Location/place: Kolkata
Name of company/service: HSBC Credit Card
Dear Ma’am/Sir,
I, Mandeep Attri, would like to bring to your notice the unethical and harassing policies of HSBC credit card division. I had a HSBC Credit Card from August, 2005 till September or October, 2007. For two years, I never missed any of the payments on my card neither did I pay any fine or late fees.
The balance for my last month of use (Sept/Oct, 2007) was Rs. 18,500.00. I paid Rs 15,000.00 by cheque and decided to pay the rest next month. I was expecting the late monthly charges and interest rate on the amount of Rs 3500.00. HSBC didn’t realize the check till Jan 2008 and started charging me on base amount of Rs 18,500.00.
For first three months, the collection department didn’t acknowledge the receipt of Rs 15,000.00. Once the cheque was cleared from my bank, they deducted it from the inflated balance (that they had already increased by charging on Rs 18,500) and asked me to pay the rest. I requested them to recalculate the balance because I had paid the substantial amount of balance within time. They simply refused to do that.
In the mean time I was diagnosed with cancer. From Jan., 2008 till Sep., 2008, I underwent chemotherapy and I was unable to talk to the bank. Whenever I received a call from the bank/collection agents, I asked them to recalculate the balance. The agents were never willing to do that, they’ll just ask for the balance and quote that bank told them to collect.
Recently it came to my attention that HSBC has reported me as defaulter in CIBIL with balance of Rs 60,000.00. The bank asked me to talk to JM financial asset firm and the firm is not providing any details of the above mentioned amount.
This has tarnished my financial record and causing undue harassment. What I fail understand that is that the bank employs people to interact who believe in only one way communication. They have not heard my voice over the last four odd years even once. Their behaviour seemed like blackmail – to bend to their wishes and pay the asked for figure which had not semblance to what I should actually be owing them. It was not only fraudulent but emotionally coercive. Given the stress and tension that my family and I have gone through given my health conditions I was emotionally traumatised at the kind of forceful due-intimations from HSBC. This is clearly a sign of harassment by an MNC bank toward innocent citizens of India.
I would earnestly request you to please help me in correcting my financial record.
Sincerely,
Mandeep Attri
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