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The column for anyone fed up with bureaucracy, frustrated with delays or furious with poor service. Tell us your complaint and we'll try to fix it ...

mind your business

An HSBC customer, who has asked not to be named, is peeved that the bank is passing his personal financial data between departments for promotional purposes without his authorisation.

'I had a phone call the other day from an HSBC staff member, advising me that for clients making over five overseas transfers in a month there is a cash prize of $200. 'How many did I make last month?' I asked. 'Two', came the quick answer.

'It suddenly occurred to me that someone in the bank has been passing my transaction details around for promotion purposes. So I asked whether it was regular and legitimate for HSBC to divulge client details to other staff who are not directly handling these transactions, and in this case, to further their promotional ends.

'I got absolute silence as an answer. I wonder what HSBC's response would be on this, and I would also like to know whether there has been any infringement of privacy laws.

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