HSBC Horror Stories

BM in Washington said: “My son has an account with Guitar Center. Three payments mailed to GC at the same time as other payments were processed by GC more than 10 days after the others mailed on the same date. We were charged a late fee for those three, although it is clear that they had been received on the date due by GC. I tried to go on GC’s online system to make a payment. It worked once. The second time the system would not accept the payment. The online help never materialized.

I was forced to make a payment by phone and pay a $15 charge. I put the bill on my automatic bill payer system at my credit union. Although the credit union made the payment on the 10th of April, as of May 9 it still had not been processed and we, of course, were charged another $39 late payment. The guitar center will not talk to any one except the card holder, so my credit union cannot straighten this out or get any information. Many of the card holders are going to be young kids at the mercy of this monster. I don’t understand why HSBC is allowed to continue its fraudulent practices.”

Editor’s Note: Guitar Center is the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in the world and is located throughout the United States. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California. Guitar Center credit cards are managed by HSBC Finance, formerly known as predatory lender Household International.

In 1999, it purchased mail order and Internet retail house Musician’s Friend for $50 million, further consolidating its dominance over the sector, although Musician’s Friend remains a wholly-owned, independent subsidiary. In February of 2007, Musicians Friend (a Guitar Center subsidiary) purchased the Indiana based company Music123 from then bankrupt Woodwind & Brasswind (WWBW). Guitar Center’s sister companies/subsidiaries incorporate Musician’s Friend, GuitarCenter.com, LMI, Giardinelli, Musician.com, Private Reserve Guitars, and Harmony Central.