Hoist/? Claim Form - old husbands HSBC OD 'debt'

[BankFodder]

I think that there are some larger issues opening up here about fair treatment and which are quite serious. Are you fed up with it all or would you consider making a little trouble about it and probably win a bit of compensation in the courts?

[BankFodder]

No, it's not too late. You could file a counterclaim if you wanted – although you would have to make an application to do so which would be granted pretty automatically but it would cost you a fee of about £250 – which you would get back if you won – which would be extremely likely. It used to be a much cheaper undertaking but am afraid that they have put the fees up and of course it discourages a lot of people.

[hollysmum]

I'd certainly like to think we had at least made them squirm and I believe that we are more than entitled to our costs and a little more for all the worry this has caused us. As the claim was made against my husband, I'll let him decide if he wants to counter claim. His health is, as I've mentioned, not the best.

[BankFodder]

Incidentally, is your husband going back to the bank today? The next thing you know will be that he goes there and the bank tells him that they sent the papers back because he refused them.

[hollysmum]

Eeek! They did confirm to him that they will retain the documents for two months, Bank Fodder, and he said that he would be back at some point. I'm hoping he'll go back again tomorrow if he's happy that nothing bad will happen if he signs the receipt!

[BankFodder]

You haven't made them squirm at all. Believe me. These people absolutely don't care. They churn out paper and they go home at night and they sleep soundly.

 

The only thing which would make them squirm a bit would be to have a County Court judgement against them which confirmed that they had treated you unfairly. BCOBS.

 

This is the only thing which seems to matter

[hollysmum]

I shall check out the BCOBS information, Bank Fodder, thank you for that.

[unclebulgaria67]

Eeek! They did confirm to him that they will retain the documents for two months, Bank Fodder, and he said that he would be back at some point. I'm hoping he'll go back again tomorrow if he's happy that nothing bad will happen if he signs the receipt!

 

Under the DPA, surely HSBC should check some form of identity, before they hand over the SAR documents ? If they failed to check the identity matches with the SAR documents provided, then they are in breach of the DPA.

 

This bit of paper should really be about confirming that the person picking up the SAR documents is legally entitled to have them.

[hollysmum]

Well, he had the letter that they sent from HSBC Ivory Tower, which says he should present that at the branch, along with a form of ID, and he placed the SAR request, so I guess he's entitled to see whatever is in the envelope with his name on it?

[unclebulgaria67]

it would be HSBC's mistake if they handed over data related to a third party.

Normally with indentity checks, you have to ask for 3 bits of information before you supply data.

 

Have they even checked that his date of birth matches the persons account details ?

[hollysmum]

Hi, Uncle Bulgaria -

he did take the required ID with him,

as specified on the letter sent from the HSBC ivory tower.

 

 

As I explained to Bank Fodder and andyorch,

he has taken issue with the wording of the "receipt" they wanted him to sign.

 

 

He was prepared for the fact that he'd need to sign a receipt,

but because he's never had an HSBC account,

to him,

signing something that says that he confirms he's closed all HSBC current and savings accounts seemed completely wrong.

 

 

Following Bank Fodder and Andy's advice on this,

I've put to him that he could go back to the branch and sign "under protest",

so I'll just have to wait and see what he decides to do.

 

 

He wanted to speak to HSBC this morning,

to the name on the letter that came last week.

 

 

The poor thing, it seems to have got to the stage where he's had more than enough.

[unclebulgaria67]

Not just write under protest, but he can write anything he wants. This is purely a SAR, so does not require any bank declaration, beyond that they checked his identity and released the documents.

[hollysmum]

Thanks for that, Uncle Bulgaria - I shall try my very best to convince him! He is, perhaps understandably, very suspicious of officialdom at the moment, and just worries that things could be misconstrued. The bank staff could not stop him from writing what he feels is necessary, after all.

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks for that, Uncle Bulgaria - I shall try my very best to convince him! He is, perhaps understandably, very suspicious of officialdom at the moment, and just worries that things could be misconstrued. The bank staff could not stop him from writing what he feels is necessary, after all.

