HSBC Orchard Bank Complaint - Sneaky And Dishonest Customer Service - Orchard Bank Platinum Mastercard

Posted by Suusan B. on 2007-11-12:

So a couple of weeks ago you got a $100 credit line increase bringing your total limit to $400 to support a balance of $395 and based on the fact you were at 14% APR you felt that $5.00 was enough to cover your interest charges at that rate and you wouldn't go over your credit limit? Wow. Something tells me there is a lot more to this story - - and no matter your financial status, you are obviously running this account way to close to it's limit.

Posted by KKT on 2007-11-14:

To Suusan B. (11/12/2007). You must be an Orchard Bank Manager explaining your response. I think you need to go back and CAREFULLY READ my entire review, not just part of it to understand my complaint. In addition, maybe you need to read all the other complaints on this website against Orchard Bank. I find it interesting that everyone has similar complaints against Orchard Bank and none of us know each other. No, there is nothing more to this story than what I stated in my email response. I have told the truth. The whole point of my response was to show that Orchard Bank is deceptive and does not communicate properly with customers. I maintain that Orchard Bank is sneaky and dishonest as I found out Mon. Nov.12, 2007 that the 29% rate was implemented on Oct 9, 2007, the day BEFORE I was given the credit limit increase on Oct 10, 2007. The Ochard Bank customer service Manager that I spoke with on Oct 10th repeatedly assured me that I was still at the 14% apr never mentioning that my apr was changed as did every customer service rep I spoke with until Monday Nov. 12, 2007. This has nothing to do with being close to my credit limit and everything to do with Orchard Bank's deceptive practices. So, I stand firm in my original statement. I have no remorse as I did nothing wrong. They had no reason to put me at that rate as I was a good customer so I am not sorry for writing this review. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that $10 IS NOT 14% of $395. That is what prompted me to inquire as to why my finance charge was so high for this month. That is how I found out I was at a 29% rate. I stand firm on my complaint against Orchard Bank.

Posted by jktshff1 on 2007-11-14:

KKT, I gotta agree with Suusan B....you don't need a credit card.
Cut it up. These companies are all ripoffs

Posted by Mario The Great on 2007-11-20:

You said "YOUR OTHER CREDIT CARD" That almost made me laugh. Orchard Bank is for people with little, no or bad credit. I'm betting that YOUR OTHER CREDIT CARD is Capital One, First Premier, Applied Bank, etc. All of these cards are for bad credit, 2nd chance, etc. lol...My other card... I HAVE the Orchard Bank Card and Capital One. lol..It's an emergency credit card. Nothing else, nothing more. Pay the bill, lower your balance and get over it. You're lucky to have a credit card at all. lol...Sorry for the sarcasm guys.

Posted by KKT on 2007-11-21:

I could care less about the sarcasm from "Mario The Great" or others. I stand firm that what Orchard Bank did to me was wrong, deceptive and illegal. It does not matter about my credit rating, etc. I still deserve to be treated respectfully and fairly. I have enough confidence in myself as a person to know that what happened to me was unjust and unfair. No, I will not "get over it" as I am a smart, not a stupid person. Perhaps, you need to "really read" my review carefully. Then you will realize that this had nothing to do with a bad/good credit rating. This could have happened to a person with a 5 or 10 thousand dollar credit rating that was never late. I specifically stated, if you read carefully, that Orchard Bank did not follow their terms of agreement. To imply that I am stupid is an insult to my intelligence. I choose to forgive you anyway "Mario The Great" as I cannot control another person's bad attitude.

Posted by jktshff1 on 2007-11-21:

KKT: If you are on "state aid" the last thing you need is a credit card. You may be intelligent, not stupid, but you apparently have no fiscal responsibility nor the means to deal with it.
I read your review over several times. It is you that either do not understand your terms or have not read them.

Posted by kcmookie on 2008-01-07:

Let me see, you ran your balance up to $395 when your cc had a limit of $300, then called in and had the credit line bumped to $400? By going over your credit limit you were then bumped into the default rate. I think this is the rest of the story we are missing. I have been rebuilding my credit and currently have an Orchard account, by rebuilding my credit I work hard to manage my accounts and make good decisions. If this was to happen to me, I would take my business elsewhere. If nobody else is willing to give you open terms, maybe there is a reason for that. I agree, you hsould not have a cc.

