HSBC Customers..................Can i pick your brains please ??

[nutcracker]

I just wanted to know if your bank (HSBC) have ever called you on the phone, for anything to do with your account, and then procceded to ask you questions without confirming your identity ???

My mom had a joint account with her ex husband (they were only married for a couple of months), and the other day HSBC called her to say that the account was very overdrawn and that she was liable to pay.
She is sure she rmembers signing something to get her off the account when they split up but that could of been a con. She asked them if they had been in contact with her ex and they said they couldn't say.
My mom said that she never really had anything to do with the account, never paid any money in or withdrew any either. She doesn't even know the account number, have a card or a cheque book for it.
I am worried though that the people may not have even been from HSBC as i thought they would of written to her (which they haven't) and they didn't even try to confirm who she was, they could of been talking to anyone.

Any ideas ???

I used to bank with HSBC. I don't ever remember them calling me though - and if ever I called them about my account, I had to answer twenty questions about my identity - so it does sound odd.

Sorry to hear about the joint account though - sounds like her ex has really stitched her up.

I've never been contacted by HSBC and TBH they are very careful about security. i think your mum should pop in to her nearest branch asap and find out what's goingon. they should be able to see if she is still "live" on any account very quickly, even without cards etc. If she hasn't had her name removed from the joint accounbt she will still be liable for any debt. My step-dad's ex cleared £3k out of their account and ran up £1k overdraft. Step-dad still had to pay half the overdraft back because he got to the bank after she'd cleared out the money (on the same day!)

Sounds a bit dodgy to me. However at least she couldn't give them any info as she doesn't have account numbers etc.

What it sounds like is her ex has run up huge overdrafts and they cannot track him down and therefore are chasing your mum for the cash. Probably whatever she signed was not valid and therefore according to the bank she is liable. I would wait until they write to her and get all the facts first

I wonder if this has anything to do with the phone-call scams where they try to get people to reveal their bank details and then use that info to use the account fraudulently.

Be very careful about giving out any info without confirming they are legit at the other end of the line. I didn't know banks called anybody, any more.

sounds extremely dodgy to me- she should at least have had a letter from them, if the account was overdrawn. They should certainly have asked for confirmation of ID before discussing the account with anyone.

I stopped banking with HSBC when I married, and that coincided with them dealing with all account enquiries through a call centre- I hate never being able to speak to the same person twice!

Is your Mum able to get to the branch involved? If so, I would suggest that she makes an appointment with the Manager to discuss the situation. If not, I suggest that she writes to them, asking for written clarification of the problem with the account.

Well she's now saying that she can't remeber if the bloke even gave his name.
I know what she's thinking, that her ex is up to something again and that he may of been behind the call.
He was a very nasty and devious bloke. We had to change all of her locks not long ago as she was convinced he had been in her flat, and i know he has followed her several times. She also thinks he's bugged her phone (he used to be a phone engineer).
I have told her to ignore it unless she gets a letter and then deal with it from there.

I actually saw her ex the other day which is a bit weird too as he doesn't live around here anymore.

I have an HSBC account and they have called me (to confirm an international transfer). When they called me they weren't exceptionally hot on confirming who I was, but then I guess the fact that they were calling the number on my account counted for something.

It does sound a bit odd for them to call you about an overdrawn account though - I also think you need to go in and ask about it.

nutcracker, I think she should at least get her name taken off this joint account though, so she needs to contact HSBC to sort that out

agree, whether is it a scam, or her ex-h pssing about, or whether she still has her name on the account and it is* overdrawn, she NEEDS to contact the branch and find out. Do it ASAP, today if you can.

Hmmm. My first thought was that the ex had got someone to phone on his behalf to try to con your mum into paying money she didn't owe. I agree that she should go into her local branch to see what the situation is. Usually they send you a letter asking you to get in touch with them, unless it's something really urgent like checking possible fraud.

I have an internet account with First Direct who are part of HSBC and a few weeks back a message appeared on screen warning customers not to give banking details to anyone as there was some sort of scam going on. I would call their Head Office 020 7260 8000 to check.

Thanks all. I will speak to her about it when she gets back from work. Thanks for the number Chocbox, i will try to persuade her to ring it.

Nutty...I use to work for a large bank, not this one but one that has recently mage a HUGE profit.....Your mum must ring straight away and tell them that she is no longer with this man and to make sure that the account is stopped/frozen whatever term that this bank use. She should put them in the picture with regard to this call. She may well be liable for part of any debt and she should ask them to provide her with notice of any amount in writing.