HSBC Reviews 160

Slow to respond to opening an account online. Asking for information which already been provided in the application. A waste of time. Invest your time to search elsewhere and avoid this avenue altogether!

They've been holding my money for over 60 days!!
In the first place they suddenly restricted my account without letting me know anything at all.
Only after contacting support many times, their compliance department got in touch with me and requested many documents and other info.
After submitting all of that several times over, and waiting long times in between, nothing happened.
My funds are still restricted to this day, and the compliance department is not even responding to my emails anymore.
THIS IS DAYLIGHT ROBBERY!

Terrible customer service, below any benchmark, not working basic services

Horrible bank. I am a Canadian citizen, working in Asia as a management consultant. They are attempting to steal my funds under the pretext of my not being able to document where every penny came from. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS BANK. TOTAL FRAUD.

They've been freezing my money for almost 2 months!
& they've initially not provided any explanation or sent me any email.
After contacting their support countless times (over 7 times probably) the compliance department got in touch with me.
They requested a lot of documents and information, after which they took a while, and requested even more, took a while again, then they requested even more.
It takes ages to get a reply from them.
My money is currently still frozen on HSBC EXPAT while I've provided everything they asked for.
Outrageous!

I’m posting this in desperation. I opened an HSBC Expat account in Jersey to hold funds that I couldn’t keep in France.

In April 2023, I received €300,000 into the account. Shortly after, they blocked it for “verification”. I complied with every request — over 50 documents, translations, bank confirmations — and still nothing.

They sent me a closure letter, asked for my RIB, I sent it — and since then: silence.
• 800+ calls
• 2,000+ emails
• Mental health collapsing
• CIFO and JFSC complaints filed

Their team told me yesterday that they are waiting for a reply from an internal department no one can contact — not even their own supervisors. They gave me no timeline, no hope, and no answer.

I have expressed that I’m on the edge mentally and physically. Still nothing.

I’m begging anyone with advice or similar experience: what can I do? I’m running out of time.

And the manager Mark Rabet is completely incompetent.

Account number 027387232

Another hour wasted with a simple request to transfer credit card points rewards to airmiles and after no resolution, she tells me to have a great day! The only recent 5 star review in fact relates to a UK branch in Cheshire and has been posted to the wrong site - should be deleted

HSBC Expat froze my funds for well over a year, a protect team member stated to me on the record the delays were due to their team being 'Understaffed and Overworked', so basically incompetence at managerial level. I took the case to the CIFO Ombudsman and won.

So a year later I noticed by chance that they had not closed my accounts down as the promised. I could login, transfer money in and out of my account, a new debit card was sent, and I exchanged money.

If I had not noticed and complained, my accounts would of been open without my agreement or knowledge for the foreseeable future, where they were spamming in false tax residency CRS data worldwide without my knowledge.

This further proves that HSBC Expat is ran by nothing but a bunch of incompetent bandits. It is also a severe breach of contract and just solidifies the fact that they act against the law.

I advise against any business dealings with this outfit. Don't expect your complaints or issues responded to legibly in understandable English, or in getting a reasonable response in terms of 'time' and 'sense'. Run a mile or 'two'.

Echoing what others are saying, it's basically an exercise in frustration and incompetence and idiosyncrasy. I'm close to giving up and closing my account. My account is not funded because it's impossible to fund it so far. I've never had this much trouble with a bank in my life, and I'm not young. They seem to have studied the best way to make it unclear, impossible, unnecessarily complicated - and gone that route, it almost seems intended to mess with peoples' heads. Requiring a mobile-app based PIN for basic functioning is problem 1 - I never use mobile apps for banking but HSBC Expat gives you no choice. The mobile app is completely unclear how to fund the account and since I'm unable to log in using a browser, I'm at a loss. If this is the way HSBC operates, count me out. I'm blown away by how bad this user experience has been. It's textbook "how to alienate a customer" protocol, almost from start to finish.

