HSBC US account transferred to Citizens

Just wondering if anybody else had an account with HSBC US that has been transferred to Citizens bank? I'm trying to set up online banking with Citizens but it requires them sending a verification text or voice call to a number they have on file. I obviously hadn't updated my number with HSBC as it was showing the last four digits of my parents' UK phone number but masked in US format, i.e. XXX-XXX-1111. Anyway, I tried both text and voice options but my parents' phone never rang.

I've called Citizens and they confirmed it doesn't work with UK numbers. You have to have a US number. I was told that if I get a US number and call back they can sort it. I could get a relative in the US to help but I'm not sure if Citizens would expect me to call from that number, otherwise it doesn't seem very secure.

This is a very frustrating situation as my money has been transferred to Citizens and I have no access to it. It's putting me off submitting my tax return as I don't want my rebate paid into an account I can't access.

I'm thinking I can't be the only person in this situation. The best thing to do might be to buy a US SIM card so I have a US number I can use. Any advice would be appreciated.

Can you get a Wise account and have your refund deposited to that?  I think I've read on UKYankee that others have been successful with this approach.

Can you get a Wise account and have your refund deposited to that?  I think I've read on UKYankee that others have been successful with this approach.

I’m with HSBC USA and this is the solution I’m looking at if/when they transfer me.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into that if I can't get Citizens sorted soon.

So I called Citizens again this evening to give them my mother-in-law's US phone number, with her on standby to forward any activation codes. However, Citizens couldn't do it as the number couldn't be traced to me, so the only other option they could offer is closing the account and mailing a check! I'm really unimpressed that HSBC have sold their business to this regional bank that isn't set up to handle international customers. Yet I'm not surprised.

I really appreciate the advice about Wise, otherwise I would have been panicking. I already had a Wise account and I've just added a US currency account to it and have a routing and account number; so easy! Now I can get the tax return submitted.

Hopefully the check from Citizens will arrive OK. I'm assuming UK banks will still cash a US check without any problem? It must be over 10 years since I last tried.

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So I called Citizens again this evening to give them my mother-in-law's US phone number, with her on standby to forward any activation codes. However, Citizens couldn't do it as the number couldn't be traced to me, so the only other option they could offer is closing the account and mailing a check!

The same thing happened to us.  Luckily we spoke to a really nice person who allowed us to use my brother-in-laws phone number, and so we have been able to enroll in on line banking.
There is a glitch in the system though, and we can't use it for bill paying/Zelle or link accounts or anything other than deposits and cheques.

As we are in the process of selling a house, we need this account.
Unfortunately to process any type of wire transfer we have to go to the bank in person to set it up, and there isn't a bank anywhere near the location where my husband is from.
So this has completely thrown a spanner in the works, and looks like we will be falling back on using a good old fashioned cheque, and having to take the hit in the exchange rate.

It also takes a minimum of an hour to speak to anyone, and the last agent we spoke to said there are a lot of problems with the HSBC transfer.
Really poor service from HSBC for their customers.

I'm in the same boat, except I kept a US number for text messages on Google voice. I keep putting off setting everything up but I have to do it tomorrow. My 401k was with HSBC and moved to citizens too, so now I have to figure out my options and what I need to do when visiting my mom next.

Quick update, they fixed the glitch at Citizens, so our bill paying/zelle/add an account etc has all been fixed!
What a relief.
 

I'm glad you got everything sorted. It's strange that they let you use a relative's phone number but wouldn't let us. I received the check from Citizens by FedEx today and have confirmed with HSBC that I can pay this into my UK account, so I can stop worrying about that, and now just have to wait to get a flat tire replaced on Wednesday so that I can drive to the bank! I'm still slightly concerned that I no longer have proper US bank account and hope it doesn't cause problems in the future.

It also takes a minimum of an hour to speak to anyone, and the last agent we spoke to said there are a lot of problems with the HSBC transfer.
Really poor service from HSBC for their customers.

I thought my half hour waiting to get through to somebody each time was bad enough! It does feel like HSBC have sold off their business to a regional bank that can't cope with it.