of simple bank accounts setup for people to manage without reliance on technology or getting asked seemingly stupid questions. Not everyone understands how to use two factor authentication, the Daily Mail (etc...) does not write about it.
I remember there was one bank that offered voice recognition for security. Erm - "my voice is my password". What happened to that?
I think you should be able to go elsewhere and transfer the current account. At least that's what the advertising for 'account switching' implies - I haven't done it.
And not everyone wants to be forced to own a smartphone (fat monthly fee or big chunk of dosh to buy - your choice) in order to be able to facilitate two factor authentication, either.
I'd be OK with a cheap clamshell PAYG phone that can receive texts for 2FA, but no one seems to do PAYG anymore.
Does that mean you can't get at your money. I'd imagine all they would need is a picture of your passport or driving licence, and somebody at the branch to look at you and it and confirm you are the same person, short of checking your dna I don't think you can do much more. Brian
The Natural Philosopher snipped-for-privacy@invalid.invalid wrote
What sort of questions ? If it really is HSBC and not just a scammer, presumably they will close it if you can't answer the original questions.
Adrian Caspersz was thinking very hard :
It was featured on TV this morning, so they must be working on it..
In the case of our community account, it would have required the person with the online access to go online and answer the questions, whatever they might have been. AISB, this person was refusing to act, which left me as other signatory in a poor position. In the end he did cooperate enough to get another sig added, who went and bullied them. But they froze the account anyway - withdrew access to it. The recalcitrant sig did sign a closure form, along with me, and in they did finally close it.
But they're not very helpful.
I have friends that can't even work one of those, or use a bank card in an ATM, use CnP/contactless in a shop - let alone use an computer.
Completely flummoxed by computer spoken telephone security questions, their only access to the bank and their savings is by personally visiting the branch.
And then their branches are being closed :(
And me, on the other hand - life is peaches. Every contactless purchase I make, I get 1% cashback....
Some years ago, Barclays said they would only accept me a Hon Treasurer of a charity if the signatures of those who opened the account were on the form. Problem was the accountb was opened in the 1930s and those signatories had died some time ago. They were asked why they'd been paying out cheques without those signatories. They then looked at their files. ;-)
Tim Streater snipped-for-privacy@greenbee.net posted
I think ASDA still do it. They switched the network over to Vodafone recently but it's still no-contract. I haven't tried buying any credits recently though - I don't use much.
The point is they wanted bills to my address to validate the company traded there. Well it doesn't. It trades online exclusively. The only peole who send paper to that address are HSBC...
I sent them a bill from my accountant, but they rejected it.
I gave up.
I am simply closing accounts with people who bully me. Barclays. HSBC. Fuck em.
Don't want or need to - that account is virtually dormant anyway. I've emptied it and by passed it now.
They threatened to close it, I wonder if they will, even after three months of charges on it that won't get paid.
I remember when banks wanted your business...mind you do you remember te Viz advert? "Penniless student? grant run out? no money? Then f*ck off. Nat West - the Frank Bank"
Lebara or 1pmobile , I've tried both and no problems.
2nd hand smartphones are also available very cheaply or even free from friends, relatives etc.3Mobile do. Possible even for new customers
I get mates on Plans to 'phone me back' to use up spare minutes etc.
Well I hope to accelerate the process and save the £6.50 a month that they charge me for the privilege of doing sweet f*ck all.
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