An HSBC customer in New York said: “I have had an HSBC retail account for approximately 2+ years with no lates, no over limits, no NEGATIVES. I checked my account online today and saw that my credit line has gone from $3,000 to $5 dollars over my current balance!!!!

My utilization rate went from approx 40% to over 95%. It’s outrageous as I signed up to receive ALL communication online and received no notice from them.

They are taking advantage of those customers who do exactly as they are supposed to— use credit responsibly and in turn pay it back responsibly. The only thing I can think of is that all of the purchases were 0% for 15 month purchases and because I never use it on a non-promo purchase, they aren’t making any money off of me. It’s still crazy… they should be thankful that I pay as I am supposed to.”