HSBC is closing my accounts

[nodeal]

Not sure why this is happening…

I have 3 checking accounts with them. I get paypal stealth deposits, in mismatched names of course.

The letter states as follows:

We recently reviewed the above-referenced accounts as part of our standard process. We regret to inform you, as a result of this review, HSBC Bank USA, N.A. will be closing your accounts in accordance with the Rules for Deposit Accounts effective 2/26/2014.

What the… ? I thought HSBC worked for stealth? My deposits were very spread out. The deposit amounts were very under the radar… I probably deposited less than $2000 between these 3 accounts over a 4 month period. I can't believe this! I transferred money from these 3 HSBC accounts to my CapitalOne account, and I did so in small increments. I couldn't have transferred money out of my HSBC more than 3 times in the 4 months that I've been doing business with them. The amount of money going in and coming out of these accounts could not have been the issue.

I am going to call them first thing tomorrow. But I am pretty positive they will ask me about the PayPal accounts. Forgive my lack of creativity, but what is a viable excuse for having 3 different checking accounts all receiving PayPal deposits in different names?

Anybody else having difficulties with HSBC, or am I the only lucky son of a gun?!

[slokor]

Heres a story idea - you have nephews and nieces (easy to explain the differing names that way - you have at least 3 sisters remember?) you love very much and those are savings accounts for their benefit. Hence the different names on the deposits - you use paypal to transfer money to their savings accounts.
Hope that helps.

[GreenBean]

FFS, fibbing to a bank backfires.

[nodeal]

Greenie, what is FFS?

I've seen you say HSBC works well. Do you know any possible reasons this may have happened based on the info I gave? Is HSBC tightening their policies?

[GreenBean]

HSBC works for the types of accounts I use.

They are business accounts and the paypal names match. I upped the game there.

[nodeal]

It is incredible they shut down my accounts without a phone call or anything. If you recall I made a previous thread about them requesting employment and income information from me. I thought everything was all good from that point on.

I need to learn it is never all good, with anything.

HSBC has given me too many problems. Even if they offered me a solution, I don't know if I would want to even bank with them anymore from this point on.

Thankfully this board offers a ton of alternative banks to use

[nodeal]

I have a question:

Obviously HSBC will be closing all 3 of my checking accounts.

If I go to a different bank and open 3 new checking accounts at once, will this raise any flags with financial institutions?

[rsot]

@nodeal, did you keep the bank accounts always loaded a bit with cash? Or drained to zero and sometimes, negative with bank fees?

I do a lot of stealth with HSBC - it is among my core operations...like Greenie, I keep things nice and smooth

[nodeal]

Originally Posted by rsot

@nodeal, did you keep the bank accounts always loaded a bit with cash? Or drained to zero and sometimes, negative with bank fees?

I do a lot of stealth with HSBC - it is among my core operations...like Greenie, I keep things nice and smooth

ALWAYS had cash in these accounts. Never neared zero.

The ONLY thing I can imagine is that my stealth names are completely different from my real name. I thought this wasn't an issue for HSBC though.

So now that these accounts are being closed, will this trigger anything bad in the banking Chexsystems that they have?

I originally thought I would just open 3 more accounts with a new bank, but I am paranoid about opening too many accounts now.

[rsot]

I wouldnt open 3 at one time - open one, pop some money in...then space out opening next ones every few weeks.

[nodeal]

Originally Posted by rsot

I wouldnt open 3 at one time - open one, pop some money in...then space out opening next ones every few weeks.

I will keep that time frame in mind, thank you rsot.

But I have already opened 8 bank accounts within the past 5 months, and now 3 of those are being shut down.

I think I am going to stay away from messing with any bank accounts for a little while. I will pursue other cash out methods for the time being.

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by nodeal

I have a question:

Obviously HSBC will be closing all 3 of my checking accounts.

If I go to a different bank and open 3 new checking accounts at once, will this raise any flags with financial institutions?

