It has just been announced that Camilla Cavendish , Associate Editor of the Sunday Times has been appointed to the Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street. A post which, according to the Institute for Government, requires “the ability to know the prime minister’s mind, have his ear and to...
Smoking gun – the corrupt appointment of Rona Fairhead to the BBC
This blog discloses how the Tory government engineered the appointment of an HSBC banker to head the BBC in order to save David Cameron’s skin for his involvement in the cover-up. There is now an interview with me discussing this blog here (before I learned of the involvement of...
How the election was won – fraud and corruption
On 17 Novemeber 2010 the Office of Fair Trading made an order against HSBC (HFC) telling them to stop adding illegal charges to accounts in default. Something that I had told the bank was illegal in 2003. The total amounts to some £1bn, for which HSBC has suggested a...
How I voted today
This is how I voted today in the UK general election. It is the only honest ballot paper, because however you vote, HSBC maintain power over of all MPs. I believe in democracy, not plutocracy (government by the wealthy). It is an offence to take a photograph of a...
Another HSBC AGM, another pack of lies
The ever supportive Joel Benjamin (@Gian_Tcatt) attended the HSBC AGM today in London. Once again he asked Chairman Douglas Flint about the bank’s provisions for the fraud revealed on these pages. Once again the bank’s dismissive response was “we don’t agree with Mr Wilson”. Do they also disagree with...
What is the point of the FCA?
A big support of mine Ben Tomeo , has made a formal complaint on my behalf to the Complaints Commissioner about the Financial Conduct Authority’s failure to take action on massive HSBC fraud and their collusion with the bank to cover it up. In the course of his complaint...
Recap on HSBC fraud – are we angry yet?
In a simple post, here are the bald facts about HSBC fraud. It has been covered up by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Ministry of Justice and Office of Fair Trading, who’s order against the bank was hidden away so as not to embarrass Cameron making Stephen Green a Lord...
Dear BBC – My cat died
A supporter, Ian Allardyce, recently wrote to the BBC complaining that he hadn’t seen anything on the news about the fact that his cat Tiddles had died. He received this response: “Whilst we appreciate your feedback, we know that not everyone will agree with our choices on which stories...
FCA and BoE refuse to provide HSBC fee data
I made a Freedom of Information Act request to the Bank of England, having been told by the FCA that that was the appropriate authority to answer my query. The Bank of England stated that the request should have been made to the FCA. However the Bank of England...
Barclays copies whistleblower into internal emails about not talking to him
This is a bit unfortunate. Jonathan Cox, Director at Barclays Corporate, has copied Charlie Boyle, a whistleblower, into an internal email about NOT talking to him. Charlie’s site is here On Thu, Mar 5, 2015 at 8:45 AM, <jonathan.cox@barclays.com> wrote: Guys, This is an excellent example of when we...
Fraud authorities fail to act
This is how the authorities responsible for investigating fraud reacted to my report of massive fraud by HSBC. The National Fraud Authority wrote to my MP saying that I should go to Action Fraud, which will pass intelligence on to City of London Police: Action Fraud denied ever having...
Proper Journalism
I am very grateful to Dr Nafeez Ahmed, an investigative journalist, bestselling author and international security scholar, for writing the best article on my story to appear yet. It is comprehensive, accurate and shocking – to me, even though I have lived through the story myself. I won’t reproduce...
HSBC lies yet again
Unbelievably in the midst of all the scandals swirling round HSBC at the moment they have just lied again. A very well know journalist contacted the press office today and asked whether the contingent liability of $1bn reported in their accounts for “technical requirments of the Consumer Credit Act”...
Serious questions for FCA
It has been pointed out to me, and I’m grateful to Paul Cotterill (@Bickerrecord on twitter) for drawing my attention to it, that during the period that I was in dispute with the Financial Conduct Authority because of their woeful inaction on my reports of massive fraud by HSBC...
The FCA tells me to get stuffed
Having completely embarrassed the Financial Conduct Authority for their collusion with HSBC to cover-up the fraud, they have now told me to get stuffed. That’s the second regulator to have done that, the SRA did too. Here’s the email I’ve just received. Dear Mr Wilson As stated in my...
Is HSBC about to repay fraud victims?
I have just discovered this sentence in HSBC annual report for 2014 It looks as though they are finally accepting that they may be liable for the illegal charges exposed by me. In my view £0.6bn is not sufficient.
Prayers from Lambeth Palace
As part of my campaign to raise awareness of massive HSBC fraud I contacted Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, because he sat on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. This is the response I received; I did reply that this was not an “individual case” but involves 5-600,000 victims. ...
Sunday Times is captured by HSBC too
I have been working with a journalist from the Sunday Times (who I will not name) on this story. At first I expected the article to appear last week, then today. It now seems it will not appear. As usual, I have not been told why.* This is why:...
