Illegal closure of my account, opened a ‘Smart Money Savings Bank Account’

I opened a ‘Smart Money Savings Bank Account’ numbered 011-724309 – 006 with Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) in 1989. Under this arrangement, my Savings Bank Account was given an overdraft limit of 90% of amount placed by me in fixed deposits. The banking relationship has continued since then for the last 27 years.

In January 2016, I received an intimation from HSBC advising me to update KYC documents. HSBC also supplied me with a KYC form to be filled up. I carried the KYC documents to HSBC Barakhamba Road (New Delhi) Branch along with the duly filled in form supplied by HSBC in the first week of January 2016. Ms. Priyanka Gera, HSBC employee, perused the documents and advised me that KYC documents were not yet due from me and returned the form and the documents to me. (A writing in her hand appears on the form which I subsequently submitted in HSBC to Ms. Mahima Yadav, HSBC Employee, as explained in the next paragraph.)

Subsequently, on 31 May 2016, I received a letter from Mr. R. S. Rajagopalan, Head, Branch Network, advising me that HSBC would be withdrawing banking services to my HSBC accounts due to non-submission of KYC documents. After receiving the above referred notice, I visited Barakhamba Road (New Delhi) Branch of HSBC on 8 June 2016 and submitted the KYC documents and the duly filled in KYC Form to Ms. Mahima Yadav, HSBC Employee (Employee no. 214406). She acknowledged the receipt of these vide Service Acknowledgement Form no. 174065. She assured me that these documents would be given effect in five working days.

Vide my email of 14 June 2016, I informed HSBC at its email id hsbc.345783706.736553.0@informationservices.hsbc.co.in and through Internet Banking Mail facility that I had submitted the required documents to Ms. Mahima Yadav on 8 June 2016. Ms. Priyanka Chakraborty, Customer Service Executive, HSBC, advised me through Internet Banking Mail facility, that my request for KYC updation had been taken on record under reference no. 140620161494 and that no further documents were required from me for KYC updation.

Subsequently, Mr. Vivek Nimbavat, Relationship Manager, HSBC, called me over phone on 27 June 2016 and informed me that further documents were required from me for KYC updation. By my email of the same day, I requested Mr. Nimbavat to inform me what further documents were required from me and that I would submit them latest by 15th July. Mr. Nimbavat called me again on the same day. He informed me that the further documents required from me could not be put in writing. He stated that he would require copies of all my property documents, details of all my savings & other investments and documentary evidence thereof etc. He added that he would call on me personally, discuss about my finances and inform me personally of the documents he would require from me. Time to time he kept calling me and obtained appointments to meet me. But, he never called on me any day before 24 October.

On 24 October 2016, HSBC closed my Savings Bank account without any prior information to me. Immediately on observing this, I checked with the phone banking service of HSBC. I was informed by the phone banking officer that my KYC documents were up-to-date and he was unable to verify the reasons for closure of my account. On the same day (i. e. 24 October 2016), I sent an email to all HSBC Authorities designated for redressal of customer grievances as indicated in the HSBC Website. I requested them to reactivate the account such that the cheques issued by me would not be returned unpaid.

The explanation subsequently furnished by the Office of the CEO of HSBC is that the account was closed because I had not submitted some required documents. Till date, I have not been informed what these documents are. I have been made to sign the same Account Opening Form and the same KYC Form and have been made to submit the same KYC documents again, again and again. Every time, Office of the CEO of HSBC keeps asking for more time for resolving the issue and the resolution is still not in sight though three months have elapsed since the closure of my account and my complaint.