I opened a credit card account with Orchard Bank (affiliated with HSBC) in Salinas, CA in June. A month or so ago, I received a small check stating I was being rewarded for being a "valued" customer. I recently found an unauthorized charge on my account. When I called THAT company, they put me on hold and never came back.
Before calling Orchard Bank, I typed them in on the internet and a "complaint" came up telling about being scammed the same way. Evidently in the fine print somewhere on the check attachment, it says that if you cash this check it authorizes any number of companies to charge you for their services.in my case it was protection insurance for household items. Considering I'm living with my parents right now, this is obviously something I don't need.
When I did call Orchard Bank they refused to back out the charge or close my account (leaving it open to more unauthorized charges). They actually told me that if I'd checked them out on the internet before I cashed the check I would have known not to do so. They are not only scamming their customers, but appear to be quite proud of it. It's a big joke to them.
Stay away from hsbc and orchard bank of salinas california!
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