The FCA blames me
It has taken me some time to come to terms with this extraordinary letter received from the Financial Conduct Authority in which they admit that they colluded with HSBC by copying and pasting text received from HSBC (see Ian Fraser‘s blog) but deny that they colluded with HSBC! The...
Police reasons for not prosecuting HSBC
For the first time I am going to post the response I got from the City of London Police to my report of fraud by HSBC. In my view it is completely inadequate and seems to take the view that since the SRA, OFT and FCA didn’t take any...
Who does regulate lawyers?
More regulatory nonsense here. A supporter of mine, Arthur Shuter had written to the Solicitors Regulation Authority complaining about Paul Kavanagh, an HSBC in-house solicitor who worked under the name DG Solicitors, a bogus firm that claimed on their letterhead that they were regulated by the SRA (arguably a...
Captured Guardian
This picture neatly sums of the Guardian’s relationship to HSBC: Update 15 February – it has just been stated by HSBC in the Treasury Select Committee meeting today that the Guardian is the biggest recipient of digital advertising revenue from HSBC. I have been saying for some time that...
Don’t blow the whistle.
After a 12 year struggle trying to expose massive fraud by HSBC, having lost my job; nearly lost my home and facing new repossession proceedings; having damaged my mental and physical health to the extent that I am probably no longer capable of working; and having met and talked...
Excellent blog by Ian Fraser
Esteemed financial journalist Ian Fraser, author of Shredded: Inside RBS, the Bank That Broke Britain has written an excellent blog about the FCA collusion with HSBC to cover up the fraud. It was written at this time because on Tuesday 27 January the Treasury Select Committee are grilling John...
HSBC continue to lie about SRA regulation
Having lied to parliament about their fake solicitors being regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as detailed here, HSBC continue to repeat the lie as in this letter from a correspondent, dated 11 December 2014 (click to enlarge): For the avoidance of doubt, this is what the SRA wrote...
Weightmans – Law firm of the year
In 2012 Weightmans was adjudged National/Regional Law Firm of the Year. It was Weightmans that sacked me for reporting them to the Law Society for fraud and it was Weightmans that used to refer to me as Mr Ethical. Now Weightmans have been exposed in the Guardian for illegally...
FCA pass on HSBC lies in response to FoI request
Update 10 March 2015 – this matter was dealt with by the Treasury Select Committee in Parliament on 10 February 2015. In response to a complaint I made to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about their collusion with HSBC I received this admission that they had used text provided by...
Hall of Shame – MSM failure at reporting HSBC fraud
I have decided to publish some of my dealings with the press, in order to show how this massive HSBC is not being reported. I still have no idea why – there are various possibilities but it’s either because the story involves too much work or that the media...
Beyond democracy – 21st C. feudalism
Revolving Doors part 2
This is quite extraordinary. I made my complaint against my employers Weightmans for illegal practice on behalf of HSBC to the Law Society (president Fiona Woolf) in 2006. It was referred to the newly created Solicitors Regulation Authority (chief executive Anthony Townsend). The SRA although upholding my complaint covered...
HSBC litany of lies
I thought it would be useful to catalogue the litany of lies that HSBC has produced to try to avoid liability for their fraud since I went public with my information. This disregards all the lies and fraud that preceded my public campaign. It culminates in their lying to...
HSBC lies to Parliament.
There is now a rt.com/uk article about this blog here. The issue of fake solicitors has been in the news recently and as a result the Treasury Select Committee on Banking wrote to various banks asking for clarification of their practices. In their reply to the TSC HSBC stated: The...
Why Simon Danczuk won’t help me
Simon Danczuk MP has done good work in fighting for a public inquiry into historical child sex abuse in the establishment. He has also made very public his objection to Fiona Woolf heading the inquiry because of her connections with Leon Brittan, Home Secretary at the time important records...
first response from Fiona Woolf
I apologise that I am unlikely to be able to respond to emails promptly. If you have any diary queries, please contact Lucy Crowe at the Mansion House on Lucy.Crowe@cityoflondon.gov.uk. My PA at CMS is Alison Cooper on alison.cooper@cms-cmck.com. My reply: I have copied below an email I have...
email to Fiona Woolf
I have today sent this email to Fiona Woolf, which will be self-explanatory. Dear Madam As part of your project to convince the public of your suitability to chair the CSA Inquiry could you please explain to me your role, whilst President of the Law Society and representative of...
Woolf must go
Fiona Woolf has been appointed to chair the inquiry into the child sex abuse scandal engulfing the British establishment. She claims not to be of the establishment, but she is Lord Mayor of London, so I’m not sure who she thinks the establishment is. However, far more serious is...
