Stephanie sent a message to Stuart Gulliver Group CEO, HSBC Holdings PLC – email address that said:
Dear Mr. Gulliver,
June 11, 2016
To Whom It May Concern,
I’m reaching out to you today concerning the late payments that are reporting on my HSBC credit card account. As a very private and proud woman I want you to know how embarrassed and distressed I feel about ever falling behind with this account. Under normal circumstances, these personal details are not something I would ever share, however, in this situation I feel I must.
During about the middle of 2015, my husband and I were separated and involved in preliminary divorce proceedings. Since my husband is disabled and unable to work, I am the primary wage earner. As a result, I had 2 households to financially take care of while we worked through our divorce. I realize this situation does not absolve me from my responsibility to pay on my HSBC account, but during this time I definitely fell behind.
My account was in your collections department and very close to being charged off. When I called in to talk about my account and spoke with the customer service representatives in the collection department, they were very professional and treated me with respect. They talked to me about my various options for payment of the account and even offered me an opportunity to settle my account debt for less than what I actually owed. Although I was tempted, I didn’t feel paying less than I owed was the right thing to do. Fast forward a few months to today and you will see that I have worked very hard to bring my account current and in good standing.
As a result of my impending divorce, I have been left with the bulk of our marital debt. In an effort to pay off the marital debt and still move forward with my own financial survival, I have been trying to obtain a debt consolidation loan. Unfortunately the negative reporting of my HSBC account is keeping me from being able to obtain this type of loan. Given that I have committed to repay my debt to you in full (vs. settling for less) and that I contacted HSBC PRIOR to my account being charged-off and sold to a collection agency, I am humbly asking if there is any way you could make an adjustment to the way my account is being reported to the 3 major credit bureaus?
I realize this is not a common procedure, but I thank you in advance for your time and consideration of my current situation.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
