Ten hours of phone calls and all I got was spite and incompetence
Yes, a financial institution can be abusive. And not just randomly abusive (although HSBC are that too), but personally, aggressively abusive in a targeted and manipulative manner. You know when you go on public transport and you see those ‘our staff will not tolerate any type of abuse’ signs? I’m pretty sure that every HSBC call centre that picks up from the UK has an “abuse any customer who exhibits stress or frustration, finds fault with the company or threatens to make a complaint” signs.
Today was by no means the first time I’ve experienced abuse and bullying behaviour from HSBC but it has to rank as the most egregious. As a primary carer my life is, to be honest, nightmarishly admin-heavy and stressful. I feel like I have two full time jobs. Checking in with my dad daily, coordinating his care, cleaning, medication, doctor and hospital visits, paying his bills, staying on top of his admin and keeping abreast of his social calendar are all tiring, time-consuming and not how I had planned to spend my 40s. Looking after him affects my work, personal relationships and mental health. I (like other carers including parents) am now never able to be fully ‘off’ which takes its toll psychologically. Interruptions to my own schedule are regular and frustrating – I can’t even switch my phone off on holiday in case my dad needs something. And of course, like other carers I am perpetually beleaguered by other people’s ‘advice’ on what a terrible job I’m doing.
While this kind of judgmental bullying is frustrating and upsetting enough in person, using a position of authority in a financial institution upon which I, as a carer, depend on for accessibility and transparency in dealing with my father’s affairs is a special low. HSBC have not only been horrendously irresponsible in their management of his account since I took over as POA, they are now resorting to threats and intimidation over the phone when called out for their incompetence. Their atrocious security and account management breaches include sending debit cards and PIN numbers (yes, plural) to the wrong address and with the wrong name on them and offering misinformation and incorrect advice, the consequences of which have cost me hours on the phone (approximately ten to date) to try and resolve. When highlighting their failings and requesting to submit a complaint, the smug, cocky and utterly self-righteous advisor threatened me outright, saying I clearly wasn’t able to manage my father’s affairs and he would request a review of my POA because he “had the power to do that.”
So – this company sent out cards incorrectly three times. The first time involving a fraud offence which I had to report to the police (more carer POA nightmare paperwork). They then advised me that they could update my address for my POA card to a US address – which I did, assuming they knew what they were talking about. I subsequently discovered that not only had another two sets of cards and PINS been sent to the wrong address, but that they put my father’s name on my US address, not mine, so now he is liable for tax as a US citizen (which he has not nor never has been). Error after error after error. Yet, according to this chap, speaking on behalf of HSBC, I am the incompetent one.
It gets worse. This gentleman – whom it has taken me three hours, five phone calls and six different departments over the last 2 days – to reach next tells me this can only be resolved by my father filling in a paper form and taking it to the branch. I explained politely that he has dementia and I’m currently abroad. He insisted that “someone must be able to help him with this,” exhibiting zero understanding or empathy of the complexity of being a solo caregiver living in another country and trying to retain some semblance of a life of her own. My father has chosen to live somewhere he has no family. This is legally beyond my control. This man’s assumption that I can just magic someone up to fix the mess his team made is absurdly arrogant. Yes, I can arrange for his daily carer to do this, but I have to pay for extra time and she has to be able to fit it in with her other clients. We don’t all live in some multi-generational sitcomesque circumstance, you presumptuous prick.
This man also made strong inferences reverting to the base assumption that as his daughter I should be with him all the time or I am an unfit caregiver unworthy of a POA. How much of his assumption may or may not have come from my gender and South Asian name I do not know, but imagine speaking to someone like that in a professional capacity? The utter inappropriateness, rudeness and outright insulting lie has me sick to my stomach. If I was doing such a terrible job, how have I caught all the errors HSBC have made with my dad’s account (including allowing over £1,000 worth of fraud to occur – all of which I did the work to get back) that his enormous team of banking professionals allowed to happen and did not flag? The hypocrisy is enraging.
This is not the first time an HSBC advisor has spoken down to me, tried to undermine me and insulted me to my face. It seems that when dealing with a POA this is their first resort (again, I see a corporate mood board). At the first sign of frustration staff immediately hang up the phone on customers, yet they are allowed to patronize, lie, insult and threaten to their heart’s content with absolutely no consequences as HSBC UK has no proper complaints policy. They have no phone or email for complaints – you must take the time to write and mail a physical letter about the bad things they do because they know no one has that kind of time – and never, ever call back when they say they will. Professional to the hilt.
To return to today’s unpleasant individual, not only did he insult me repeatedly, claiming the address error was not their fault because “it just happens sometimes with POAs – you were unlucky” and saying “you should have known this could happen” when their advisor never gave me that information, he also showed a shocking level of disrespect for my father. I explained his illness multiple times, and that it would be confusing and potentially traumatic for him to have to deal with this, even with help. Imagine being asked to confirm your citizenship and tax status after living the UK for over 50 years if you’re mentally unwell. The ridiculousness and insultingness of the situation is so infuriating and upsetting. I offered to fill in the form myself by email and send it back to them but that wasn’t acceptable to him. Absolute zero empathy showcasing his acute ableism.
This individual and the organisation he represents pose an active threat to the mental wellbeing of their clients, particularly caregivers and vulnerable people. Being spoken to in this way after a long day of doing someone else’s admin can feel gut-wrenchingly cruel. You are doing your best, trying so hard, you know you haven’t done anything wrong but the calculated barb that some pathetic jobsworth chucks at you to cover their own arse still stings, spitefully adding stress to an already exhausting situation. And forcing vulnerable people to complete unnecessary tasks that may be challenging for them due to your own administrative errors is pretty gross and actually quite inhumane.
I suppose if your organisation is that pathetically incompetent insults and threats are all you have to arm yourself with. Nonetheless, HSBC is not a safe place for carers or those being cared for. Unfortunately I can’t move my father’s account – at least for now – but I’m getting mine the hell away from these bullying, intimidatory people and I highly suggest that anyone caring for someone vulnerable (or actually just anyone) do the same.
Cultural Cuckoo 