Hello everyone I’m looking to get some help if possible please my partner recently applied to open a new HSBC bank account for the cash incentive via the online system. The account she applied for some reason was declined but then instantly offered a standard basic account instead which she accepted and the card and pin arrived a few days later.

The following week another letter arrived in a large envelope again from hsbc this time stating they had now closed the account without warning or notice due to not meeting the banks criteria. Strange but ok fair enough she’s not wanted as a customer until she noticed it was hand signed by someone from the fraud analyst department

Becoming very worried she contacted the bank who refused to tell her anything and was then advised to send a SAR request to HSBC bank and also CIFAS.

Friday she received a letter from CIFAS with a Single CIFAS FRAUD listing from HSBC BANK under the heading APPLICATION FRAUD that she did not list a previous address with adverse history APPLICATION GRANTED

This is absolutely disgusting she’s done nothing wrong currently been living in the same house since June 2014 so we’ll over 4 years now. HSBC application page clearly asks for 3 years address history which she’s obviously listed her current address so nothing makes sense at all.

She’s sent the HSBC ceo a email who’s replied today with this

( I can understand your frustration in that we ask for any addresses in the last three years and you moved four years ago, so shouldn't have to supply another address. However, we had information there was adverse credit data accrued in your name at a different address within the last three years.

I'm very sorry for any confusion caused but we have correctly followed our process. We also correctly reported the instance to CIFAS, as we have an obligation to do. I'm understand this may not be the outcome you were looking for but I hope this has helped to explain our position.

If you feel the information we had was incorrect, you may want to check with the Credit Reference Agencies. We use three agencies, Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. )

We are both extremely upset and worried about this issue as she’s done absolutely nothing wrong and is now obviously petrified that all her other financial dealings with other banks etc will see this and close everything down.

What do you suggest we now do and has anyone else had issues like this previously that could advise we would be very grateful

Have you done as suggested, and checked the files held by those 3 CRA’s for the adverse entry (within the last 3 years, at a different address).

If that exists, and is incorrect, your first step will to be to get it removed / dissociated from your wife’s file.

Until that has happened HSBC will continue to insist they are behaving correctly.

Once it is removed, you go back to HSBC and say “information wrongly supplied by the CRA, it has now been removed, please update your CIFAS notification accordingly, to ensure you are treating me fairly”.

Have you done as suggested, and checked the files held by those 3 CRA’s for the adverse entry (within the last 3 years, at a different address).

If that exists, and is incorrect, your first step will to be to get it removed / dissociated from your wife’s file.

Until that has happened HSBC will continue to insist they are behaving correctly.

 

Once it is removed, you go back to HSBC and say “information wrongly supplied by the CRA, it has now been removed, please update your CIFAS notification accordingly, to ensure you are treating me fairly”.

Thank you for your reply and advice and yes all 3 credit refrence agency’s have been checked and everything is correct with no debt at any other address. It clearly shows on each report that she’s been living at her current address since 2014 and the electoral register on the reports also confirm this. All very strange

Be sure to take a screen shot of the HSBC application form (I assume it's an online application).