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Complain to HSBC

HSBC complaints: the phone, app and postal routes HSBC publishes, its 8-week deadline, free escalation to the Financial Ombudsman, and the CIIOM route.

Banking
Financial Ombudsman Service(opens in a new tab)

Free, and its decisions bind the firm.

How to complain to HSBC

HSBC has no complaints email that we could find on its own site. Use its official online form instead.

Common HSBC complaints

  • Payments you did not authorise

    Card transactions, direct debits or transfers taken from the account without your say-so

  • Fees and charges

    Overdraft interest, packaged account fees, or a charge nobody explained when the account was opened

  • Account access, freezes and closures

    An account frozen, restricted or closed without a clear reason, or an application refused with no explanation

  • Service failures and delays

    Long waits, calls that were never returned, or a complaint that has gone unanswered past the deadline

  • A product that did not suit you

    A product sold without the terms being explained, or one that never matched what you were told at the time

This one needs a different route

Complaints about banks, lenders and insurers are regulated claims work. Handling them takes FCA authorisation, which we don’t have, so we don’t write them. That’s not us being careful with you. It’s the law about who’s allowed to do it.

Financial complaints go to the Financial Ombudsman

Complain to the bank, lender or insurer first. They have eight weeks to answer. If they say no, or say nothing, the Financial Ombudsman Service reviews it for free and its decisions are binding on the firm. That is a stronger route than anything we could write.

HSBC ombudsman & regulator routes

Which ombudsman handles HSBC complaints?

Financial Ombudsman Service. Once HSBC’s own complaints process is exhausted (after 8 weeks or a deadlock letter), you can take your complaint there for free. Go to the ombudsman. Read our guide to the Financial Ombudsman.

Can you complain to the FCA about HSBC?

Not for individual disputes: the FCA sets the rules for the sector but does not resolve personal complaints or award compensation. Complain to HSBC directly first and keep written records, then escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service if it stays unresolved after 8 weeks or you receive a deadlock or final-response letter. You can still report HSBC to the FCA to flag systemic problems, but that will not get your own money back.

Laws that protect you

Consumer Rights Act 2015

Financial services must be performed with reasonable care and skill.

Payment Services Regulations 2017

Protection for unauthorized transactions and payment errors.

FCA Consumer Duty

Financial firms must act in customers' best interests.

Tips for HSBC complaints

  • Use the word “complaint” when you get in touch. That is what makes HSBC log it as one and start the clock, and the deadline that unlocks the Financial Ombudsman runs from the day you complained, not the day you first rang about it.
  • HSBC takes no complaints by email. The routes it publishes are chat in the mobile banking app or online banking, phone on 03457 404 404 (Premier 03457 707070, business 03457 606060), any branch, and post to Customer Service Centre, BX8 1HB.
  • Payment problems move faster than everything else. HSBC allows itself up to 15 days for a payment services complaint, 35 days in exceptional circumstances, and up to 56 days for anything else, so say which one yours is.
  • Ask for the final response in writing. It is the document the Financial Ombudsman wants to see, and the 6 months you have to refer the case runs from the date printed on it.
  • The Financial Ombudsman Service is free and you do not need anyone to represent you. Its own guidance says so plainly: you do not need to pay a lawyer or a claims management company to bring a complaint.
  • A Channel Islands or Isle of Man account is outside the UK Financial Ombudsman’s remit. HSBC sends Channel Islands customers to the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman and Isle of Man customers to the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme for the Isle of Man.

If HSBC doesn't respond

  1. 1

    Customer Service

    Allow 15 days

    Contact your bank’s customer service team

  2. 2

    Formal Complaint

    Submit a formal complaint: banks must acknowledge within 5 working days

  3. 3

    Financial Ombudsman

    8 weeks

    Free escalation after 8 weeks or receipt of a final response letter

    Visit website
  4. 4

    FCA Report

    Report misconduct to the Financial Conduct Authority

    Visit website

When you can escalate

8 weeks

If HSBC hasn’t sorted it within 8 weeks, or sends a final response sooner, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Frequently asked questions

Say it is a complaint rather than a query, through any route HSBC publishes: chat in the mobile banking app or online banking, 03457 404 404, a branch, or post to Customer Service Centre, BX8 1HB. Give the account number, what went wrong and when, and the outcome you want. HSBC says it will send a response within 5 working days setting out when you will hear again and how the complaint will be handled.

There isn’t one. HSBC UK publishes no email address for complaints, so a complaints@hsbc.co.uk you have found on a directory site is not HSBC’s and has no route to their team. The channels HSBC does name are chat in the app or online banking, phone on 03457 404 404, any branch, and post to Customer Service Centre, BX8 1HB.

Customer Service Centre, BX8 1HB. That is the address on HSBC’s own feedback and complaints page, and BX8 is a non-geographic postcode, so no street or town is needed on the envelope. Put the account number and the word “complaint” at the top, and keep a copy: the date you sent it is the date the clock starts.

Up to 56 days for most complaints, which is the 8 weeks the Financial Ombudsman works to. Payment problems are quicker: HSBC allows itself 15 days for a payment services complaint, or 35 days where there are exceptional circumstances. Either way you should get something within 5 working days telling you when to expect an answer.

The Financial Ombudsman Service, for a UK account. It is free and independent, and it will look at your case once HSBC has sent its final response or the deadline has passed without one. You then have 6 months from the date on that final response to refer it, and HSBC says that after 6 months the ombudsman will only consider it in very limited circumstances.

Complain to HSBC first, on 03456 00 61 61 or by post to HSBC Bank Plc, Service Recovery Team, PO Box 14, St Helier, Jersey, JE4 8NJ. HSBC gives itself 56 days to reach a final response for Isle of Man customers and 90 days for the rest of its Channel Islands customers. After that the free route is the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman for a Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney or Sark account, or the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme for the Isle of Man.

No. Premier customers follow the same procedure and the same deadlines, on a different line: 03457 707070 in the UK, open 24 hours, or 03456 00 61 61 for a Channel Islands or Isle of Man account. The escalation is the same too, so a UK Premier complaint goes to the Financial Ombudsman and a CIIOM one goes to the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman or the Isle of Man scheme.

Not for an individual dispute: the FCA regulates the industry but doesn't resolve personal complaints. Your route is to complain to HSBC in writing, then escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service for a free, binding decision. You can still report HSBC to the FCA to flag systemic problems.

Tools & guides for your HSBC complaint

Free calculators and explainers that strengthen the case you make to HSBC.

Further reading

Not sure what the law actually entitles you to? Start with our UK consumer rights guide - refunds, faulty goods, and how to enforce your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Work at HSBC? Reply to complaints here.

The ombudsman is free, and HSBC has to follow what it decides

Complain to the bank, lender or insurer first. They have eight weeks to answer. If they say no, or say nothing, the Financial Ombudsman Service reviews it for free and its decisions are binding on the firm. That is a stronger route than anything we could write.

Financial Ombudsman Service(opens in a new tab)

Disclaimer: NoReply is an independent consumer advocacy platform. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to HSBC or any of the companies listed on this site. Where an address is marked verified, we read it on HSBC’s own site or a complaint sent to it arrived. Addresses marked not verified have not been checked, and ones marked bounced do not reach HSBC. This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.