[z754103]

Originally Posted by freeier

to be fair, hk is a capitalistic place. and banking is the most capitalistic business to make money. if they cannot charge u, and need to provide all the services, shareholders will vote them down by selling.

end of the day, the corporates go to where there is money. provide service where there are profits to be made. everyone can vote with the feet and go to the next bank.. there will be an equivalent point where u pay certain amount of money and get that required level of services. if consumers are still stuck with hsbc despite the bad services, it means other are not providing the same services at that price and still hsbc is the relative best choice.

this is something that most people can say it loud and righteous, but nobody knows how to solve the actual problem... the alternative is prob to vote in a socialistic government that collect tax and set up banks as services to the people...

someone has to feed the staff and maintain the infrastructure. if its not us, who ?

Actually, not entirely true in this case. HK's economy is distorted by several cartels in certain sectors, one of which is banking. The local (largely retail) banking sector isn't truly competitive, which partly explains why they can get away with poorer service and weaker consumer provisions than places like the UK where the banking industry is much more competitiive and driven by market forces.

[freeier]

nope. do not agree. citibank and BOA can provide retail banking service if they want to. in fact they do have the branches here to do so. Stb and HSBC are always competing against one another. if retail banking is so good money to be made, then SCB just need to raise their service one notch higher and they can snatch all the clients from hsbc. they are not doing it means there is nothing much for them to earn.

tell me the profile of a retail banking client and explain to me where the bank can make money out of these clients ?

[Raiqi]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

Wonder if they'd clear my checks if I sign as "Mickey Mouse" ..

Just a point of interest, I used to work with HSBC in the UK and they have about 20 different profiles on their computers for Mickey Mouse. A few more for minnie too.

So you might just get away with it...

[freeier]

but KIA doesn't look like mickey mouse and name like mickey mouse though..

[KnowItAll]

But some people accuse me of running a santized mickey mouse site..

[freeier]

well, running an online forum as a business is one of the hardest thing to do. its one of the only few biz that the owner is expected to be on call 24-hours a day and answer to 'clients' every whim... 8-P

or technically u are having paid client asking you to service the whim of all the other participants of the forum

[HKFella]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

But some people accuse me of running a santized mickey mouse site..

Ouch! We know KIA's only kidding, but that would be really backhanded if said about anyone............like mickey could be further sanitized ever!

[HKNewBi]

Originally Posted by z754103

Actually, not entirely true in this case. HK's economy is distorted by several cartels in certain sectors, one of which is banking. The local (largely retail) banking sector isn't truly competitive, which partly explains why they can get away with poorer service and weaker consumer provisions than places like the UK where the banking industry is much more competitiive and driven by market forces.

Beg to differ. I have a Lloyds Premier Account - it costs $2,500 a year in fees. The service is shockingly bad. I have a 'premier' manager. The last 4 times I have tried to call this guy he has been unavailable and has never called me back.

I tried (once) to claim on the 'free' travel insurance. They turned down my claim 4 times. Only when it was escalated did they then say I had a valid claim but their standard response is automatically the claim isn't valid.

You get 'Free' AA car breakdown cover. A friend of mine broke down - turns out they will only tow you 10 miles or to the nearest garage. Any other AA policy they at least get you home. Not with Lloyds.

You get 'free' mobile phone insurance. 3 times they have sent us the coverage certificates with incorrect details. 3 times we have sent them back. Sure enough, when I lose my phone the details I give them don't match the details on the 'system' and my claim is turned down. I just couldn't be bothered to argue any more.

They have a 'free' emergency cash service. I lost my ATM card on holiday in Spain. It took 27 hours and loads of phone calls to arrange some emergency money. Found myself in a western union office who wouldn't pay out as Lloyds had handed over my passport number with 1 digit incorrect. Lloyds said it was none of their business. After losing a day travelling all round Spain trying to get this money I simply gave up and borrowed off a friend.

So I moved my banking to Citi in London. They accidently withdrew 6,500 pounds from my account. It took 6 months to get the money back. In the meantime I was receiving out of hours calls from their call centre in India threatening me if I didn't pay the money back saying they were going to 'credit blacklist me' - which is nonsense in any case.

So UK banking? No thanks! It suffers from the same cartel issue that you find in Hong Kong.

[beafan]

hsbc had been sending me an invitation letter for a pre-approved loan once EVERY WEEK for the past **TWO** months. finally a girl called from a ANONYMOUS number and asked if i had filled out the form yet. i'm like.. WHAT THE HELL? i told her very firmly I AM NOT INTERESTED. and she wasnt particularly the politest telemarketer either.
and so many trees they waste sending junk mail to everybody in HK with an HSBC anything once a month, let's say. i really want to launch a complaint about that.

[z754103]

Originally Posted by HKNewBi

So UK banking? No thanks! It suffers from the same cartel issue that you find in Hong Kong.

Citi UK stinks. Totally.

Have you tried First Direct? No frills, no free mobile phones, no fees. Just courteous, accomodating staff that try to get things right, and who'll sort out any mistakes they do happen to make (very rare).