HSBC Doha is a joke

This is really TRUE!

I am really disappointed with HSBC Qatar..A world's Local bank...

They dont have standards. Every customer representative has different information. I've been going back and forth to their main branch because of their inconsistencies!!! one representative say "YES" other say "NO". they are all idiots!

Had the same problem in Switzerland couple of weeks ago. I found out that the only HSBC in Zurich (and for all country is the same) is a private bank that does not deal with commercial clients. But due to bankers spirit in CH, the guys there tried to help me to have some cash: it was impossible, and you know the answer from HSBC ME? "There is nothing wrong with our cards, try to find other ATM, maybe is their problem. You are doing something wrong...."

If someone is laughing, laugh with him,

If someone is singing, sing with him,

If someone is working, let him work!

Did you heard of floating accounts or money in transit, where banks earn huge interest on non interest bearing accounts.

For each US$ transaction, issue of letters... they charge commission; it is ridiculous.

Alhamdulillah, Finally I made my HSBC account deactive from this month!

I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS BANK BUT I DO NOT HAVE AN ACCOUNT THERE AND I DO NOT KNOW WHERE IT IS .(MY ACCOUNT AT ISLAMIC BANK ) . SOMEBODY OF THERE CUSTOMER HAVE GIVING MY MOBILE TO THEM BY MASTAKE OR NOT I DON'TKNOW . AND EVERY TIME HE DO ANY TRANSACTION MY MOBILE RECEIVED AN SMS. SO ONE DAY THEY CALL ME ASK FOR HIM I TOLD HIM THIS IS NOT HIS PHONE PLEASE ERASED IT FROM YOUR SYSTEM , AND THEY DID NOT SO WHAT TO DO AND I STILL RECIVING MSM . So ANYBODY WHO HAS ACCOUNT THERE AND NOT RECIVED A MESSEGE DO NOT WITHDROW TOO MUTCH )THEN MY RECEIVING SMS WILL BE MINIMISE !!!!

I open account in QNB.

they told me if I wont to have any credit cards

they will take from my salary 150% amount what

I supose to spend with credit cards.

I get only debit card, nothing else, they

promise INternet banking and tralalalla

Now is more then 2 months. Nothing.

I stay few times in bank and they push me to get

credit cards but with guaranty of 150% cash taken.

NO THANKS. I change bank immediately to more trustful

and better relations to customer with high level of

salary. They get my salary certificate and they treat me

like shit. They do the same with Qatarian people? No.

Rasizem and bad customer respect can make somewhere else and with someone else not me. DUck QNB.

Of course bank need some guaranty for your account

and they give empty check in another bank but not taking me my money just if I wont cradit card.

Crazy and primitive behaviour just bcs. some foreigners go away and dont pay debits.

And dont tell me how Qatarian banks is better then international. Bull Sit.

You are nearly right

guys do not trust foreign banks in Qatar or in the GCC. go to Qatari banks they are way better.

From my experience ,,HSBC is the best bank

big transfers to usa need some sort of a different process. anything more than 9,999 $ that is, because of the tax in US. but still 15 days is way too long

H

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If language did change since then, meanings of words & phrases changed as well. Written guidelines and rules must reflect the present.

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We have a HSBC account and I transfer money online to my account in the UK (not HSBC) and its there the same day if you do it before 12pm over here.

I have an HSBC USA account. I came here and made an HSBC so that i can connect both accounts by some means for easy transfers back and forth. I put money in my account ( 17,000 USD ) and they told me it needs 15 days to show up on my other HSBC USA account. 15 days!!! would take 2 days to DHL the money into the US! Anyways, Last week, it was 35 days! not including fridays, saturdays!!.. I went to that HSBC barn and I was told: sir, we do not have records of you putting that much money in your account. " I showed them the teller's receipt that i was given, thanks God i kept it!!, I had to wait for Mr manager to come out from his 2.5 hours lunch break on his 6 hours day shift, and when he came, he did not want to talk to me. I heard him saying that to the lady and when i confronted him and screamed at him, he took me in his office and promised to call back the next day for info and never did!, now every day i call the bank, i get put on hold for 40 minutes and then i get trasferred back to some answering machine that asks me to leave a msg and no one calls me back.

