Gross incompetence & inneficiency - Avoid HSBC mortgages!!

I cocncur with every other negative review about HSBC mortgages on this website! My wife and I have just lost our perfect house as the vendors have decided to pull out due to the hurdles and continual delays that have been imposed by our mortgage provider HSBC.

We are first time buyers and were iniitially suckered in to applying for a HSBC mortgage due to their competitive rates and in particular a 'no fee' 5 year fixed mortgage product they were offfering throughout January 2012. We stupidly thought it was going to be easy and we'd be able to complete within the 6-8 weeks from offer acceptance as that they advised.

Without reiterating the entire sorry story about the downwide spiral of events that pursued because, quite frankly I lose the will to live every time I do, I will simply say that if you are considering applying for a mortgage with HSBC, don't! Their customer service is the most appalling I have ever experienced. The advisers in the mortgage centre in Sheffield are incompetent. The underwriting team are impossible to get hold of during normal working hours and rarely call you back. It takes ages to get decisions from them and even longer to receive formal confirmation of decisions in writing. Also HSBCs affiliates at Contrywide Conveyancing and Direct Valuations (cartels as some other reviewer referred to them as) are as incompetent as their employers.

The only company/individual in the process who we were forced to appoint by HSBC and whom I actually have no problems with whatsoever believe it or not is the solicitors! They were professional, communicative, informative and generally one step ahead at every stage of the process. I guess we were just very lucky in this case judging by some of the other review here!