 

Any document they are getting him to sign can only relate to the DPA and nothing else. Hence why if it is asking anything else about closed accounts, he can write what he wants, so he is recording that he has never held an HSBC account.

[hollysmum]

DPA? Sorry, don't mean to seem dim!!

[unclebulgaria67]

DPA? Sorry, don't mean to seem dim!!

 

Data Protection Act

[hollysmum]

Duh!!!! Sorry, Bulgaria!!!

[BankFodder]

I agree.

 

"Under protest" doesn't really cut it – but I wanted to at least make some kind of statement and keep it to a minimum in case some bank jobsworth takes objection and refuses to release the disclosure

[hollysmum]

Yes, their refusal to release it to him, potentially, is what bothers me, Bank Fodder. They can't do that, though, can they, whether or not he agrees to sign that specifically worded receipt?

[BankFodder]

No they can't do that – it's against the rules. But then it's even against the rules to have that condition on the paper. The jobsworth at the branch will simply follow instructions and if your husband doesn't sign then he won't get the disclosure. Then he will have to begin a complaint – then that will take eight weeks – then it will have to go to the ombudsman – then it will take between 12 months and 24 months.

 

The only thing to do is to sign, get on with it and then if you want some vengeance, sue them and will be very pleased to help you. There are some principles here and of course the problem is that ordinary people want to go about their lives and you may well feel that once you get the disclosure, you would just want to go about yours – and I don't blame you at all. Taking on these bullies needs a particular act of will and empowerment through a sense of anger and injustice. But it also can be very disruptive to everyday life

[hollysmum]

Thanks for that Bank Fodder - I really appreciate everything that everyone has posted on here for me since September. I've just had Hubby on the phone - he called HSBC at the number on the letter he got last Friday, and explained that he didn't like the wording on the receipt and why. The woman he spoke to has emailed the Fareham branch to tell them that they are to hand over the package to him and that he is only asked to sign a regular receipt simply stating he's had the package, nothing more.

 

 

I am already planning a doozey of a complaint - whether he'll agree to go ahead with such a thing is another matter. Like you, I would fully appreciate his feelings if he just wanted to try and forget about the whole sorry business. He's been through so much with his health this past year, and is just grateful to be alive, to be honest!

[BankFodder]

It certainly not worth damaging anyone's health in order to complain against these people. On the other hand, you have been on the back foot in respect of this matter because they are chasing you.

Once you manage to get that sorted out, if you decide to make a complaint against them, at least you're in a position where there is very little risk for you other than possibly the loss of a claim fee – but no huge consequences coming down on you such as a debt to repay or black marks on your credit file et cetera.

 

Once you get the disclosure, if we can start to look at it carefully and understand the whole story, we can give you an idea of what your chances are if you bring a complaint and also try and come up with a realistic figure for compensation.

 

If the evidence is damning enough then it will be the bank on the back foot and they will want to avoid trouble. They have so much money that they really don't care about handing out a bit in compensation. You just have to do get past the bean counters in the bank who seem to take it personally

[hollysmum]

Bean counters!! Love it, Bank Fodder! We are planning on going back to the Fareham branch next week, together, to get the package, then we can spend a happy afternoon ploughing through whatever is in there!

[hollysmum]

Good afternoon

- I wanted to post an update on this one,

mainly because my husband has heard absolutely zilch since we wrote to the solicitors re-emphasising that the account was a very old one,

 

 

he's never had an account at HSBC,

and that,

whoever the debtor was,

the debt appeared to be statute-barred in any case.

 

 

That was just before Christmas,

and they've not even bothered to acknowledge that letter.

 

 

Nothing further has been received from the Courts Centre, either, or our local Court.

Should my hubby expect to hear anything from at least the Court/Courts Centre?

 

I can't thank you all enough for your support with this particular matter

- it really shook us up, receiving a Claim, and your advice, as always, was invaluable.

 

 

Catherine.

[unclebulgaria67]

I suspect it has been dropped, but they have not bothered to advise it has been discontinued.

 

It will just remain stayed and nothing will happen unless they think they can continue, which is doubtful, given your husband is not the debtor.