HOW CAN 17,000 USD disappear with no trace?!!

H

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If language did change since then, meanings of words & phrases changed as well. Written guidelines and rules must reflect the present.

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I think this is the shortest joke I have heard ...."HSBC Doha"...but why I am not laughing....bad joke....:)________________________________________

One life to live, live it to the fullest.

I open account last month in QNB and I ask for services and shocked when woman told me If I wont credit cards that bank wont that take 150 % from my salary from amount what I think to use. hahahaha

They dont ask Qatari for 150% and this is the total discrimination of people. Just foreigners are discriminated. No thanks I close account and say bye bye and woman ask me why...call your sheik and say to him to

Duck QNB.

i know a lot of hsbc staff specifically in grand hamad (now in ali bin ali building). in fairness some are doing their jobs right but most of them are just talking and chatting about their colleagues.

I don't have problems with HSBC here neither.

Think2

i don't know why this is happening to you, i've been with HSBC since 5 years now and really never faced any problem, even my internet banking is just perfect. sorry for you guys.

Yalla!

I too had walk in out HSBC for several days to get my 6month Bank statement. But the fun is they were charging QRs15.00 for each month satement, which they didnt took from me.....donno its a mistake or have to pay once they r awaken.

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I'm just 15 MONTHS waiting for HSBC to fix my internet bank access. It's a world record that no bank will ever beat. But at least they are working on it to fix the problem! In my country - and most probably everywhere - they would fix it in 1 day, may be 2 if there is a holiday... HSBC, a real nightmare

This my first post to forum. I decided to write cause I read some of the comments on HSBC bank here in Doha. As I've lost lots of money recently I felt like sharing my experience with you guys.

Last september, my husband lost his credit card in Germany and in less than 24 hours we lost almost 8 thousand€ and in the mean-time we didn't recieve any phone call from HSBC to say " hey! you live in Doha and you are spending big money in Germany, which is over your standards?????????" No.. nothing what's more when my husband phoned them to report the stolen card only answer was "ok, we canceled your card" but she didn't say get a police report for investigation (which we,ve been told what we should of done, I quess we have to know all the process).

I guess, the investigation was never their intention to do. When he came back went to bank 4 times for some explanations why we haven't been protected against fraud? but the only answer was " what happens betwen the time you lost your credit cart to time you report it is your problem" so on the fifth time I went there with my husband really angry and then she offered us to fill a form to ask for a police report. But we payed the credit card anyway.

Now.. it has been over a month and still not a sing. I don't know waht to expect to happen but I'm just very angry with HSBC for the poor customer protection.

My advise to you all ... NO HSBC NEVER....

What would you do if you were me?

I opened my a/c with HSBC for a few months and it is not that bad. They sent someone to my office helping me with a/c opening and they delivered all cards and pin to me personally. I didn't need to visit their branch for collection. It's actually more personal than HK where I also have an a/c with them.

Think2

Aren't all banks in doha like that. I can relate a lot of the complaints listed here with standard chartered as well!

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Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

Oke keep annoying HSBC..

they will like that... will never changed here in Qatar.

so let's be my tip's "don't like this.. move to other bank.."

HSBC keeps changing the interest/charges they charge on credit cards, on personal loans, on car loans, and they keep slapping unexplainable charges right and left especially in those horrible economic conditions and there is no one to question them!!!

If you go to the bank and question the unexplainable charges, they will simply give you "this is our new policy" like, what the hell?!!

THIS IS A SHOUT AGAINST SUCH a ripoff!!!

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!!

DO NOT DEAL WITH HSBC BANK !!!

to share more stories on this please visit:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=171427825768

HSBC is a JOKE ANYWHERE!! Personally, I've used them in the UK and in Singapore. Never again.

If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough...

All banks are a joke :)

have a laugh.... that's all you can do... .so go ahead and have a laughing fit

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Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

All banks in Qatar blow chunks. I bank with HSBC, but sometimes they're fine and sometimes they're horrible. I guess it's "better the devil you know..." :-(

..i think coz HSBC is a multinational company based in Hongkong , a former British colony, which is reverted back to mainland China sometime in late 90's (if i remeber it right 1997) ... their flourishing economy is considerably affected by UK

its Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation

How can be that, HSBC is British bank?

