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HSBC sees 'rapid increase' in customer 'skips'
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Wednesday, 10 June 2009Posted on Monday, 2 November 2009
Banks!!!!!!!!
Posted by diarmuid at 19:57 UAE time
My experience is in Qatar, where a year or two ago banks were offering loans of up to 7 years annual salary on demand. There were a lot of Range Rover Sports on the road thereafter! Expensive foreign holidays and Bling Bling Bling!
Expats suffered less when things went wrong because they were offered less but imagine being in a situation where all your earnings for the foreseeable future 8-10 years would go just to pay these guys back.
Now anyone who lent money like that deserves to suffer, they went to university and have banking qualifications are they blameless for the misery they caused by irresponsible lending? Of course not. Now that the gravy train has been derailed they are looking to find any possible way to increase profits, my HSBC deposit account pays 0.02% YES 0.02% interest, charges introduced for credit card borrowing from date of posting, charges for this that and the other!
Need a good smack and being sent to stand in the corner! Skippers make this judgement about how their own behaviour compares with the banks and act accordingly. Wrong? of course it is and the remaining honest people will pay to make up the loss. But banks have also a major responsibility for this and their present behaviour make them few friends!
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Posted on Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Fueling the fire…
Posted by SC at 09:43 UAE time
First of all, I do not agree with ‘skipping’.
Secondly, I agree that the ‘customer service’ provided by UAE banks is extremely poor.
(I bank with HSBC and ADCB in the UAE and I can truthfully say that they provide the worst service I have ever experienced - across any service industry - anywhere in the world.)
TO THE BANKS…
Please consider VERY carefully what you are doing…
Case in point (and I have written to you explaining this);
I have paid off my credit card
I have put all my savings into your 1 year fixed deposit scheme
In short, I have done everything I can to provide liquidity to your bank and in return I’ve asked that you assist me with the repayment of my mortgage by;
-Reducing your RBR rate to reasonable levels (like the EIBOR rate), or
-Reduce the percentage I am paying on top of your unreasonable RBR rate, or
-Allow me to put surplus savings into my mortgage to reduce the monthly payments and interest, or
-Suggesting how I can reduce my monthly payments in the short term…
Your answer: NO
You leave your customers very little choice; ‘keep paying, until you can’t anymore, because we’ve got you by the short & curly’s’ or ‘skip’…
If I could go back in time…I would not by property in the UAE…and I would not bank with ADCB or HSBC
(my money would be safer… and… better invested under my mattress)
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Posted on Sunday, 5 July 2009
To David
Posted by Moe at 08:57 UAE time
David, am not giving ny lessons here, and my comment was not addressed to the article as much as it was addressed to the comments, where some ppl were giving excuses for not paying their debts, like "bank employee" comment for example.
Sorry if you were offended by my comment, but it was not addressed to the commercial practice part of the story
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To MOE
Posted by David at 08:47 UAE time
Hey MOE thanks for your Ethical commentary, but just to let you know if you are not aware how banks and other institutions works....is that regularly loans are renegociated (with sometimes a penalty) between the lender and the borrower. So it's not a question about paying it, skipping, or anything like that, simply instead of paying a higher interest rate against your oustanding loan, you do repay it faster! Banks may not make as much money out of the loan they gave to the borrower, however they do recover the full amount leant and the interests until such loan has been paid off... It's pure commercial practice. So thanks for the lesson, but it's not all about skipping and fleeing this country!
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Its not Ethical
Posted by Moe at 08:29 UAE time
People who got a loan from a bank, or have outstanding credit cards, please do not make excuses for not paying it back, it is not ETHICAL, you knew the terms and conditions since day one, nothing has been changed except your ability to pay back, lets assume that none will take a risk to renegotiate with the bank and ends up behind bars, but if you go back to your home country, and got a job will you still pay your loan and clear your CC balance, i guess NOT. while i was shifting jobs two years back i had a problem with my employer who put a ban on me for six month, and still i was able to pay my CC bill every single month of those 6 months, i understand what you are going through, but Do not give excuses to what we all know as Wrong.
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Posted on Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Has any HSBC client renegociated his personal loan?
Posted by nikck at 14:57 UAE time
I wonder if anyone has been able to renegociate his personal loan with lower interest, or repayment time with HSBC, did they have any issues? what was the proceedure?
I am thinking if I can re-pay the loan but lower the interest, period, I can clear my debt, and decrease teh interests payments to ensure the bank get its money back and helping me along the way. It woudl be a win-win situation instead of pushing people to skip all payments....
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Posted on Thursday, 18 June 2009
Who's to blame?
Posted by Bank Employee at 09:39 UAE time
Even if one wants to honour your debts, the draconian laws here leaves no one that has lost his job with any other option but to bail. Can we really blame poeple for skipping if there is a real threat of landing behind bars if a creditor is unwilling to negotiate repayment terms?
