HSBC...I am still fuming

teyhan1

Well-Known Member
Last weekend I bought a .222 rifle.
Being me I decided to have a tinker with the trigger as it was a little heavy. I found it to be not capable of reducing to less than 4-5lbs. I also found that I was having difficulty in cycling the rounds from the magazine as they were fouling at the beginning of the chamber. Not a very good start.
So I emailed the manufacturer and they replied quickly and they soon offered a new improved trigger unit and a new magazine delivered to my door for 110 euro.
So all was rosy, an invoice was issued and duly paid via internet transfer direct to their bank. Or so I thought

This morning HSBC call me and after going through security begin to question me about my transaction.

What was the 110 euro for?
A rifle magazine, I say.
Oh, a subscription service you mean?
No, it a magazine to hold bullets in a rifle.
Oh.
And what do you intend to do with it?
Put bullets in it and shoot my gun.
And what do you intend to shoot with your gun?
That is none of your bloody business.
Well I need to ask you sir.
I have already told you it is none of your business what I do with my stuff. I don't phone you up and ask you where you are going tonight and if you are going to be driving your car and where you are going.
Well, it is in our conditions that we can ask you.
Ask all you want, I'm not going to answer and quite frankly I find your questioning out of order.
Well I will have to forward your complaint to our team who will then phone you.
Fine I say.
Please hold the line one moment sir

Hello Mr Church. I need to ask you a couple more questions.
Ok
Can you tell me what you are going to use the gun for?
Yes, I say. I am an assassin. I use my gun in my daily work and therefore really need this part ( yes, I really said that). Look what do you want me to say. I have told you I am not going to tell you.
Can you tell me if the part you are ordering is a restricted part and subject to any ICTAR (or whatever it is) regulations?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I am a law abiding firearms certificate holder. I can give you my certificate number if you like and you can phone the firearms licensing dept and ask if them if I am legitimate but I am not going to tell you what I am doing with my own stuff.
Ok sir I will forward your complaint.
Before you go, I would like to ask what legislation there is saying I have to give you this information.
That I don't know sir, I will once again ask the complaints team to look in to it. They will respond within 6 days and you should have a resolution within 6-8 weeks.
Ok, so bearing in mind that I have legally ordered these parts and I earn money from my shooting activities can you tell me if the bank is going to re-imburse me for the lost revenue in the next 6-8 weeks?
Silence.
I think you better get your team to call me as soon as you can. Goodbye.


Who the bloody hell do they think they are.
HSBC a bunch of *ankers
 
Good choice of calibre! Unfortunately being asked invasive/personal questions about what most would consider private matters by phone seems common.I now tell anyone who requests info by phone to put it in writing as owing to my age/hearing I need to study and consider before I reply,generally that is an end of the matter.
 
When I went to withdraw a grand in cash, I was asked what it was to be used for, under money laundering rules. It seems that 'lots of alcohol' isn't an acceptable answer, but that's the only one they got, so it had to go down on their form....
 
I am strangely surprised that you only said you were an assassin. I thought you would have made more of it. You must be mellowing with age. Snigger.
but aside from that....... I would be livid if I received that call.
 
I am strangely surprised that you only said you were an assassin. I thought you would have made more of it. You must be mellowing with age. Snigger.
but aside from that....... I would be livid if I received that call.


Perhaps when I get the next phone call I'll take on the persona of a Tailliban sleeper cell planning a hit on Donald Trump next time he visits Scotland.
For gods sake, if they really thought I was about to do something illegal do they really believe that I'd be dumb enough to admit it, to a Bank Clerk.
Come to think of it---don't answer that question, it was rhetorical.
 
This sort of thing seems to be happening all the time ,its your money in the bank if you want £500 or £5,000 you should be allowed to have it when ever you want it , best place is to keep it all in cash in your ammo safe and do what you want when you want, what a nanny state we live in
 
I have never heard of this before, definitely a genuine call from the bank?
Probably me just being overly suspicious.
Cheers
Richard
 
You need to bank with someone else asap?