HSBC (USA) Sexual Harassment case goes to court
As previously reported HSBC in NY are facing allegations of retaliation against two employees for reporting sexual harassment against their colleague “Jane Doe”. The matter has now received a preliminary hearing as reported here by Law360. HSBC (USA) Securities Inc. is facing a pair of lawsuits in New York...
Corruption in Parliament.
This is how Cameron buried bad news about HSBC and the £1bn fraud, in order to get criminal banker Stephen Green into parliament. Look at the dates on these documents. Stephen Green is made a Lord by Cameron The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) signs an order against HFC(HSBC)...
Welcome to the plutocracy
I went through the FTSE100 list of top UK companies to see how many bankers or ex-bankers sat on the board of directors of each company. The result was alarming. There was one company (Meggitt an engineering company, but their information was very thin, so I might be wrong)...
Establishment taking the mickey
Remember this? Proof of collusion between HSBC and FCA I had discovered that the FCA and HSBC were working together to work out what to say to me and the public about the fraud and together they came up with a whopping lie. Well, I found out today that...
HSBC’s Damascene Conversion
Has HSBC seen the light? I wrote this article, at their request, for a well know forum that exposes bank rip-offs but who ran a mile when they realised it was about their paymasters HSBC. So, feel free to use the article wherever. All the details are evidenced with...
Compare these 2 documents
This is the OFT order imposed against HFC (HSBC) in 2010 from which it can be seen that the OFT ordered the bank to stop adding collection charges until they changed their terms and conditions. And this statement I received from the FCA in April, stating that HFC agreements...
Evidence of SRA complete failure
I had always known that my ex employer Weightmans solicitors had carried on adding the illegal “collection charges” after the Solicitors Regulation Authority had ruled against them, following my complaint to them and my losing my job because of it. I knew this because I came across a claim...
establishment cover up
I thought I would just highlight one of the establishment cover-ups of HSBC fraud. An OFT order was made against HFC (HSBC) but covered up because it coincided with Cameron making the bank’s chair a Lord. Cameron had meetings with Stephen Green, Chair of HSBC in August and September...
Reply to HSBC
As usual Douglas Flint referred my email to a lackey at dodgy lawyers DG Solicitors who replied with his usual “the bank has nothing to add” – so, I have sent him this email today: Dear Mr Kavanagh You may wish to reconsider your position in a few weeks’...
RT.com article
Following Douglas Flint of HSBC’s extraordinary statement that whistleblowers should be celebrated and rewarded I was approached by RT.com for my comments. Here they are.
Will HSBC pay me compensation?
It has been reported in the news today that Douglas Flint of HSBC says that he believes whistleblowers should be celebrated and rewarded. I have therefore sent him this email. Dear Mr Flint I’m very pleased to hear that you are publicly supporting whistleblowers by saying they should be...
Ridiculous response from HSBC
I have received the most ridiculous response from HSBC in reply to my email of 29 August to HSBC solicitor Paul Kavanagh. I was basically asking him why their email to Joel Benjamin of 30 June, was in exactly the same terms as an email I received from the...
Crime pays in Cameron’s UK plc
I have had to wait a couple of days before writing about the BBC appointment of Rona Fairhead as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees because I have been reeling from shock. Rona Fairhead is Chair of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. According to Andrew Trotman in...
Lawyer to BBC about HSBC fraud
This is what a prominent lawyer wrote to a prominent journalist at the BBC about the HSBC fraud, in April this year, to support the veracity of my story. Still, nothing has happened except that I have discovered the FCA and HSBC have colluded and lied to the public....
email to HSBC solicitor
Today I have sent this email to HSBC solicitor Paul Kavanagh (who’s name on appears on their “fake” solicitor letters from DG Solicitors). I will post any reply received. Dear Mr Kavanagh In view of your email below, I shall be grateful if you would please read this –...
Public Interest Psychology
I have received invaluable support from David Morgan of Public Interest Psychology. He has developed a special interest in the psychology of whistleblowing and has met and counselled many high profile whistleblowers, and written papers and given talks on the subject. Recently he has assisted me with a Mandatory...
Why did HSBC close Gaza charity account?
It seems very strange that HSBC has written to a British charity, Ummah Welfare Trust, (dedicated to relieving suffering in Gaza, and elsewhere) informing it that it intends to close its accounts as the charity now falls outside the banks’ “risk appetite”. HSBC is the only foreign bank operating...
Three statements
Statement 1 – Office of Fair Trading November 2010 Statement 2 – Financial Conduct Authority April 2014 HFC’s agreements with customers gave it the right to do this and the fee was added after the customer had defaulted on the loan/credit card payments Statement 3 – HSBC – June...
My mail to the US court responsible for HSBC DPA
I have today sent this email to United States District Court Eastern District of New York, the court which made the Deferred Prosecution Agreement against HSBC. I thought the judge should be aware of their collusion with the FCA in the cover-up of the fraud: Dear Sirs As the...