The firts thing a banks does when they find out you have lost your job is to freeze your accounts and to cash your security cheques knowing it will be returned, but imediately making you a criminal that can be incarcerated.
Imagine this in the UK or US - the bank makes you write a cheque which they know full well you are not good for when they grant you that loan. Does'nt this amount to entrapment? I don't know of any country where this is even legal.
To make things even worse, the visa law a forces you to be out of here within a month which does not alow for much time to find a new job.
Not reallly laws that promote honest behavior among borrowers. If it happens to me, I'd rather take my chances from the safty of my home country where the law offers fair treatement to all.
Skipping might be the only alternative
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Posted on Sunday, 14 June 2009
Is there any other option?
Posted by Ahmed at 12:46 UAE time
Almost all Banks regularly call people to offer and lure common people to get into their trap of loans, credit cards, balance transfers, advance salaries and convince people to ignore the interest rate or make the huge interest rate look meagre. Falling a prey to these marketing gimmicks, customer borrows and realises later on, how deep into debts he has ended up. With the crises, people losing jobs, a customer already fallen prey to bank, is he going to anticipate or believe to be at the mercy of the bank? In the absence of any job opportunity and with the strict laws here against returned cheques, a person is scared to be behind bars and is left with no option, but to forcefully abscond and suffer the trauma later on. Whom to blame, the bank, the law or the customer or the global financial crises?
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Posted on Friday, 12 June 2009
hmmmm
Posted by TJ at 17:30 UAE time
so..I am seeing a lot of people who are glad the banks are suffering now... and in some cases I can understand the anger of having a bank play around with your credit limit on cards etc...especially if you are being responsible. but for a lot of people, they decided to spend spend spend on their credit cards and take loans just to live in a lie that they are financially secure.
are the banks being greedy? sure they are. but so are the people living outside of their means by charging everything on credit cards and taking out loans that they end up struggling to pay back.
I have been screwed over by a bank before but for all of us honestly living by our means, we are going to get affected by the irresponsible people who took out loans or credit cards they shouldn't have. the banks are making it harder to take out loans and cards now..and it will probably be even more difficult for us in the future.
though I do agree the banking system needs to change. but it is theft if you borrow money and don't pay it back.
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Posted on Thursday, 11 June 2009
HSBC sees 'rapid increase' in customer 'skips'
Posted by Leo at 12:18 UAE time
I love to congratulate every person that does this skip! After all the banks rips us with their exhorbitant rates and charges. The only weapon the bank uses against customers is the guarantee cheque for loans and credit cards by which they complain to the Police. I wish the Police would involve only if 'Police Clearance' was obtained by the bank prior to issue of Loans or Credit Cards to every customer. I hope the Police and Central Bank will get together and make this a Law for all banks prior to issuing Loans and Credit Cards.
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It is pay back time....
Posted by Ali at 10:43 UAE time
It is time for the UAE government, federal and local, to intervene and ‘order’ the banking industry and collection agencies to treat defaulters with respect and moral decency. The banks and collection agencies do not respect the laws and regulation of this country, human rights and the individuals. They treat defaulters as if they were prisoners in 'Guantanamo'. They raise their voice, threaten, and cause scandals just to force you to pay.
But it is up to us to make the banks and collection agencies treat us the way we want. No more loans, credit cards, or even ATM machines. Cash is the best. It is ‘pay back time’ (*_*)
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Professionalism !!!!
Posted by Santhosh at 09:28 UAE time
Let me give some examples of real professionalism in the UAE banking sector from my experience …
1. I got a letter and an Email from The bank saying insurance cover on my loan is not applicable / cancelled starting 1st Jan 09 as per clause ## of the terms and conditions!
2. Local wire transfers made from one bank to another bank (from Emirates bank to HSBC) took more than 10 days to reach your account , and when I called up the customer care ….the answer was we can’t help you go the branch and talk to them!!!
3. Refunds made on credit cards (cancelled or expired) never reaches my account …but if there is any thing which we owe back even on cancelled credit cards at any time its automaticity deducted from the account with out any notice !!!
Many more stores like this …… what it needs is a banking ombudsman where one can take his concerns.
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O.M.G.
Posted by shady sammy at 07:16 UAE time
banking culture in UAE is very unprofessional.
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Posted on Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Banking Services
Posted by Thomas at 16:27 UAE time
My 7 years in UAE and the Banking service has got worse due largely to the surplus of money that was around the last few years. HSBC and Citibank were my worst experiences. Its the same short term approach; building up a customer base, sell as many bank products as possible, maximize profits while customer service or financial advice is completely disergarded. In others Corporate GREED, the model that has destroyed the economies of the west.
Tom
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The Banks want to have their cake and to eat it too
Posted by Siwash at 15:55 UAE time
To the Banks, a little bit too late. You will have to suffer like we all do. I talked to HSBC customer service today and she had the audacity to suggest that I took insurance from them. Not the correct time, but good luck finding the suckers who will go for your additional services at a fee.
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