Keep us posted on any improvements in regards to house damage and HSBC and hope you get back on track soon.

Are you aware that the CAB was recently one of the sternest critics of the HSBC methods you describe? If not perhaps you could reconsider a visit.

PEACE OF MIND

I hate with a vengeance being treated inappropriately by institutions. On occasions when I am, I won’t rest until I’ve done my best to redress the balance. I normally get there, sometimes with much expenditure of intellectual effort, or near enough. BUT whether or not I get there is secondary to me being satisfied with me that I have done my best. Then I have peace of mind and can move on.

PEACE OF MIND 4U

Perhaps this posting will help a little towards peace of mind for you. Maybe if you see the CAB they will be able to help you with a strategy to achieve peace of mind in the matter of HSBC. Maybe you kick yourself for past business decisions and you can look at them and say ‘I took a calculated risk’ which on this occasion didn’t work out. All businessmen make mistakes including the saintly Sir Alan (cb radios) Sugar, Sir Richard (underwear) Branson and Philip (when he didn’t get M&S – ‘Bhs is going to trade its socks off’ when Sir Stuart Rose actually did that and PG faltered, imagine how PG felt) Green.

Channel the tears and the fury through to a productive end and er… kick some butt!

Happy New Year minniemo!

Yes happy because as I said you're not alone on this forum. 2008 will be better. There will be a lull before everyone comes back on line but I would refresh this post next week. There simply has to be a way to make things better than they seem.......

Paul

Hi

I spent two weeks cleaning every skirtingboard, light switch and wall and door in the house. The carpets were ruined with dog pee. He never returned any internal door/cabinet keys and all sets of outdoor keys. Mould was walking across the ceilings from the outside wall, double-glazed windows were full of mould - presumably from lack of ventilation. He had dismantled bits from the shed, and internal furniture - for whatever reason. I left beds which fortunately had not been used but he dismantled them and did not return any fittings. He had been doing up bikes in the kitchen leaving oil and grease everywhere. The kitchen oven was blackened and infact the kitchen was uninhabitable etc. etc. I kept his bond money of £575 but is was only a 5th of what I actually spent to replace/repair what he had done. This also included arranging for a skip load of rubbish to be removed from the garden.

I took loads of pictures but the house was in North Yorkshire, I was in Bedfordshire and Solicitors cost money - perhaps I would have qualified for some sort of legal aid, but I just wanted the nightmare to go away. The house was in left in good order and is now sold. The tenant would not leave a forwarding address, although I know where he works. My insurance wasn't interested. It was the least of my problems at the time. Perhaps I will see if I can still claim something back in the New Year is there is a window of opportunity!!

Thanks for that,

Thanks for your reply, I am whallowing in self-pity so keep the sympathy coming.

Citizen's Advice is great when you work local to where you live, but I work 2 hours drive away. CAB's only see you locally and have you ever tried to speak to them on the phone with their set times etc. I did try but I gave up, especially when you are trying to do it in work time standing in the stairwell. I went to a debt management company, who were a breath of fresh air, but HSBC did not recognise them as a government nominated company and therefore just would not deal with them.

You are right, the damage is done and starting over seems daunting to say the least and then there is the question of whether it is at all possible.

Happy New Year.

How badly wrecked was the property when the tenant left? Did you take pictures of the damage caused. If it was badly damged it may be worth speaking to a solicitor. I doubt you would recieve sums from the knock on effect it has caused but might give enough to help you back on your feet.

It is really unfortunate what has happened to you, based on what I know in general unfortunately companies have a set procedure and sure in the terms and conditions a 6 month break in financial commitments wouldnt be on there.

I work for a loan company and there are no payment breaks at the company I work for. If someone gets into financial difficulty best the company may do is advise the customer how to manage their money to make repayments in the collections department.

Thing is and I may be wrong in this, due to people having their debt written off through not paying back the loan company can lose a lot of money. Payment breaks would likely increase the chance of the company not recuperating funds left over owing as it buys the borrower time to go bankrupt or into debt management methods that the lender cannot recuperate their loss.

Sure a payment break will help some to pay back but majority scenario likely to be long term unemployment and owing other debtors too much, wouldnt be good for business.

It would be great for a bank to be more flexible knowing the situation but unfortunately contracts terms are kept tight to prevent abuse of the system.

Have you been to the citizen advise bureau during all this I agree with paul it would be best place to check with. I feel for you but being honest I think it may be a case of the damage has been done and its a case of starting over.