I have all ways thought that the HSB is stand for Hong kong Shanghai Bank, and I do not know what the C is for, but I'm sure is not British.

I wish I could..

What I know is that their target market now has changed to preferred clients. If you are not a Status or a PRemier account holder, then you dont get the benefits. FOr unhappy clients, do go transfer to other banks. But with the crisis and all, i dont check the investment rates now. At the end of the day, I want my money back if and when i need it.

Strange too that some of you didnt get notice that your cards will be changed when they shifted to chips & pin. Was actually mightly annoyed when they sent me continuous text messages informing me my cards will cease to function on a certain date and that i have to pick up the replacement cards.They even had a raffle draw for the first customers who will come and pick up the replacement cards the earliest.

Didnt have time to get my cards on time though. As they have to cancel unclaimed cards after 60 days, when i finally had time to come, it was no longer available. I just called the officer who processed my credit cards the first time and lo and behold, I got my replacement cards after 3 days. To my surprise I wasnt charged for it.

I love the people at their WestBay Branch but parking is an issue. GrandHamad Branch have enough parking space on some floors at a big parking building just behind the branch, no fees for HSBC clients. Although not all staffs are courteous or seem happy. My friend told me there's a huge change with their Al Saad branch as they have a new manager there i think but i cannot vouch for it yet.

Ciao for now

Actually, it's still the best one that I've known in Doha. Never have troubles with the internet banking and the employees are friendly.

Sal, I didn't think you would keep your info up on the site like that for very long.....

=)

They call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to see it... --George Carlin

jsk, doha bank is the best for you because you won a certain amount of money from their weekly draw. but what if you won more than 5000riyals from hsbc, would you say that they are better than doha bank?

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy....Martin Luther King

Hmmm

Hmmmmm

Doha Bank is the best. We won 5000 riyal for their weekly draw last year. I know it was only 5000 but still...we won.

IN fairness to Hsbc, i doubt, if no one had encountered any problem from any other banks...

Thanks Mohammad...

"There's nothing we can do to change the past, if it teaches  you a lesson profit from it then, forget it."

us HSBC customers...

Do expect an e-mail from me (or a call perhaps)later in the day. To be honest, I'm very much disappointed with the way I was treated yesterday morning by the bank's CRM staff. :-(

Thank you for sharing your HSBC nightmares!I just got off the phone calling about 8 different numbers at HSBC to ask 10 different people why my credit card was blocked... I still don't know and am now waiting for the 'status manager' to call me back. Yeah right! Next time I'm going to HSBC it will be to close my account...

But I'd like to know, are the other banks in Doha any better at customer service? I'm thinking about moving to CBQ, also for the high interest rates... Can anyone share their experiences with them? Thanks!

i think QNB,QCB and Doha bank are the best among all

H-opelessly

S-lack (as in incompetent)

B-rainless (referring to Management)

C-allous (as in uncaring)

sorry excuse for a bank.

/Just joking... I'm still with HSBC for now. I'm the loyal type but they're seriously trying my patience. And there's a limit...

//Did someone say CBQ?

///myself, your profile says you're a banker . From HSBC eh? If so, do inform your management to pay attention before it loses more customers.

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Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

H-onestly

S-ick

B-oring

C-ompany

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy....Martin Luther King

I have no complaints for hsbc. been banking with them for almost 7 years and haven't got any problem. I normally deal with HSBC salam tower branch in corniche. their costumer service is great.

Try other Banks in Doha then you will think hell is HSBC is better than heaven in other banks.

I talked with our company accountant regarding this issue and he called the bank. Our company is a co-operate customer of HSBC. So that one officer in the bank gave an oppointment to meet him tomorrow. Hope he will sort out my problem. But he said for salaries below QR 8000 he can't do any thin.

Will see what will happen tomorrow.

USAexpat said Eaglemmanuel.... try this for your internet... ...

Try an other web browser for your online banking... I couldn't get Firefox to work with their site, but Internet Explorer works just fine... "

- Thank you very much. Sorry for the late acknowledgment. Yes, using the internet explorer works fine. Hope this lasts and hope somebody doesn't manage to hack into my account and steal my money. ... not that there's much left there anyway... but you get my drift.