My email to Financial Conduct Authority
Dear Sirs I refer to this email I received from you on 10 April: On 10/04/2014 15:05, “Freedom of Information” <foi@fca.org.uk> wrote: Prior to 2010, when HFC sent an account to solicitors to recover outstanding debts (e.g. on personal loans, credit and store cards), it added a charge to...
HSBC’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement
HSBC is effectively on probation. Having entered into a DPA with the US courts in 2013, the bank’s behaviour over the following five years will be monitored by the Court, and the bank has to file quarterly reports of any significant developments. I assume that the revelation of massive...
HSBC’s “fake” solicitors
I have known for some time that HSBC have used “fake” solicitor’s letters to send to debtors. But the matter has become big news because of a similar practice by Wonga. (I wrote a guest blog for Move Your Money on the subject) This is a letter from what...
Proof of collusion between HSBC and FCA
Joel Benjamin of Move Your Money has received an email today from David Culberson, Deputy Head Customer Relations at HSBC in reply to his follow up email after the AGM when he asked awkward questions about this fraud. The email contained the following paragraphs: “Prior to 2010, when HFC...
Wonga v HSBC (HFC)
I was asked yesterday to write a guest blog for Move Your Money (an important campaigning group encouraging bank customers to move accounts to credit unions and ethical banks) about the news that Wonga have been ordered to pay compensation of £2.5m to customers for writing to them from...
Talk at the Ethical Society 8 June 2014
This is my talk at the Ethical Society, Conway Hall, London on 8 June 2014. I am very grateful to the Ethical Society for inviting me to give this talk. It is my swansong. I am giving up trying to interest an uninterested, captured media in this fraud; my...
Deep fraud and the ecology of capitalism
I have coined a new term. Deep Fraud. It is similar to deep ecology – “Human interference with or destruction of the natural world poses a threat therefore not only to humans but to all organisms constituting the natural order.” For human in the above sentence substitute banker/lawyer/accountant. It...
Details of charges of fraud against HSBC and solicitors
My previous letter to City of London Magistrates was returned with a request for further information on the people and charges to be summonsed. I have therefore sent these details: Douglas Jardine Flint, Group Finance Director HSBC 1995-2010, Group Chairman 2010 – date HSBC Bank plc, One Canada Square,...
18 second dismissal by HSBC of my 10 years of work
Here is a clip of Douglas Flint Chair of HSBC Holdings, dismissing my fraud exposures in 18 seconds. I have spent 10 years fighting for justice. They might think they are “in dispute” with me, but the matter has already been ruled against by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and...
Three documents which prove HSBC fraud
From the Solicitors Code of Conduct (rules which must not be breached, based on Solicitors Act 1974):A letter from Restons claiming a “collection charge” of £508.54The order from the Office of Fair Trading dated November 2010, ordering the bank not to apply “collection charges” unless and until they amend...
“We are in dispute with Mr Wilson”
At the HSBC AGM held in London today Joel Benjamin, of Move Your Money asked the chair of HSBC some awkward questions, including about the fraud revealed on this site, which he just brushed aside with the comment “We are in dispute with Mr Wilson.” Here’s the film:
Private prosecution against HSBC launched
Today I have sent the following letter to the City of London Magistrates Court, the first step in launching my private prosecution against HSBC.
Private prosecution of HSBC and solicitors
I have decided to take out a private prosecution against Douglas Flint, Chair HSBC Holdings (and previously Finance Director) and 6 solicitors, Ian Evans, Patrick Gaul and Andrew Cox, of Weightmans, Chistopher Reston, Nigel Coe, Duncan Hamilton (ex-HSBC) of Restons. The charges will be conspiracy to commit fraud and:...
My MP’s disgrace
I recently met with my MP, Amber Rudd, and asked her to facilitate a meeting with the City of London police in order that I could report the massive HSBC fraud. Knowing that MPs are busy I offered to draft the body of the letter, which she accepted. Instead...
Is MI5 protecting HSBC?
Recently Private Eye magazine made a Freedom of Information Act request to a government department concerning Lord Green, ex chair of HSBC Group. ( I no longer have a copy of the article and cannot recall the name of the department). The exemption in the Act which the department...
FCA cover-up
Update: 20 January 2015 – since writing this blog I have received confirmation from the FCA that they did indeed contact HSBC to ask them what to say to me, as I suspected. What the bank said was 100% false. Here is an extract of a “requirement” imposed on...
FCA confirm that they have done nothing
Today I received the following email from the Financial Conduct Authority. It appears that following my report to them in December 2012 of wide-scale fraud they did……nothing. They have obviously been spending the time since my Freedom of Information Request working out a way of explaining why they have...
