SK said: “I’m confident I am not the only person who has experienced what must be one of the most outrageous examples of predatory credit practices in modern times. The summary set forth below is no less than a road map for a class action against the offending credit card company for their unconscionable policy and practice.
Here are the pertinent facts:
I have a number of credit cards, and I transmit payments to the credit card companies by way of Moneygram ExpressPayment. Moneygram represents to its customers that, for the stated fee (which varies depending upon the payee) Moneygram will transmit the payor’s funds electronically to the payee, with the funds available to the payee within 10 minutes of having been sent. Moneygram provides me with written verification of the transmission of my payment and can verify, upon request, that the funds indeed were transmitted electronically and received within 10 minutes.
With the exception of but ONE credit card company (HSBC – Household Bank), my Moneygram payments are transmitted without a glitch and are received without a glitch, and in fact receipt of said payments can be viewed online – usually the same day – for all of my credit card accounts
EXCEPT FOR HSBC. Again, with the exception of HSBC, my payments are credited on the day they are received by each credit card company.
HSBC, however, is unique in the industry in that it artificially, and with no legitimate justification, IGNORES the actual date that the payment is electronically sent, and furthermore IGNORES the actual date that the payment is electronically received by HSBC.
Rather, HSBC artifially delays the posting of Moneygram payments for at least 24 to 48 hours. It matters not to HSBC that by delaying posting of said payments HSBC is able to unilaterally assess a substantial late fee when the Moneygram payment is sent and received BEFORE the payment due date BUT NOT POSTED until AFTER THE DUE DATE because of HSBC’S arbitrary “delayed posting” policy.
Having experienced at least one instance of HSBC assessing a late fee as a direct result of their “delayed posting” policy, I corresponded with the Executive Liaison of the Office of the President of HSBC (located in Salinas, California) to outline what I assured HSBC was a clear example of arbitrary payment posting practices which would easily support a class action for predatory credit practices and fraud. After my correspondence, the HSBC’s Executive Liaison reversed the late charge, and in writing asserted that as long as a Moneygram payment was made on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday BEFORE 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, that HSBC would credit said payment the FOLLOWING DAY. Otherwise, HSBC would not credit or post the payment for an additional 24 hour period at a MINIMUM.
Satisfied, at the time,l with HSBC’S capitulation and reversing of the late fee as described above, I took no further action.
The problem, however, has reared its ugly head once again as a Moneygram payment made by me to HSBC on a Monday (June 29th) prior to 4 p.m. EST was NONETHELESS delayed in it posting by HSBC until Wednesday July 1st. The end result was that, once again, HSBC insisted on assessing a $30 late fee, DESPITE THE irrefutable evidence that HSBC in fact received the payment ON JUNE 29th !
What we have here is nothing less than an arrogant belief – taking the form of “official corporate policy” – that the posting of payments may be artificially delayed regardless of the consequences to the consumer who paid their bill prior to the date it was due.
I ask you – is this not predatory, fraudulent and flat-out illegal?”
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