HSBC/Sam Ash Credit Card rant

kjpollo · #1 06-26-2009, 12:17 PM

I'm so ticked at HSBC Bank, I cannot stand it!!

I got a Sam Ash credit card from them back in late 2007. I used it to buy my ESP bass under a "no interest, no payments for 18 months" promotion. I finished paying off the bass back in February of this year and I havent used the card since then because I havent made any major purchases.

Well, a couple of days ago, I get a letter telling me my line of credit was reduced to $0.00!!!
I called the bank and asked them why my account was closed. Well, the first "customer service" reject tells me, "your card wasnt closed"

Yeah, I know technically the account wasnt closed, but tell me this-how on Earth can you use a card with a ZERO dollar limit?

Well, that dipstick switched me to a supervisor. This person was a little more with it and contacted their credit dept. She comes back on the line and tells me the card was cancelled for inactivity.
I couldnt believe it! "Inactivity"!!
I told her I felt I was being discriminated against because they made no money on me. I only made the one purchase and paid it off before I would have been charged interest. It was very convenient of them to close the account just when the interest-free period would have expire. I guarantee that if I still owed them anything, they would have been sure to keep the account open as long as possible to rake in the interest from me.

I said it was extremely unfair to cancel the card-I was never late with a payment and they did not have to make any collection activity whatsoever. They were paid as agreed and I did nothing wrong with the account. I asked if the account could have a usable limit put back in place and she said no, I would have to re-apply. Yeah, like THATS going to happen!

Then she tells me she understands my frustration and hopes I would consider HSBC again in the future. I told her not to hold her breath on that count.

This will cause Sam Ash to lose business from me if and when I'm in the market for another major purchase. I'll continue to buy strings and minor things like that from them because they are literally the closest music store to my house but I'll look elsewhere when I'm doing something big.

HSBC-I'm NOT a fan

Pilgrim · #2 06-26-2009, 12:19 PM

Unfortunately - get used to it. In today's economy, if you're not using a card you are not a desirable customer. Cards are getting canceled for inactivity, and some are banks are raising interest on seldom-used cards because they're not making enough money on them. That's true even if you use it and pay it off - because that means they don't make money!

Increased regulation on credit card practices and interest can't come fast enough.

TheVoiceless · #3 06-26-2009, 01:51 PM

Think of it this way. Your a bank. You have X amount of dollars to loan out. Some guy has $1000 worth of your credit, meaning you are holding onto the $1000 so he can use it. But he is not using it. So A) collecting no interest B) someone else could use that money. Its your own fault. Don't be so mad at them for that. They do many other things that are worth getting upset about.

kjpollo · #4 06-26-2009, 05:09 PM

Oh dont get me wrong, I FULLY understand how the credit markets work. Your example was a little simplistic yet not completely off base (no pun intended).
However, if EVERY bank did this with EVERY credit card that was inactive for a few months, that would be a very bad thing for the overall economy.

However, they WILL now lose possible income from me because if I DO decide to buy a new amp rig on credit, it will go on a different credit card and HSBC has cut themselves out of the loop.
PLUS I will not consider HSBC for any other lending purposes and I will definitely need to replace my car this year.

Should I be this upset about it? Probably not. In some ways the best thing I could probably do to them would be to wait for the next similar promotion at Sam Ash, open another account and once again pay it in full before the interest-free period expires.
Sort of beat them at their own game. Though I would think at some point, they'd probably stop approving me.

xgator4u · #5 06-26-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjpollo

This will cause Sam Ash to lose business from me if and when I'm in the market for another major purchase. I'll continue to buy strings and minor things like that from them because they are literally the closest music store to my house but I'll look elsewhere when I'm doing something big.

So where are you going to take your business ? Guitard Center?... Please. I prefer Sam Ash, and although the bank is IMO a$$hats for doing this, Sam Ash didn't do it to you.

SpamBot · #6 06-26-2009, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xgator4u

So where are you going to take your business ? Guitard Center?... Please. I prefer Sam Ash, and although the bank is IMO a$$hats for doing this, Sam Ash didn't do it to you.

Pfft. Go to a real store, not some big-box s***hole. I know in the cities we have Willie's and Twin Town, you must have some non-chain shops around.

kjpollo · #7 06-26-2009, 06:20 PM

Yeah, there are a few local stores that I would go to that arent that far away.
And I also realize that HSBC is not Sam Ash and I probably was still a bit too angry when I started this thread.

I wonder if they would've still closed the account if I used it every month for something minor like a bass stand or a pack of picks or strings and paid the small balance every month.
At least they couldnt have hidden behind the bogus reason of "inactivity"

8guy · #8 06-26-2009, 06:28 PM

I work at one of those big box Office supply stores, and HSBC was the credit card provider. HSBC said one day were not going to back you anymore and boom no more credit card for this big chain store for a while!!!

kjpollo · #9 06-26-2009, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 8guy

I work at one of those big box Office supply stores, and HSBC was the credit card provider. HSBC said one day were not going to back you anymore and boom no more credit card for this big chain store for a while!!!

So HSBC is REALLY popular around your employer I guess?

xgator4u · #10 06-26-2009, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpamBot

Pfft. Go to a real store, not some big-box s***hole. I know in the cities we have Willie's and Twin Town, you must have some non-chain shops around.

O.K. SURE, I "could" go to a real store, that has like 200 pianos, 50 sets of drums, 150 guitars, and 3 basses, all of which are over priced. But no, silly me, I will try a plan that works.

tplyons · #11 06-26-2009, 09:59 PM

Sorry to hear, but:

a) Those cards are a rip-off anyway. If you can pay them off in time, you're fine. If not, interest compounds from the date of the sale.
b) Store cards have more potential to hurt your credit score anyway.
c) Any other card will give you 30 days to pay without interest... that just means you need a few more weeks of saving before you purchase.

kjpollo · #12 06-26-2009, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tplyons

Sorry to hear, but:

a) Those cards are a rip-off anyway. If you can pay them off in time, you're fine. If not, interest compounds from the date of the sale.
b) Store cards have more potential to hurt your credit score anyway.
c) Any other card will give you 30 days to pay without interest... that just means you need a few more weeks of saving before you purchase.