Benefits stopped
I have just been phoned by the Department of Work and Pensions to inform me that my benefits have been stopped, as from today. I have been on Employment Support Allowance because my doctor considers me unfit for work due to depression. I had an Atos assessment on 28...
Sham “job interview”
In the course of my 10 year campaign against bank fraud, surprisingly I have had only one scary experience. But it was scary. Shortly after I started revealing details of the fraud on this website, I responded to an ad for a job in Eastbourne (£15k), for which I...
Action Fraud have no record of complaint
Last year, I don’t recall when, I reported the massive HSBC fraud to Action Fraud without much expectation of any action being taken but I wasn’t prepared for them to claim that they had no record of the report. I was never called back or written to with a...
A warning to HSBC, Restons & Weightmans
This fraud story is very likely to be reported by the media soon. No doubt you will all attempt to contrive some explanation as to why what you were doing was not illegal or fraudulent. Be very careful. I have evidence that I haven’t posted on my website which...
The cover-ups
I thought it would be useful to detail the different cover-ups by various bodies, to protect the reputation, such that it is, of HSBC. I don’t necessarily think there has been a conspiracy. It’s just the culture in this country that the City is not touched by the people...
Is knowing what regulators do with fraud reports in the public interest?
Most peculiar response here from the Financial Conduct Authority to my request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, concerning what action they had taken on my report of massive fraud. They seem to be deciding if it’s in the public interest; or perhaps it’s not in their...
This is what could happen if victims knew of illegal charges.
This, taken from the Private Eye article, shows the effect of the illegal charges on a victim and how recovering the charge could make a difference. If only Private Eye had published it, along with other media.
SRA tells me to get stuffed
The Solicitors Regulation Authority have now told me that they will not be considering the new evidence I supplied of Restons having misled them (here and here) and have now told me, basically, to get stuffed. I’m sure the hundreds of thousand of victims of Restons fraud will be...
Height of arrogance?
The managing partner at fraudsters Restons, Nigel Coe, who wrote this smartarse response to a Private Eye journalist, dipped his toe into Twitter and favourited this tweet of mine. Is this the height of arrogance? (click to enlarge)
New complaint to SRA
In view of the letter I have received from the Solicitors Regulation Authority in which they state that they visited Restons’ office and inspected their files, I have made a new complaint to them setting out precisely why they have been duped by Restons and hope that they now...
Restons collude with bank in fraud
I have today received a response from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which I show below. It appears that they visited Restons office and were satisfied that seeing Restons appeared to have billed the bank separately to the “collection charge” there is no contingency fee arrangement. This explains why HSBC...
Enough evidence of cover-up?
After the Solicitors Regulation Authority adjudicated that Weightmans had acted illegally by applying contingency fees they carried on applying 16.4% to debts. A year later the SRA received a complaint from a debtor about the charges and sent this response: “Received a letter this week from the Solicitors Regulation...
FCA have lost my complaint
I made a Freedom of Information Act request to the Financial Conduct Authority for details of what they had done with my complaint about HSBC fraud. This is the response I received today. This is very strange because when I have phoned them they have recognised the reference I...
Regulators in action
Having made a Freedom of Information request to the Legal Services Board asking what action had been taken on my report of the Solicitors Regulation Authority not adequately investigating my complaint of widespread fraud, I received the response below, setting out what happened. In short, there was an internal...
More SRA bluster
A reader of my website wrote to the Solicitors Regulation Authority enquiring as to why they had not taken any proper action on my complaints about Restons and Weightmans. He received this standard reply, below. One does wonder what risk to the public would prompt an investigation, since £750m...
FoI to FCA
Today I made the following Freedom of Information request to the Financial Conduct Authority which is self-explantory. Any response will be posted here. Dear sirs This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act for details of what the authority has done in terms of investigating a complaint...
What is the FCA doing?
Today I telephoned the Financial Conduct Authority to enquire as to progress of my report from December 2012 concerning this massive fraud by HFC (HSBC). They could not or would not tell me anything; whether it’s being investigated, if any action has been taken etc. I have heard nothing...
Semantics – how bankers and lawyers escape the law
I was recently told by a journalist that the Solicitors Regulation Authority ruling that Weightmans had “breached the rules” was no big deal and didn’t mean much for the purposes of a story. I find this very disturbing because the Solicitors Code of Conduct is based on the Solicitors...
Freedom of Information Request to the Legal Services Board
I have today made this FoI request to the Legal Services Board, which will be self-explanatory: Dear Sirs In November 2013 I contacted the Legal Services Board with my concerns about the fact that I did not believe that the Solicitors Regulation Authority had properly or adequately investigated Restons...
Why did Legal Service Board’s attitude change?
When I contacted the Legal Services Board last November concerning the totally inadequate investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, they read my website and sent an email containing this: “Therefore, given the serious nature of your allegation, we are considering whether the issue raises any wider concerns that it...