Went through the application and setup process which is quite old school and laborious. Two emails later I received a 'pin'. No idea what for. No other communication. Called to chase up, where I was told someone would call me back a few days later - that was a month ago. Can only assume they don't want new accounts. Can't really be bothered to chase again when there are other options on the market.

If you like being hours on expensive international phone calls for what would have been automatic anywhere else, hsbc expat is the bank for you.
I have not seen such archaic, compartmentalized client facing banking systems in this century.
Whoever is in charge of their client processes needs to be shown the door.
The only way they merit the single star is because they accept clients moving internationally. But they absolutely are not set up to serve those clients in a 21st century way.

HSBC Expat have been buying units in investments trusts for me. Suddenly all the purchase contract notes disappeared overnight. I wrote a formal letter of complaint to them in April 2024, I have received a complaint reference number, but they still have not provided an official response as they are obliged to do with 3 months. I wrote a complaint to the Jersey Financial Service Ombudsman in September 2024. They have not responded to the Ombudsman. In both cases these are serious violations of regulation. The ombudsman has told me they answer complaints in order they receive them. It's reasonable to assume they have a back log of months and months of complaints.

Please protect yourself from the HSBC scam.
They will take your money for NO reason (or at least a different reason each time) and you will NEVER see your funds again.

They closed my accounts suddenly (no alerts) last year. Got in touch with them, they said I did not comply to eKYC information (not true as they have been updated 3 months before) and provided some direction to recover the money.
1) I provided the information required by the operator.
2) another operator called saying absolutely something different
3) the local bank was not able to help.

I start the process again. Everything has to go in paper mail to Jersey. I wait for my answer and follow the new recomended process (verified by the local bank manager). We provide and certify all the information required.

New email (always to an unknown account you cannot reply b ecause you need to sedn email and they hide themselves with noreply email) says that my account was closed due to inactivity, documents were incomplete to start again.

This has been going over a year with no possibility to get my money back. They don't want to resolve the situation. They want to get your money, either few euros o millions of dollars, if they do this to all customers is a win. Don't fall into the trap.

They are THIEVES and SCAMMER!!!

PROTECT YOURSEL FROM THEM!!!!

A big thank you to HSBC Northwich Cheshire, a bank with people in it, who knew? Having tried endlessly to open an on line savings account on my phone and iPad only to suffer all my accounts to be locked out, I went into the branch. Clutching my iPad and explaining my frustration and dilemma the charming young man behind the counter sorted it all out for me. Brilliant account set up in no time and one very happy customer.

I have never encountered worse service. This is a disgrace to the British banking system. Completely unprofessional staff and poorly functioning banking technologies. I received an unexpected blocking of my accounts for no reason and my money was returned from this bank only after 148 days. This is terrible!

HSBC expat is the worst bank I have ever seen in my life, the blocked my account for no reason and told me that there’s no time frame for the review. Please can anyone advice me what to do next.

HSBC Expat seems to be a disorganised mess with regard to customer service. Not recommended. Simple requests cannot be completed with drama. Poor telephone support. Very disappointed

We have a frozen account and our customer service has no results.

In keeping with the views of other customers here, HSBC Expat (Jersey) is nothing but a blight on the reputation of the banking sector in Jersey and by extension the Channel Islands. 

As many people have suggested their operation is totally brazen and corrupt, where they think that freeezing peoples monies under the guise of a review for an unreasonable time, is good for them as a business. They are essentially working towards a failed business.

I agree with others that Tom Robinson and Mark Rabet of their review team should be removed from their positions and put back in low level customer services positions where they belong.

HSBC Expat cannot be trusted to manage your money and you should look for alternative international banking services. I sent a wire to pay a vendor that I have paid before and the funds went missing (never received by the corresponding bank nor the payee). I put a trace on the transfer and recalled the money (the money went missing for over 2 months). Neither the trace nor recall were done correctly and nothing matters. I have placed over 20 phone calls and written numerous inquiries, but no no avail. Do not trust the bank with your money. While it carries a big bank name this is a third world banking service