/Can HSBC's internet CS communicate that to customers? And not simply assume everyone uses IE. Most people change to Firefox as it has better security. IE is rather iffy.. but yes, I use it now for online transfers - limiting my time on it and using another computer.

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Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

monique said "To be fair, HSBC overall is a very good bank. It has very good service in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore and most parts of Asia Pacific.

It is only here that it really sucks. It is the bad attitude of the people working (no customer service, not interested in job, chatting away, no proper attention, ....) at the bank, not the bank itself."

- But the people ARE the bank - to the customers it serves - they either make or break the bank. In Malaysia, yes, very efficient customer service, even for insignificant people like me. They have monitoring systems in place where calls attended to by the customer service reps are recorded, where the managers can be put on notice of bad service. It helps a lot to have a monitoring system in place.

Btw, for transfers from here to Malaysia, it takes 3 working days, even HSBC to HSBC. Ridiculous! They are apparently separate entities altogether. But I suppose they can bend their rules for premier cardholders. After all, they would want to maintain their status. I'm happy with my HSBC in Malaysia. It's the one here that's terrible. I hope they change for the better some time.

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Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

your company have account with HSBC, then ask your company to open you a salary account, it has no maintenance amount. Why do you need to open your saving account yourself? HSBC is not the problem, your company is to blame.

Many are cursing this bank but so far, with some unsatisfactory situation I encounter, I find them relatively a good bank. I am not even a premier account holder.

"dgoodrebel will always be the rebellious good one"

Ham421 - credit card free for life? Geez.. I have Malaysian credit cards also free for life. ..

/Which MY CCs I'm keeping, btw. It's less hassle to use cash here and only if necessary, use the cc. I don't have any problems with my MY CCs, INCLUDING my MY HSBC CCs.

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Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

Thanks UkEQ, you're such a sweetie!

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Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

Thanks, Chamal for informing that now they introduce a new rule that the salary should be minimum QR10,000 to open an account... so I better keep my account already opened with them, just in case.

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Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

Sorry My dear it happened to you.. Hope it will only get better for you..

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HE WHO DARES WINS

Thanks UkEQ. That's true. There's also a premier parking spot reserved behind the bank. So too bad for me. Never mind. That's life. I'll live with it, as always.

To HSBC, they should manage the masses better. Premier customers are very important but note, so are the others and numbers do make a difference at the end of the day. But yes, it depends on the bank's policy. Accepted.

/Btw, I didn't have A bad experience. I had many, many ...

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Don't want no drama,

No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama

On Christmas day, I took leave and used it partly specifically to sort out my problem at HSBC. I informed customer service that I was unhappy with the bank's service. The guy was very professional but guess he could not do much with whatever policies the bank has. He didn't tell me and I didn't ask. I did tell him that I'm gonna change banks but well, I suppose they can't be bothered.

So I canceled my credit card - partly because they were going to charge me QR50 for requesting a new pin number for my HSBC credit card as the one I was using (fine before) suddenly got disabled for reasons best known to them. I did use it in the beginning but after all the trouble (and I really don't have the **** time to go sit in the branch to sort out any banking issues) and parking being horrendous there (not the bank's fault, of course. Location pros and cons, I fully understand) but they really need to do something about customer service.

That was more than 4 chances already. I think I've lost count. Sigh! This is one of the problems of waking up every morning and telling myself this is a new day. But for HSBC, enough is enough. (Lucky no car loan or any other loan...:0)

/Oh.. edit - I didn't read what you guys posted till now but luckily, before I went home for a break in early Dec, I had the foresight to take out my money first from here before flying home. It was a mad mad rush actually, I did it at the last minute on the day I was to fly off. I didn't have time to go to the money changers even but at least I was not mafi riyals. Lucky me.

delete

(I'm cursing but not damaging my pristine clean reputation

delete

delete

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Sorry Eagle that you had a bad experience.. I guess as being a Premier account holder I get treated differently.. never had ti wait for any thing just walked in and they attened to my queries..

So for me a HSBC being a good British bank no compaints at all...

