It seemed simple. Pop into HSBC on a visit to England - it is the "world's local bank" - and check my account. I poked my card into an ATM in Taunton, a town in the southwest. I got my balance, but no option for a mini-statement to show recent transactions. Inside, the helpful branch manager, Ivan, ushered me to a different ATM. Still only the balance.
The machine initially offered me cash. Important to remember this - my PIN number was working when I entered the bank. Ivan suggested a quick call to Hong Kong from the "premier suite", which he said had the branch's only international phone line. It took 15 minutes to work.
Remember, this was not me calling cold from a mountain top, but an HSBC branch manager calling the mother ship. Someone in the Hong Kong Premier Telephone Banking Centre answered and hung up, three times. It was clearly Ivan's first experience of HSBC's phone banking.
"Sorry, I'm learning something here," he said, trying to be upbeat.
Finally, Benny at HSBC Premier telephone banking answered and got my account number correct at the fourth attempt.
"Please input your phone banking PIN," he said.
