HSBC Watch News Release Forum Index
Forum Name: - Best Buy
Topic Title: HSBC Changed CRA Married Status
Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:59 pm
Sheesh, I don't know where to begin.... My boyfriend opened an account with HSBC back in 9/2002 to purchase appliances at Bestbuy. AFTER the purchases were made, we went to Bestbuy to add myself on as an authorized user. When we got there, we made it very clear I would only sign if I was going to be an authorized user (I now know I shouldn't have signed).
Fast forward to 11/2003; my boyfriend and I both lost our jobs (worked at same place), and he had to file for bankruptcy. When his bankruptcy went through, they came after me. Then they sold our account to Sherman Aquisitions, who still owns it to my knowledge. I checked my credit report recently, and it showed HSBC/Bestbuy AND Beneficial National Bank (on the Equifax report) as being charge off. I contacted a legal hotline, which told me in California, the law states that I am not responsible for this debt since I was not a joint on the account when the items were purchased.
Even worse, I contacted Experian just the other day and had a long chat with one of their employees, explaining everything. Then we figured out that HSBC had changed the account information on both my boyfriend's and my credit reports from joint to individual, which apparently is highly illegal. She then told me to contact the Federal Trade Commission, to file a complaint which I did immediately. Right now I am at a loss on how to fight these jerks (for lack of a more colorful term), mainly if I should seek out a lawyer or keep fighting them myself.
I should also mention that I sent certified letters to all 3 CRA's as well as HRS USA, and Sherman Financial. Sherman Financial responded with a lawyer, and the lawyer, after talking with me said to keep fighting them and that they refuse to take the case. She told me she was going to close it and send it back to them. HRS USA never bothered responding, and the three CRA's pretty much said that they verified that my name and social was correctly matching the information provided by HSBC (some investigation, makes me really want to trust the CRA's).
I have attempted on numerous occasions to contact HSBC myself over the phone, but as soon as I give my information over, they promptly give me Sherman Aquisition's phone number and hang up. I even asked for their address to send mail to and they refused to give it to me, asking me why I need it. And the best part is, when I talked to Equifax and TransUnion, they told me in order to resolve this I need to contact the original creditor....conversation goes something like this:
Me: What do I need to do to fix this?
Them: Contact the original creditor to fix this.
Me: But I just told you they won't talk to me. So what do I do?
Them: Contact the original creditor to fix this.
One more thing, how can I be a joint on an account when their disclosure FAQ clearly says that they do not accept joint applicants, only authorized users. And by adding an authorized user, understand that the primary account holder is solely responsible for the account.....
And it goes on and on and on....
Thanks for hearing my story. Glad there is someone out there fighting for people like me.
We monitor customer trends for possible violations of Regulation Z and other possible illegal actions.