HSBC Watch News Release Forum Index
Forum Name: - Best Buy
Topic Title: KRON 4 "4 On Your Side"
Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:52 pm
Letter sent to: HSBC Retail Services, Best Buy Inc., Consumer Protection Agency and KRON 4 “4 On Your Side”
To Whom It May Concern:
I have attempted to clear up an error and have been put on hold with no assistance for a total of 1.51 HOURS. I received a late charge on a bill. This was the first bill I had ever received since making the purchase, so I called to dispute the late fee. The credit card is an HSBC card for BEST BUYS. I seldom use it, but used it for the holidays.
I have received two letters from the HSBC Corporation acknowledging my address change which occurred October of 2003. For over a year I have received advertisements from Best Buy with no confusion over my address. The letters from HSBC reached me as well.
I called the number on the top of the billing statement entitled “Customer Service” and spoke to a gentleman that confirmed a statement had been returned to the company – he said that he would make a note of it in my record. I asked that he remove the late fee and he said he couldn’t do that, and that I needed to contact a customer service agent. I told him I dialed the customer service number on the billing statement and he said that while the title near the telephone number says customer service, it is really the claims department number. I was sent directly to claims. THEY ACTUALLY DID NOT EVEN PROVIDE A LEGITAMATE CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER! To add insult to injury, the gentleman provided the REAL customer service number and counseled me to NOT put my account number in as prompted. I inferred that by following the prompt, I would never reach a real customer service agent. I did as he advised and spent two hours on hold (I’m not exaggerating! I can provide the phone log if you need proof.)
This activity seems illegal to me. I missed out of 2 hours of pay myself to battle this inappropriate late fee with absolutely no real recourse. I think this company should be investigated for theft. In this busy world, I imagine countless people cannot afford to wait that long to correct these errors and they give up – in essence they give up their money!
Had I not waited 111 minutes, I would have had to pay that company an extra $60.00 in late fees and potentially $15 more if my on-going battle eclipsed being able to pay my bill through the mail, thus, having to submit payment over the phone, or risk yet another $30 late fee! This company could have stolen $75-90 dollars from me.
If you would like to reach me to discuss this, contact me at (---) ----- or through the web at -- @ --.com
(I have copies of an HBSC letter, statement, phone log and an example of the Best Buy Ad that reached me at the correct address if you need any of these things, contact me and I will forward a copy to you.)
We monitor customer trends for possible violations of Regulation Z and other possible illegal actions.