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HE WHO DARES WINS

I agree with everything. I have never KNOWN such awful service from a bank. It beggars belief.. Including but not limited to

- internet banking doesn't work properly and making fund transfers abroad is a matter of crossing fingers and trying four times

- useless phone/cust service who don't have authority to do very much

- incredibly high charges on credit cards

- my card number was recently stolen and I reported it to a moron on the phone. He didn't seem to know what to do. I later find they charged me for cancelling the card.

God how I wish I could change banks. Is it hard I wonder, if you have a car loan with them?

DOHA BANK LIFE TIME VIASCARD...AND MANY MORE

NICE SERVICE....

HSBC is really the worst bank in Doha. I called them this morning to inquire about personal loan and it was like 10 times I dialed before someone answered the phone. I was surprised to know that their minimum salary amount to avail a personal loan is QAr 20,000 and they can't grant me a loan of only 100,000 riyals considering my salary is almost 15,000 riyals a month. Now, i plan to change my bank account. Any suggestion which bank is good?

I lost my job July 2008 and only got one mid-November this year. I already got my contract of employment, cetrificate of employment and just waiting for the Salary transfer letter from my company to the bank (HSBC).

In fairness, most of the bank staff I met and talked to are courteous and client-friendly.

Except for that lady who called me an accused me of being a "forger" coz I'm a Filipino...grrr

Sunday, I'm submitting all the documents so I could continue my salary transfer with them, but since I wasn't able to pay my monthly on the loan I have with them since July,...I am to find out what will happen to my loan...and ME

hsbc

since my companies co-operate account is with this stupid bank I wanted open an account with them to transfer my salary.

But now they introduce a new rule that the salary should be minimum QR10,000 to open an account.

I need bank accout with salary tranfer for obtain statements when applying for family visa. Now my all plans over becoz of this bank unfair rules.

i'll take note of this info...

Its a stupid joke!

I dont live with example..Rather I prefer to be an example!

I have no problems with HSBC..I suppose I am a Premier Account holder, never had to queue for any thing..

But did have similar experience as Sacrly when standing in the queue at Carrefour (yep that drnk man looking at me Scarly) when suddenly I discovered that they had cancelled my Credit Card without notifying me.. luckily had some cash in the wallet.. I though it was only me..readying all of your comments I am surprised..

But genrally I get my transfers to UK within one working day..

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HE WHO DARES WINS

It is the worst bank in Doha. They took 10 days last month to transfer money to my CBQ credit card, by which time it was late and I got penalties. It should take 2 days. I complained and they said it was 'Dubai'. This month I transferred it 20 days early to be safe, then unfortunately went on holiday. When I returned I found they had reversed the transaction the day after I'd done the transfer - for no reason, as I had enough money in my account. They were able to offer no explanation and just said 'sorry. So again I had penalties to pay. Then last week I transfeered some money to an HSBC account in the UK. I did it from the Commercial Bank (arrived in my HSBC UK account the SAME DAY!). The HSBC to HSBC transfer took 4 days. Again they said it was 'Dubai'.

If I didn't have a car loan with them I would have transferred my salary to the Commercial Bank. I can't wait to get shot of them!

Curiously, I have a premier account in HSBC Malaysia, can I get the same account here in HSBC DOha without the need of the minimum deposit?

To be fair, HSBC overall is a very good bank. It has very good service in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore and most parts of Asia Pacific.

It is only here that it really sucks. It is the bad attitude of the people working (no customer service, not interested in job, chatting away, no proper attention, ....) at the bank, not the bank itself.

Thanks for your suggestion.

although I experience some bad points, my overall assessment of HSBC Qatar is still satisfactory. I still keep my money with them and deal it in internet banking. So far, I'm not piss off yet. I've been doing banking with them for more than a year. I've been using their credit cards, pays thru inetrnet banking, transfer funds, here and back in my Manila account, no problem. Guess, I'm luck, huh!

"dgoodrebel will always be the rebellious good one"

My name is mis spelled on my card also! Like you, I haven't gotten it changed--way too much hassle.

i would just like to put a positive spin on this thread..

i also was having difficulty logging in to their new look internet banking so i went to hsbc hamad branch this morning to sort things out. the lady at the reception guided me thru all the process. she was very patient and courteous all throughout. everything went on smoothly and now i have my new password. tried it when i reached home. no problem. so there...