This may be the first illustration of how this country has now slipped into or beyond the old East German mindset, illustrated by the latest secretive, devastating incursion into the security and freedoms we previously had?
The representative from GCHQ on the TV last night had a job to keep a straight face under the mildest of questioning?
 
The conversation should have stopped with the words, "yes a magazine subscription"
Your right they don't need to know, and shouldn't ask, it's your money to spend on whatever you want, that
said taking the course of least said soonest mended would have been wise, particularly as you would by now
have had time to find a new banking service, and still have your new parts on their way to you.

Neil. :)
 
I left HSBC some years ago as they printed both my debit cards with the same number and refused to admit they had made a mistake until I showed them both debit cards for my personal and business accounts.

I would move banks, however telling them that you are an assassin was probably not a wise thing to do in my opinion, even if it was in a joking fashion.
 
Funnily enough I use HSBC to send payment to Wiederleden Alzy for bullets......never had a problem....probably because they don't know what the German is for "reloading" or what "reloading" actually entails!

Spookily too I used it to place a deposit with a certain "Sikamalc" for a shooting trip! That went through unchallenged!
 
When I went to withdraw a grand in cash, I was asked what it was to be used for, under money laundering rules. It seems that 'lots of alcohol' isn't an acceptable answer, but that's the only one they got, so it had to go down on their form....

I tell them I have a shipment of drugs arriving , laughing as I say it, they dont ask anymore !
 
I was recently barred from PayPal for buying bullets for reloading. Apparently it was against their terms and conditions and I have no right of appeal.

it seems increasingly the case that it doesn't matter whether it is your money and that you are doing nothing illegal; they (banks, PayPal, whoever) are providing a service and can set whatever conditions they like. Not really sure what can be done...
 
I was recently barred from PayPal for buying bullets for reloading. Apparently it was against their terms and conditions and I have no right of appeal.

it seems increasingly the case that it doesn't matter whether it is your money and that you are doing nothing illegal; they (banks, PayPal, whoever) are providing a service and can set whatever conditions they like. Not really sure what can be done...

Do our American cousins use PayPal?
If so can they send bullets?
If no then little that can be done apart from not use it in any form.
However if they can, then we have a platform from where to start by asking our friends across the pond if they could boycott PayPal and let PayPal know why. After all the NRA across there is huge.
Also let the arms and munition manufacturers know the issue to see what can be done from their perspective.

We are a global society and it's time we started to influence things globally.

Same with banks - if they are operating in America then they should be boycotted there to let them know what they do in one place affects them elsewhere.
 
Just had a read through PayPal T+C's...


  1. violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation.
  2. relate to transactions involving (a) narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety, (b) drug paraphernalia, (c) cigarettes, (d) items that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity, (e) stolen goods including digital and virtual goods, (f) the promotion of hate, violence, racial intolerance or the financial exploitation of a crime, (g) items that are considered obscene, (h) items that infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy or any other proprietary right under the laws of any jurisdiction, (i) certain sexually oriented materials or services, (j) ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories, or (k) certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law.
  3. relate to transactions that (a) show the personal information of third parties in violation of applicable law, (b) support pyramid or ponzi schemes, matrix programs, other "get rich quick" schemes or certain multi-level marketing programs, (c) are associated with purchases of annuities or lottery contracts, lay-away systems, off-shore banking or transactions to finance or refinance debts funded by a credit card, (d) are for the sale of certain items before the seller has control or possession of the item, (e) are by payment processors to collect payments on behalf of merchants, (f) are associated with the sale of traveler's cheques or money orders, (h) involve currency exchanges or cheque cashing businesses, (i) involve certain credit repair, debt settlement services, credit transactions or insurance activities, or (k) involve offering or receiving payments for the purpose of bribery or corruption.
  4. involve the sales of products or services identified by government agencies to have a high likelihood of being fraudulent

Pretty far ranging!
 
Eddie hi mate, loads of american sites use paypal,knives guns ammo etc and you only have to go on ebay to see all the drug related crap you can buy with paypal,:cool:
 
.... (j) ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories,......

Funnily enough I have dealt with Diamond K Brass in the States, who specialises in selling new and once fired cases. You can pay by PayPal no problem!

"certain" is pretty ambiguous.
 
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