Ideally what you do now ( or within 2 weeks of HSBC closing the accounts) is get a copy of your credit report.

Check the status as to activity there.

I agree with leaving off making further accounts at the moment.

[Ebayorbust]

Why are you so surprised this happened to you?

The bank was clearly suspicious of your activities and requested information from you which you decided to ignore. They have now reacted to that failure to provide info.

This type of action by banks has happened several times to UK users as well. They would have multiple accounts at the same bank with deposits landing in a variety of names. All of a sudden the bank sends a stern letter informing them that all accounts are being closed with immediate effect.

Someone manually reviewed your accounts and noticed that funds from Paypal were arriving in different names across the three accounts. They asked you to provide information about yourself which you chose to ignore.

We live in a time of "heightened security" and lots of things can be perceived to be a threat. Your account activity would have been perceived as money laundering or worse, some sort of terrorist funding.

The above is just a theory of course, as the banks will never disclose the actual reason for closing the accounts.

[nodeal]

Originally Posted by Ebayorbust

Why are you so surprised this happened to you?

The bank was clearly suspicious of your activities and requested information from you which you decided to ignore. They have now reacted to that failure to provide info.

Someone manually reviewed your accounts and noticed that funds from Paypal were arriving in different names across the three accounts. They asked you to provide information about yourself which you chose to ignore.

I never ignored any request for information.

They did indeed request information about my employment and source/size of income, but I responded to that request with a phone call. I was truthful with my replies.

They barely asked me about my PayPal deposits during that conversation. All they asked was if I expect to get frequent deposits from PayPal, to which I responded, "Yes. Here and there."

No foreseen problems after that conversation. The conversation took place February 4. The notice of account closures I received in the mail is dated February 6.

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by nodeal

No foreseen problems after that conversation. The conversation took place February 4. The notice of account closures I received in the mail is dated February 6.

If you had mentioned that in the first post, I would have told you your accounts were marked. (Shall look up the thread you mentioned too)

Go back to that converstaion.

Do you recall who made contact? How did they ID themselves?

[oompaloompa]

Originally Posted by nodeal

Greenie, what is FFS?

hehe, it's a bank
quote of the week....

[nodeal]

Originally Posted by Greenie

If you had mentioned that in the first post, I would have told you your accounts were marked. (Shall look up the thread you mentioned too)

Go back to that converstaion.

Do you recall who made contact? How did they ID themselves?

Here is thread in case you have not gotten a chance to look:

http://www.aspkin.com/forums/subscri...tice-hsbc.html

I recall talking with an HSBC representative, not from any specific department. They did not identify themselves as anyone of particular importance, nor did they state they were from any particular department. The number to call on the notice I received February 4 requesting information was not a number to a specific department, either (from what I remember). I'm quite sure it was HSBC's regular customer service number.

[rsot]

You should speak to your account manager and clear this up - first crucial step

[nodeal]

Originally Posted by rsot

You should speak to your account manager and clear this up - first crucial step

Yes this is true. I called the number on the notice they gave me, but they were of zero help. They said it's not done on their end, it's decided by a different department and they do not give a reason. There is nothing she can do.

I knew that was the answer I was going to get.

No matter, I will be going to a branch in person just to see if at the very least I can get more information on why this happened. I will update this thread on Monday when I go to my local HSBC branch.

[mercurial333]

^ They don't need a reason.

High amounts and lots of accounts will always get reviewed sooner or later.

Move on to other banks..

[MM78]

You shouldn't try and open all 3 accounts at once!

Open 1, wait a few weeks...then open another....repeat.

[slapped]

I have used HSBC for YEARS,,,Your problem cam from 3 HSBC Accounts ALL Getting money From Paypal,,,and THEN Transferring the Money to CAPITOL ONE,,,That STINKS of Money Laundering,,,I Bet NOTHING would have happened if you Did NOT transfer to Capitol One and Simply Used the Money Via a Check, or Debit card,,It is what I do and I NEVER Had an issue in nearly 5 Years