- Report: #630980
Complaint Review: HSBC - Bank Of Nevada NA - Salinas California
Reported By:
Heath -
Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
HSBC - Bank Of Nevada NA
P.O. Box 80084 Salinas, 93912 California, United States of America
Phone:
Web:
www.householdbank.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
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HSBC - Bank Of Nevada NA HSBC :foreign-based telemarketer outright lies to get sales- Salinas, California
Household Bank telemarketing has been hitting me with calls since before I actually received the card - they always try to sign you up for credit monitoring services among other things with high-pressure outsourced telemarketing. Sometimes I go for the offers to receive free stuff and it has worked out in the past.
This time I went for an offer that I thought I would keep. The telemarketer (TM) announced upon finding I was the cardholder that I could receive - instead of interest - a charge of $1.35 per $100 balance on my card forever. I did the math and it sounded like that would be higher than my current interest rate.
Somewhere in the conversation I understood that this was actually also an insurance plan, that I would receive coverage of my balance at the same rate so that I may not have to make payments in the event I could not work, etc. The TM was very specific, even outspoken, about how I would never pay another finance charge.
Well, I just noticed after two months of having the Account Protection Elite plan that I am STILL paying finance charges at the usual rate. I called only to find out that the finance charges only get canceled once the benefits go into effect because of a successful claim. What? That's not the presentation I received from the TM.
If you look at the plan, say your usual rate is 13.99% and you have the plan, a claim goes into effect and suddenly you're paying $1.35 per $100 or 1.35% -- then what does that mean? That means suddenly you're paying 1.35% per month X 12 months = 16.2%. What? The plan entitles you to pay a higher interest rate when you are out of work (etc.).
Now remember I mentioned that you pay that 1.35% each month in addition to your usual 13.99%/12 (1.166% or $1.16 per $100) without benefits? That makes this plan into a scam, plain and simple. It's like protection money. And that is how Household Bank conducts business - I'm sorry I use their card.
So I tell the (again outsourced) CSR when I find this out that of course I want to cancel. Then I tell her that I want my two months payments back as well - a sum of slightly over $12 due to the fact that this plan had been misrepresented. She flatly denied me my payments and I told her I would take action if she didn't. She didn't refer me to a supervisor and would not credit me.
I'm fortunate enough to have a choice of credit cards these days. I have chosen to pay off my balances (as soon as possible) and cancel both these cards despite that losing cards hurts your credit. I feel like this company doesn't deserve my interest payments and creates charlatan "programs" to pillage more from unsuspecting customers.
Don't do business with these guys. I understand this is a Household Bank card and I'm not sure the extent to which HSBC supports their practices.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
MovingForward
Wellington,Florida,
United States of America
HSBC is not the only one participating in this scam!
#2Consumer Comment
Wed, September 15, 2010
You are right about this being a scam. Only the scam is slightly worse than you describe. Not only do you pay the "insurance" monthy + the finance charges (if any) monthly, if you read the T&C of the insurance you will see that there are all kinds of escape clauses for the insurance to not pay your cc payments if you become unemployed or ill. For example, if you are self employed or an independant contractor or you work on commission type income the insurance co will not pay anything at all. Some policies have age restrictions, but you don't find that out until you have a claim! Read the policy, you will be surprised.
Continue to go after your $12 but I don't think you will get it refunded, despite their misrepresentation of the insurance. However, the silver lining in this scam is you discovered it early enough that it only cost you $12. That money can save you big bucks by not ever signing up for this service with any company that offers "insurance" for your credit card payments.
One more thing: HSBC is not the only cc offering this type of insurance. It is a huge profit center for the cc co's and a huge rip-off for the consumer. AMEX offers the same thing but they call it "Account Protector". In fact, there are all kinds of names for the same insurance. The FTC has a warning about it, but the warning could be much stronger. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt118.shtm
The common element in this scam is you are paying a lot of money over the long term for little to no benefit. If you are worried about passing away while you have outstanding debt, get a term life insurance policy from your insurance agent.