Sheer bloody madness!

Oh minniemo my sincerest sympathies for the sheer agony you've endured. I'm sure that over the nest few days more expert opinion then mine will come to you via the forum so PLEASE hang in there for a short while.

At this time, New Years Eve there's not much you can do but I would recomend, until more advice comes, keeping the logical course of paperwork, as you have and get some free advice Citizens Advice would be a good start. At the moment there may seem no end, no clearance but with professional help on board they will be able to give you honest and practical advice. 2008 starts tomorrow and if you get help 2008 will see you beat this!

Hang in there!

Paul

ONE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS IS AIRING HER VIEWS As you know you have recently taken money out of one loan and put a payment into the other, causing one loan to be overpaid and one to be underpaid. You have done this even though I have brought my accounts up-to-date. I think you did this just to harass me again for the sheer hell of it. I despair with the HSBC and I despair with life. Just to remind the HSBC BANK, that if you had of helped me back in January this year (and I was only asking for a 6 month break in financial commitments), I would not have been paying £800 for a house that was empty whilst waiting to sell it – I could have re-rented it. It was not my fault that the tenant wrecked it and I was unable to put the house on the market for 3 months until it was put in order. It was not my fault that my Mother fell ill and in Sept 2006 subsequently died – please forgive me for allowing myself time to grieve and taking time off of work. It was not my fault that my car was towed away to the scrap heap at a crucial time for my business. It was not my fault that after 8 weeks work on an illustration project the £7,000 I was due to receive was not forthcoming because the commissioner did not secure the funding before the start of the project – but it was my stupid fault that I didn’t sign any contract. It was not my fault that one of two fayres I had booked for my business was a total disaster, followed by the cancellation of the second fayre by the organisers, leaving me with Christmas stock I was unable to sell. It was not my fault that even after doing a degree to better myself in life, without work experience it has been near impossible to get work in that field and then to be told by employment agencies that I was not capable of working back in an office because I hadn’t actually worked for 2 years and all they could offer me was £5.50-£6.50 ph temping. Upon reflection, all I got from university was a piece of paper with a 2:1 on it and a bucket load of debt. But, of course, when I did get some temp work, because I wasn’t renting out my house, I was paying two mortgages and I could barely afford to pay one and I had to keep it on the market and try and sell it because that was my only option because my bank would not help me with some breathing space. So - that ran up a debt of another £8,000. Then when I finally got a work contract, HSBC continued to constantly harass me to the point of feeling suicidal. Even saying if I wanted to commit suicide that was up to me. HSBC also took money from my accounts that were empty, ignored my debt management company, ignored the small payments they were getting, took payments twice a month from my bank account in order to be able to charge me double charges and then add interest. HSBC also printed misinformation to my credit file, saying that I refused to speak to anybody – believe me there were a number of phone calls that I am sure your staff would like to forget. HSBC also called me during the day on both my home phone and my mobile chasing me for money, have you ever been in a new job where you are on probation but you can’t work because you are being constantly harassed? HSBC also sent me letters and despite me calling you and telling you that that there will be no money until the house is sold, you still continued to send them. Then you had the audacity to send me a letter about ‘getting into financial difficult’ and a booklet telling me where I could get help, also saying that I should let you know if I was in financial difficulty as you may be able to help me WHAT! I turned up to the bank originally with a bag of paperwork to explain and show how I got into financial difficulty and NOBODY WOULD HELP ME. Of course the nail in the coffin was the HSBC credit card who, after 3 months, ‘defaulted’ my card and it went to METROPOLITAN. This of course means that I will not be able to own my own home again and at the age of 47 I’m finished. Metropolitan received almost the full amount - less 10%, which they happily accepted as soon as my house was sold – but HSBC was just not prepared to wait. I have ended up in 1 room in my Father’s flat, paying £193 per month for storage of my belonging and business stock in the Secure Store. Of course I cannot run my business because I do not have the space and therefore come April this will be closed. In summary, I have lost my business and two homes just because I could not get help for 6 months. Let’s see how simple it could have been. You put 6 month payments on the end of my loans. Or help me in some way by accepting small payment to the loans and credit card. I WAS actually in employment by July – so I could have re-rented my house and everything would have been salvable. I could then have re-mortgaged my house and paid back any arrears, bring accounts up to date etc. I would still have my two properties and have the space to be running my business whilst at the same time being in employment. So, does the caring bank treat all their customers like me, or was I singled out for special treatement?