Unbelievable response from Legal Services Board
I am staggered at this response I have received from the Legal Services Board. I complained to the Solicitors Regulation Authority that Restons solicitors for many years were adding illegal contingency fees to debts. I knew this because I worked at Weightmans and we used Restons contract with HFC(HSBC)...
Nauseating practices by Household in US
This article in Rolling Stone is quite shocking about Household (HFC) practices in US to lure sub-prime borrows and lumber them with mortgages worse than their current ones. The bank was subject to a $2.46bn judgment in the largest ever trial for securities fraud in the US, in October...
Fraud explained with lentils
I made this short film to explain simply how the fraud works:
Max Keiser hears about the HSBC(HFC) fraud
Today I telephoned Max Keiser at his invitation on Colourful Radio to tell him and Stacy Herbert all about the HSBC (HFC) fraud. There was a misunderstanding in that he thought I had been sacked by the solicitors that represented me, rather than the solicitors that employed me and...
Email to Douglas Flint HSBC
Since the solicitor delegated to write me a patronising letter continues to ignore my correspondence I have now sent this email to the chair of HSBC Group, Douglas Flint: Dear Mr Flint Unfortunately I find I have to write to you again because, as usual, I am being ignored....
New email to HSBC lawyer
I have today went this email to Paul Kavanagh, a solicitor at HSBC following previous correspondence shown on this blog. Any response will be posted. Dear Mr Kavanagh I refer to my two emails of 15 November to which you have not yet replied. This issue has cost me...
Correspondence with HSBC
Today I received a letter from HSBC. Of course it’s completely nonsensical and doesn’t deal with the issues. I think they assume I’m stupid. To be expected, but it’s a start. Here’s the letter, together with my two emails in response.
HSBC (HFC) lawyers admit fraud
See this response from Restons solicitors dated 9 August, to a Private Eye journalist’s request for an explanation of the “collection charges” they were adding to accounts. In his smartarse answer the lawyer is effectively admitting their fraud – the OFT ordered the bank in 2010 to stop adding...
Trying to make banks work for us…
I have not yet received a response from Douglas Flint, Chair of HSBC Holdings, to my email follow up to my intervention at the “Making Banks Work for Us” event. Below is my chase up email today, together with the original. After all, I am only trying to make...
Smartarse lawyer’s response to Private Eye
This is the response a Private Eye journalist received, on 9 August, from a smartarse at Restons solicitors, in reply to his query about the illegal collection charges. Besides being very cocky this is effectively an admission of fraud because the OFT notice he refers to told the bank...
SRA had a chat with Restons
I said I would post the SRA’s reply to my recent email and here it is, together with my reply of today. Lee Shrimpton is the the SRA press officer. It seems the extent of the SRA “investigation” of my complaint was to have a chat with Restons. Move...
Intervention at Making Banks Work for Us
Yesterday evening I attended an event organised by London Green MEP Jean Lambert, who had invited Douglas Flint, Chair of HSBC Holdings. Questions had to be submitted in writing and since it was highly unlikely any questions I may have about the bank’s fraud would be asked I interrupted...
email sent to Douglas Flint, Chair HSBC Holdings
Today I sent this email to Douglas Flint of HSBC, following my having disrupted an event held by the Green Party entitled “Making Banks Work for Us” and handed him a document setting out the fraud. I will post any reply received. Dear Mr Flint Sorry I had to...
Why is it fraud?
Taking this definition of fraud from the Serious Fraud Office: It is deception because the consumer credit agreements state that on default the bank can charge “reasonable costs” or “costs on an indemnity basis”, neither of which allow them to add a straight 16.4% to the debt immediately on...
email to Solicitors Regulation Authority
This is an email I sent to Jo Duffy at the Solicitors Regulation Authority on 31 October. She is the supervisor who allegedly “investigated” my complaint against Duncan Hamilton and Restons. She has not yet responded, and if she does so I will post her answer. Dear Madam I...
Unpublished Private Eye article
Having worked with a journalist from Private Eye since January, and having finally been told that they are not publishing the article, without giving me any reason, I am now publishing the article on my website. People have to know this story and I have to do what I...
HSBC – you have to take it seriously
Back in 2005 I wrote this in a email to the senior management at the firm where I worked “I know this is a pain but as I have said, the whole culture is making me ill and you have to take it seriously.” They did not...
Email sent to HSBC
Today I sent this email to James Thorpe, HSBC’s press officer. I have not yet received even an acknowledgment but any response will be posted here.
£44m in illegal charges in one year.
This is the response I received from the Ministry of Justice following a Freedom of Information request I made concerning the number of claims issued by Restons and the firm I worked for, Weightmans: Year 2002 / 2003 2003 / 2004 2004 / 2005 2005 / 2006 2006 /...
