Upheld: Account administration errors complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A applied for a credit card with HSBC to conduct balance transfers. The physical card never arrived despite two attempts to send it. When Mr A attempted a balance transfer of approximately £900, HSBC sent misleading success notifications but the transfer ultimately failed because HSBC does not accept transfers from that particular provider. Mr A spent over three months and ten hours chasing HSBC agents who provided inconsistent information via live chat, and he did not receive requested chat transcripts. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and found HSBC's offer of £250 compensation fair, rejecting Mr A's claims for additional compensation for interest charges and lost promotional benefits, as the transfer would never have been successful and Mr A had not sought alternative balance transfer options despite knowing the HSBC transfer would not proceed.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found HSBC made errors in: (1) failing to deliver the replacement card due to sending it to home address instead of branch as agreed; (2) failing to promptly notify Mr A that the balance transfer would not be successful, instead sending misleading success notifications and providing inconsistent information via live chat; and (3) failing to send requested chat transcripts. However, the ombudsman rejected claims for additional financial compensation beyond £250 because: the balance transfer would never have been successful regardless of HSBC's notification timing, as HSBC does not accept transfers from that provider; Mr A had not sought alternative balance transfer options despite knowing the HSBC transfer would not proceed; awarding interest refunds would leave Mr A better off than if the transfer had succeeded (due to avoided balance transfer fees); and Mr A had successfully used the card for other purposes. The ombudsman found the £250 compensation fairly addressed the distress, inconvenience, and service failures experienced.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website