Yes, i can suggest a bank, and that would be QNB. I always rely on Government owned banks, so that they can handle all problems their selves. I have been using it for 10 Years, and positively, i have never had any problem, NEVER. Their Customer Service is one of the best, i didn't even have to go there to collect my credit and debit cards, they used the Q-Post and sent them to me. I go sometimes to their office for loans. What i remember before, it was only 3% interest, not bad eh?

I am having CBQ as my bank.

Commercial Bank Qatar customer service is slightly better but they have higher interest rates on car loan (4.99%) and personal loan (9.25%)

I would be looking to buy a car on loan so can anybody advise a better bank?

Try an other web browser for your online banking... I couldn't get Firefox to work with their site, but Internet Explorer works just fine...

Forgot to mention how I have had an HSBC ATM card now for over 3 years and they spelled my family name wrong on it (spelled it right on my husband's card though).

So, last year I was in the branch for something else (probably to pick up my credit card statement-- don't get me started how they cannot figure out how to mail it to me-- they blame QPost for not delivering it to me EVERY month) I thought I would mention the misspelling to them, and I filled out some paperwork to get it changed. Then they took my card and said I could come back in 2 weeks to get my new one. HA! 2 weeks w/o a card AND I got to try to find parking at the branch? No thanks, I took my card back and told them since they didn't seem to care about the misspelling this long, I didn't care either.

In most countries a misspelled name on a card is a major issue, you wouldn't be able to use it!

I thought I was the only one to rename it "Stewpid Bank"... Been having trouble after trouble (ad infinitum) with it since I got here (and that's just only nearly 3 months) ...

I can't log on to their internet banking from any computer - even though I tried a few different ones. After clicking on the log in page, it just goes blankety-blank, and states "done" - meaning the page is properly opened. Yeah... every single time and even at different hours - I tried past midnight, early mornings, etc. thinking that perhaps internet traffic was the problem. I also tried at mid morning and afternoon, in case USA or Europe were jamming the lines past midnight / early mornings.

I call the internet service customer service line and was told it was not in service. ##@**!! I called another customer service line and after a looong while, was passed to a representative who gave me the same number of the internet customer service line which was not in service. For the usual (not specifically internet) customer service line, sometimes, no one picks up. Sometimes, it just rings for a while and then hangs up on me.

Earlier troubles - when I wanted to make online payments, I found that my transfer limit was 0. Now, how is that even logically possible? You'd have thought that the limit would be a reasonable QR5k or maybe, put it conservatively, QR1k... but 0? And then they said I had to go all the way to the S.Bank to fill out a form to raise the limit of my transfers. Yes, like they couldn't let me know right from the start when I collected my ATM card.. which, by the way, was another exciting experience of wasted precious time - about 2 hours of it because some people couldn't give me a straight answer... Do these people actually know what they are supposed to be doing? Or are they just sleeping with their eyes open?

Re: my credit card - golly! At first, they couldn't find it. Took them a looooong while.

I have a HSBC account back home and wanted to link it so that I don't have to do so many different transactions when paying my bills, etc. But I was informed that the accounts cant be linked, thus adding to the inconvenience.

"I have better things to do than wasting time in traffic but they do not seem to understand this... They can't mail it to me even though the card is already in my hand... "It's for your own security"... Oh well... The other day I transferred 50,000 dollars overseas and I didn't even have to show my ID... How's that for security??" - Yeah.. I'm seriously wondering about the bank's security. They seem to assume that theft is not going to happen here so, they are very lackadaisical. I think I'd better transfer my money out regularly.

I might change banks ... but CandidCam said that HSBC is not the only problematic one. Sigh!

/I have yet to experience the ATM or Credit Card cancellations but hey.. I've only just started with them. :-O Many more surprises to come, I guess.

I don't remember writing all that ;o) but you've just about describe all my problems with HSBC too!