Even more evidence of HSBC lies
This is from an email from HSBC claiming that the illegal charges are added by the bank, and not by the solicitors. They are saying this because presumably they think that if they claim the charges are added by the bank then they will not be illegal because they...
Further lies from HSBC
HSBC said this in an email dated 17 July 2013. (They have always stated that the solicitors did not add the charges – although I worked for the solicitors and we did add the charges): “The collection charge was not one made by HFCs solicitors, but by the bank...
Evidence of HSBC lies
How HSBC, Europe’s largest bank tries to avoid liability for its fraud – by lying. This is an extract from an email received by a Private Eye journalist from HSBC dated 19 July 2013: Here is a court record of a claim issued in the name of John Lewis...
HFC attitude to PPI
At the meeting I had at HFC head office in 2003 to discuss my firm continuing to act for John Lewis, their solicitor Duncan Hamilton explained Payment Protection Insurance to me because I hadn’t come across it before. He then proudly claimed that they never paid out under PPI....
Illegal charges
Here is a simple explanation of why HSBC/HFC charges are unlawful, besides being unlawful contingency fees. Here is a computer generated letter from Restons, where they charge £508.64, before they have done any work (some of the charges are as much as £5,000): This is an extract from the...
Further cover-up
What is the point in whistleblowing if the regulators don’t take any action? I received this response from the Solicitors Regulation Authority on September 17 – 13 months after my original complaint to them of illegal practice by Restons and Duncan Hamilton: I believe any intelligent person reading my...
Ed Miliband hears about HSBC illegal charges – youtube clip
Ed Miliband came to Hastings on 3 May 2013 – I told him about the illegal charges:
Revolving doors
On August 3 2012 I reported HFC (HSBC) solicitor Duncan Hamilton and Restons, a firm of solicitors, to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for applying illegal charges to consumers accounts, for at least 7 years and possibly as many as 25 years. I have still not heard from the SRA....
Further evidence of SRA cover-up
Below is an entry appears in an online consumer forum. It appears that a debtor made a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about the “collection charge” and the SRA stated that there was not a problem. This entry is dated August 2008, just over a year after the...
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
The provisions of this new act, due to the Jackson reforms, are due to come into force in April. It should not be assumed that the introduction of Damages Based Agreements (contingency fees) will dilute the seriousness of the practice over many years of HSBC and their solicitors, or...
Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards
On 16 January I sent an email to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards informing them of the illegal practice carried out by HSBC over many years, because I knew that they were due to question the chair of HSBC on 6 February. They ignored my email. On 1st...
What happens to the charges?
I am very interested to know what happens to the illegal charges that were imposed on accounts by HSBC (HFC) when the debts were assigned to factoring companies such as Arrow Global, Phoenix Recoveries and Link Financial. Presumably the whole debt including the charge (which is added at the...
Why is Stephen Green a baron & trade minister? Diamond resigned.
Why was the man who presided over a bank accused of so much wrongdoing, elevated to a peerage by Cameron’s government and made a trade minister? Is this the sort of behaviour Cameron/Osborne consider to be good for trade or do they simply not care? Stephen Keith Green, Baron...
Any VAT Experts?
I believe that the VAT arrangement between HSBC and the solicitors needs to be investigated by an expert. It seems very strange to me that the debtor is unwittingly paying the bank’s VAT. The 16.4% added to the debt is a 14% fee for the solicitors with VAT at...
Do illegal work for HSBC or be sacked
This is what my employers wrote to my solicitors acting in my employment dispute, Bindmans, about my concerns involving illegal practice for HSBC (HFC) I was sacked anyway because I blew the whistle to the Law Society who upheld my complaint that the contract was illegal.
HSBC confused
Apparently HSBC told BBC Radio 5 that I am “confused” about contingency fees. I would rather rely on this ruling from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after my complaint to them about the bank’s illegal practice:
Coincidence ?
On 16 November 2010 Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC was made Baron Green of Hurstpierpoint by Cameron. On 17 November 2010 the Office of Fair Trading made an order against HSBC (HFC Bank part of the HSBC Group) forbidding them from adding unlawful charges to debtor’s accounts. This order...
Parliamentary cover-up?
Having been unable to expose the illegal dealings of HSBC and having been informed by Registry Trust (Ministry of Justice) that they would not supply me with public domain information and that I needed to appeal in the county court I asked my local MP Amber Rudd ( Tory,...
Unlawful charges – breach of the Solicitors Act 1974
Here is the relevant provision in the Solicitors Act 1974 which forbids contingency fees and which makes the bank’s contract with its solicitors unlawful: “59 Contentious business agreements…. (2) Nothing in this section or in sections 60 to 63 shall give validity to— (a) any purchase by a solicitor...
