Money Problem: 'HSBC blunder left me owing £6,000'

In our latest Money Problem, we help a reader left with £6,000 of credit card debt after a banking mistake...

Each week, we look at a reader's consumer or personal finance issue in our Money Problem series. You can send your own to moneyblog@sky.uk.

"I applied for an HSBC credit card to make use of its 36-month interest-free balance transfer offer. During the application, I entered the details of my existing MBNA card and requested a balance transfer of just under £6,000. Several days passed with no sign of the transfer. When I contacted HSBC on live chat, I was told there was no balance transfer request on my account. The HSBC adviser said I needed to submit it again, and walked me through the process. A few days later, I got a notification saying the original balance transfer request from my application was also being processed... leaving me with almost £13,000 outstanding on my HSBC credit card and nearly £6,000 in credit on my MBNA account. Weeks later, HSBC still isn't helping and I'm worried about my credit score."
Reader who asked to remain anonymous

Reporter Brad Young looks into the case...

Trying to get a large company to correct its own mistake can be exhausting, and in this case it has been especially frustrating because what should have been a straightforward admin task turned into weeks of extra effort.

You told me that when you first applied for the HSBC credit card in mid-June, the paperwork clearly said not to submit a second balance transfer request once the account had been set up.

When you spoke to the live chat agent, you said you reminded them of that instruction, but they still asked you to resubmit the request and guided you through the steps.

You also said you contacted HSBC immediately after being notified a few days later that a duplicate transaction was underway.

HSBC told you it was too late to stop the transfer, but said it would reverse it after completion.

That sounded simple enough, but there has been no obvious progress for more than three weeks.

During that time, you have called and messaged HSBC repeatedly. Its agents refunded the second balance transfer fee and said the matter had been escalated.

After the first two weeks, you said you received a formal notice that HSBC would need another six weeks to sort it out.

You also raised the issue with MBNA, which offered to help, but HSBC told you not to accept that because it may recall the payment as part of its complaints process.

In effect, you have been left stuck between two problems, with no easy route out.

"The consequences have been significant," you told me.

"I remain almost £6,000 further in debt through no fault of my own, my credit utilisation has increased dramatically, my credit rating has fallen, and the ongoing uncertainty has caused me considerable stress and anxiety."

"I am now due to make a minimum payment on the card which is significantly more than it should be, given the incorrect outstanding balance."

I contacted HSBC, which said it was working to reverse the payment as quickly as possible and that you should not take any further action.

The bank also said it was offering you a goodwill payment.

HSBC reassured me that your credit score would not be affected because your card remains within its credit limit and your payment history is clear.

"We're very sorry for the issues experienced with the balance transfer and appreciate the upset this has caused," HSBC UK said.

"We're in the process of reversing the duplicate payment and are keeping our customer updated, we have also apologised that the experience fell short of our usual high standards on this occasion."

I asked why the matter was taking so long to resolve, but HSBC did not answer that question.

I also asked whether it would help with your upcoming minimum payment. It did not respond directly, although it has contacted you with a goodwill payment.

Not satisfied?

If you want to pursue the matter further, you will first need to wait until HSBC finishes investigating your complaint.

The bank has eight weeks to send you a final response, setting out the outcome and explaining how to take the complaint further if you are still unhappy.

Keep that response safe if you want to escalate the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

If you do, you must complain within six months.

You can submit the case using the FOS online form. The ombudsman warns against using AI chatbots to complete it, as they can cause delays by introducing mistakes or unnecessary legal-sounding arguments that are inaccurate or irrelevant.

The FOS aims to set up the case within seven days, after which an investigator will contact HSBC and review the complaint.

The exact timeline varies from case to case, but the FOS target is 90 days.

Figures show it resolves 50% of cases within three months.

If you or HSBC disagrees with the ombudsman's view, a final decision will be made, which takes longer.

The FOS says it resolves 80% of cases within six months.

The ombudsman said, as expected, that it cannot comment on or advise about individual cases.