Posted by KKT on 2008-01-08:

To kcmookie....Apparently you did not read any of my previous comments. I DID NOT RUN MY BALANCE UP TO $395 BEFORE I HAD MY INCREASE TO $400. That is not what happened. You need to go back and read all the comments I posted. Initially when my account was opened over a year ago, I WAS NOT CHARGED AN ENROLLMENT FEE. Furthermore, I was never informed in writing or verbally that I was ever going to be charged an enrollment fee. With that in mind, I DID NOT GO OVER MY $300 LIMIT. However, as I checked to see my account online a few days after making my OCT 2007 payment ON TIME, I was baffled as to why I had a huge charge that put me over $300 as I paid ON TIME AND DID NOT GO OVER MY CREDIT LIMIT. I then contacted a very rude Orchard Bank Rep who informed me that it was the enrollment fee that put me over the limit. I then spoke to a supervisor who advised me that I was informed of the enrollment fee on my previous statement. I found that statement that DID NOT INFORM ME THAT I WAS TO EVER BE CHARGED AN ENROLLMENT FEE. On Oct 10, 2006, this same supervisor went over my account telling me I am a good customer and that I would qualify for a $100 credit line increase to $400. This same supervisor on OCT 10, 2006 went over every detail of my account telling me that I am still at the 14.9% APR rate with available credit as well. I called Orchard Bank Reps on 4 different occasions after OCT 10th and was told every time that my account was fine at the 14.9% rate. The last customer service rep. I spoke with in OCT 2006 told me that I would be just fine as long as I had $5 to cover my finance charges at the 14.9% rate. So when I checked my account balance online, I was baffled as to why I was charged a $10.91 finance charge on $395. I called Orchard Bank only to be told that my APR jumped to 29.9% on OCT 9, 2006. I asked the Supervisor why the Orchard Bank Supervisor I spoke with on OCT 10, 2006 as well as all the other cust serv reps I spoke with after OCT 10, 2006 told me I was at the 14.9% rate when in reality I was raised to 29.9%APR on OCT 9, 2006 She said that none of the cust srv reps or supervisors have access to any of that information until the first week of Nov 2006. It was Orchard Bank that lied as there is nothing verbally or in writing that stated I was ever to be charged an enrollment fee since I never was charged an enrollment fee. Furthermore, I was NEVER informed on any statement that I was to ever be charged. I recently saw credit card holders testifying before Congress on one of the national news programs as to this practice of scamming customers this way. Yes, I was scammed. And what happened to me was very wrong. I think that all these previous negative comments about my Orchard Bank experience are actually from Orchard Bank Managers PRETENDING TO BE CUSTOMERS. I stand firm that Orchard Bank is a SLEEZEBANK that is sneaky and dishonest.

Posted by DieselBoi on 2008-01-25:

To kcmookie: If you read the fine print in your agreement, there is probably a cause that if Orchard Bank feels that you spending habits have changed or you become a higher risk, they can change your interest rate (it is a fairly common practice with certain cc companies). The fact that you were close to your total credit limit, which lowers your FICO score may have been enough. The fact that you requested more credit as opposed to waiting for a credit limit increase from Orchard bank may also have been enough for them to red flag you, unfortunately they do have perfectly legal ways to raise the interest rates if they feel that you're a liability. If I were you, I would decide how badly I needed the card. If you can live without it and are unhappy then I would cancel it. If you need it, I would bite the bullet and try to pay it off and keep paying it off in full each month.

Posted by Centaur DS on 2008-03-02:

Simple math tells you that even if you had the interest rate of 14% on a balance of 395, a $5 payment would not cover the interest that would be applied to the account.

Posted by jethangar on 2008-09-19:

HSBC BANK is the SCUM of the earth. They absolutely REFUSE to answer their phone. I'm just amazed that these criminals manage to stay in business. DON'T EVER, EVER USE THEM!!!! Currently they are refusing to release the Lien on my motorcycle despite that I paid in FULL 2 weeks ago. My buyer literally can't register a motorcycle sitting in her driveway with the DMV because of HSBC Bank. They are absolute thieves. There's a special place in hell waiting for the CEO of HSBC Bank. May his entire family get cancer and die a slow and painful death. F U HSBC BANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!