I moved to Commercial Bank and haven't had a problem since :o)

Did you Google it first?

it's just bunch of idiots showing their never had class to customers!customer care is the worst. i'll never do banking with HSBC!

just dont bother with HSBC. thts the easiest of all. i heard Standard Chartered and Commercial Bank r pretty good. Maybe HSBC Qatar do not have much funds to spare . :)

Yep, my husband recently went to a foreign country on a business trip. He was given only a couple days notice so no time to get local currency in advance. No problem, we thought, that's what ATMs are for. He got to the airport there and went to the ATM to get local currency. Declined... Just then he got a text message from HSBC "Just go to the local HSBC branch" the text said. So, he called me so I could try to sort it out here. Turns out HSBC stopped allowing withdrawals at non-HSBC banks not in Qatar "for security reasons". When you are in a city with NO HSBC ATM it doesn't help for them to tell you that you should just go to the local ATM. We got no notice of this change of policy.

The really annoying part is that it didn't occur to the people I talked to that this would be an inconvenience or impossible. On this business trip, he would have had to take an AIRPLANE to get to the 'nearest' HSBC. After he got back, I went to the bank to talk to them about our upcoming trip to Jordon. No problem, they said, we have lots of ATMs in Amman. Fine, but we aren't going to Amman. Oh, no problem, all you need to do is drive into Amman to use an ATM... Yeah, right.

I'd switch banks but now we have our car loan with them... I don't even want to think about what they would do with that if we took our money and ran.

HSBC is not the worst. I did close my accounts with HSBC and moved to other banks only to encounter some other heartaches... So far, I have dealed with 4 different banks and all are equally disappointing.

I learn if the system works, it works, but if it doesn't, it will be a major pain in the neck to get it fixed, if it ever gets fixed at all. From simple things like collecting your check book, getting a new PIN, unblocking the online-access, to adding beneficiaries for fund transfer; Nothing seems to work in the first time. For examples, I had to go back 3 times to QNB City Center Branch just to collect my cheque book, 4 times to HSBC to get my Online-access activated, 3 times to CBQ to get my PIN, etc.

worst bank in Doha

we still have the accounts back home but hubby's paycheck goes directly into the HSBC here...auughh!!!

Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,the good fortune to run into the ones I do,and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Scarlett, I keep all my credit and ATM cards from several banks in the US. I found to my dismay that having one card/bank doesn't cover all contingencies. My husband has a small account with HSBC and I smugly say, "I told you so" every time he has a problem.

Mandi

yep...sucks big time.

The cancelled my credit card also, without notice...then when hubby called, they said it'd been compromised...okkkk...

Internet banking...have been working since June to transfer money monthy back to the bank in the states. Worked for one month, then in July, someone changed my password..what tha????

Ok so hubby calls..they say he has to go in to do paperwork..he does..account back up and running but, guess what?? Try and transfer money and the amount we can transfer is...tah dah...$0!!!

So, BACK to the bank...more paperwork...hubby leaves for the States..try to transfer...nope...no go again. Hubby returns...does the paperwork again...internet works...again the amount we can transfer is $0!!!

Meanwhile, each month I am having to go to the bank itself, get a clerk to transfer, get told I can do it on line..have to explain that no, I can't due to the inadequacies of their IT department and clerks...But...you are right...they don't even ask for ID to transfer money from your account to another...rather scary...and this is NOT because they recognize me..as it was the first time I had been in this branch!!

Ohh and my new ATM card only works when I am IN Doha..and only if ran UP the card reader...Was in Dubai last May and it wouldn't work at ANY place...

I hate HSBC!!

Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,the good fortune to run into the ones I do,and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Tsk, tsk, yes, a terrible institution here in Qatar.

Mandi

i had the same experience with this ....HSBC here in doha

i had an account in HSBC in lebanon , more over i have STATUS grade there. here i culdnt open an account........it realy a big joke . it s a real BS bank here

BS= ?

HSBC Sucks!

They are HSBC in name only - a bit like a McDonalds franchise of a bank!

Did you Google it first?

STHLM77,

Thanks for sharing your experiences with HSBC Qatar.

As an HSBC UK account holder I was looking forward to an 'easy' transfer or link with the accounts...

Thank God for QLers like yourself posting the nightmare that is HSBC Qatar...

As a follow up (and sorry if this hijacks your thread!) what bank do QLers suggest here in Qatar that is run most like a bank back in Europe?

They call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to see it... --George Carlin