A few more weeks of saving? Not in this case. I bought the bass 12/07 and I didnt start paying on the balance until at least April or May of 08 and I paid the account off in February of 09. I used 14 of the 18 months of zero interest here.
I'd never have been able to save the $$ over that period of time. Heck, I couldnt even accumulate $300 in 3 months to complete a deal for an amp rig.

Buogon · #13 06-27-2009, 08:23 PM

All credit cards are rip-offs ,they are at war with it's customers, my business card were dropped for no reason.

bassguppy · #14 06-28-2009, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjpollo

This will cause Sam Ash to lose business from me if and when I'm in the market for another major purchase. I'll continue to buy strings and minor things like that from them because they are literally the closest music store to my house but I'll look elsewhere when I'm doing something big.

HSBC-I'm NOT a fan

This has much less to do with Sam Ash than the one who issued the credit card. HSBC is the one who changed the rules with the economy faltering. They felt a need to maintain as much profit as they could and by denying you access to the "potential" use of that credit they are limiting their liability.

I have average credit and 2 of my CC's lowered my limit so this is happening to everyone.

and it sucks.

Spector_Ray · #15 06-28-2009, 11:13 AM

The problem I see with CC companies and the OP's post is that they tend to do things without any warning at all. It would have been nice to get a letter stating that if there is no activity on the account by such and such date, it would be closed.

The last credit card I applied for was a Wachovia card with a 14% rate, not an introductory rate mind you. After having that card for about 8 months with no more than a $500 balance(I kept a balance to help improve my credit) the APR jumped to 21%. When I called them to ask what was up, they told me that they reserved the right to increase the rate at any time. There was never any mention of that in the application I filled out. I paid the card off, closed the account and told them to shove it.

cassanova · #16 06-29-2009, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xgator4u

So where are you going to take your business ? Guitard Center?... Please. I prefer Sam Ash, and although the bank is IMO a$$hats for doing this, Sam Ash didn't do it to you.

Please, every Sam Ash I've ever been in had douche bag employees that wouldn't know crap from crisco. Their prices are comparable if not identical to every other major retailer as well. So it's not like you're getting a great deal either.

I'd rather go to a smaller store and have to pay a little more than I would than if I went to Scam Cash. IMO/IME the smaller shops usually have a more knowledgeable staff that is more inclined to actually help accommodate your wants than places like Sam Ash and Guitar Center.

Bass Central instantly comes to my mind. The times I've been in there the staff is very informed on the products they carry, and even ones they don't, very courteous, encouraged me to play everything, including stuff I told them I had no intention on buying, they did not try pressure me into trying to buy a single item in the store either.

I have never, not so much as a single time experienced any of that in a Sam Ash or even a GC. As soon as I walk in the guitar department at those places I have sales reps up my ass, I ask them questions and most of them are uninformed, and once they know you're not going to purchase something and just browsing they blow you off and forget you ever exist, and do not encourage you to try anything, its like you're wasting their time. When I worked in retail music at Thoroughbred Music I never blew off anyone even if I knew they weren't buying anything because you never know when they'll be back wanting to buy something.

I will give GC a bit more kudos than Sam Ashhole though, because I told the rep there that I was gonna be a while when I was testing basses and I never saw him again after that. I took the bass I wanted to the checkout counter and had them ring it up. It went pretty smooth as far as that all went, but the staff was pretty uninformed when it came to product knowledge.

tplyons · #17 06-29-2009, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spector_Ray

The problem I see with CC companies and the OP's post is that they tend to do things without any warning at all. It would have been nice to get a letter stating that if there is no activity on the account by such and such date, it would be closed.

The last credit card I applied for was a Wachovia card with a 14% rate, not an introductory rate mind you. After having that card for about 8 months with no more than a $500 balance(I kept a balance to help improve my credit) the APR jumped to 21%. When I called them to ask what was up, they told me that they reserved the right to increase the rate at any time. There was never any mention of that in the application I filled out. I paid the card off, closed the account and told them to shove it.

Yeah, I got that spike as well... doubled the rate on my Bank of America card without telling me.

Still a better rate than my Citibank card though.

Sort of indifferent though, I seldom carry a balance anyway.

Snakeman1066 · #18 06-29-2009, 11:53 PM

Thats nothing...how about this

credit card with a 500.00 dollar limit....carrying a 250.00 dollar balance they raise the rate from 12% to 22% one month and then slash the limit to 200.00 and then charge 40.00 for being over your limit the next month...thank you Capitol One

all that and no lubrication!

Funny HSBC just raised my limit and lowered my % rate....go figure

Unrepresented · #19 06-30-2009, 12:48 AM

Yeah, I've been actively trying to reduce credit card debt for the last year or so. I've made some pretty good headway, and the fact that they're raising my interest rates on cards that've always been paid on time, over the minimum payment, and have a good chunk of room left on them only made me want to redouble my efforts to never give these companies more than what I owe them.

Credit cards are going to ruin themselves with all the people they're angering.

Bob Lee (QSC) · #20 06-30-2009, 09:44 AM

My Sam Ash credit card was cancelled a year or two ago for inactivity. (Then again, so was my GC card.) Well, I didn't need anything new for a while other than strings and a couple other little items.

I haven't gotten a new Sam Ash card, but since GC allows you to apply online, I got a new GC card. I think GC uses HSBC also.