I have been a customer of the HSBC for the past about 15 years. Recently, for reasons of convenience, I decided to close my Savings Account with the Bank’s NDSE Branch at New Delhi and presented an application to that effect in the said Branch, in person, on 4.10.08 requesting for the closure of the account and payment of the balance at my credit in cash or through pay order. Mr. Ashvani Jain, Asstt. Manager, Platform services processed my application and assured me that I would get the pay order within 4-8 days (although in most banks such settlement is made on the spot across the counter). I could not guess that I was headed for a long and tortuous wait. After waiting for 12 days, I sent a reminder to the Branch Manager requesting him to expedite my payment. I also sent an e-mail to the Bank’s grievance redress portal @ info@hsbc.co.in on 23rd October’08.
But it looks as if there is a conspiratorial silence. I sent a second reminder to the Branch Manager on 30.10.08. After the inaction and silence continued, I felt frustrated enough to write to the Branch Manager on 7.11.08 that this, to me, appeared to be a serious breach of banking rules and if I did not receive the payment within 3 days, I would have no alternative but to approach the Consumer Forum or any other appropriate redressal forum. But, to all appearances, the Bank is thick-skinned enough to continue to sit on my money without any kind of response.
To my knowledge this is a first case of its kind of a bank refusing to pay the customer’s own deposit. I think, this behaviour of the Bank needs to be in public knowledge.