Illegal HSBC charge of £4,962.06
This statement, on a claim which went to the Financial Ombudsman Service, shows a charge, allegedly credited back prior to the complaint to the Ombudsman and before the bank had written saying they were entitled to make the charge and that no refund would be given, of £4,962.06 :...
HSBC regrets buying HFC Bank
The ex-chairman of HSBC Stephen Green, now Minister of State for Trade in the current government, said this: “With the benefit of hindsight, this is an acquisition we wish we had not undertaken” referring to HSBC’s $15Bn acquisition of the sub-prime lender Household International in 2003. In 2008 HFC...
“You know what banks are like for that sort of thing” – Judge Robinson
Because the solicitors were aware that their “collection charges” were unlawful, in cases that were defended or were likely to go before a judge, they would often withdraw them (this is from a letter written by Restons to Whitehaven County Court prior to a hearing in 2007): Some judges...
Catch 22
When I was trying to help people recover money from HSBC I had a bizarre “Catch 22” situation. I required authorisation from the Ministry of Justice to act as a claims manager. However, it was the MoJ who had refused, via Registry Trust, to give me access to public...
Ministry of Justice refuse access to public domain information
Registry Trust has a contract with the Ministry of Justice to administer the Register of County Court Judgments. This is a public register which is supposed to be freely available to the public. However, it is not. The information is sold to credit reference agencies. In their contracts Registry...
“Mr Ethical”
Because of my refusal to do illegal work for HSBC (HFC) by boss used to refer to me as “Mr Ethical”. This is from an email sent to one of the other partners in 2005: And I was threatened with dismissal when my employer wrote this to my solicitors...
This is why contingency fees are unlawful
Contingency fees are unlawful because it means lawyers have a vested interest in the outcome of the litigation which may encourage them to cut corners. This happened, especially in my case because the solicitors paid for all disbursements and it was in their interest to save money. Here, in...
Psychiatric report
My employer sent me to a Harley Street psychiatrist for an assessment, prior to my returning to work after a period off for stress caused by their behaviour (I’m told this is common in whistle-blower cases), and presumably because I questioned their understanding of the law, and no doubt...
False accounting?
Having written to HFC Bank on behalf of a debtor to reclaim the “collection charge” they stated this in a letter dated 15 September 2010 ( N.B. the terms and conditions give no details whatsoever of the charges “you agree may be charged” – they just state either “reasonable...
Refusal to discuss illegal contract
Here is an extract from an email I received from my boss refusing to discuss my concerns about the illegal contract the firm had entered into with HSBC (HFC)
The crucial email
I sent this email to the Senior Partner, Managing Partner and other relevant partners at Weightmans, complaining that the work we were doing for HSBC bank was unlawful. Not one of them replied. I was ultimately sacked for reporting them to the Solicitors Regulation Authority who confirmed it was...
Lunch
I recently had a very pleasant lunch meeting in London with the Chief Credit Management team from John Lewis, for whom I had acted for over twenty years. One had retired and the other was made redundant when HFC Bank took over the John Lewis account. It was great...
Bullet points
Here are some simplified bullet points requested by a journalist yesterday: HFC Bank (part of the HSBC Group) for many years applied unlawful contingency fees to defaulting accounts via their solicitors Restons – 16.4% of debt was added. (John Lewis, Dixons, Curry’s, B&Q, HFC Bank, Beneficial Finance etc). There...
HSBC (HFC) reported to FSA
I have today reported HSBC to the FSA for engaging in unlawful practice with at least 2 firms of solicitors, where the bank and solicitors entered into a contract for unlawful fees to be added to defaulting borrowers’ accounts.
Whistleblowers UK Launch
Yesterday I attended the launch of Whistleblowers UK at City University. What a relief to meet people who understand how difficult my life has been over the last 10 years! Everybody I met was helpful, concerned and knowledgeable about all the pitfalls of whistleblowing. I hope to become fully...
Whistleblowers UK
On 12 December I will be attending the launch of Whistleblowers UK – a new organisation to support whistleblowers. Details here: The Launch of Whistleblowers UK We would like to invite the press, members of the public, students and all interested parties to the official launch of Whistleblowers UK,...
Ministry of Justice response to FoI request
In response to my request under the Freedom of Information Act to the Ministry of Justice for the number of claims issued by the two firms of solicitors since I informed HFC that the collection charges were unlawful, in 2003, they provided the following information. The number of claims...
SRA acknowledgement
Here is the SRA’s acknowledgement of my complaint. They inform me that they will not keep me updated about their investigation. It will be interesting to see if they ask for any further information.
Reporting Hamilton & Restons
I have today sent the following letter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, reporting Duncan Hamilton and Restons for the unlawful practice they engaged in for many years. I hope the result will be more satisfactory than my report about my previous firm. I will post all responses from the...
