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http://www.bankrate.com/financing/banking/angry-customer-gets-back-at-bank/
Angry customer gets back at bank
By David McMillin · Bankrate.com
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Posted: 10 am ET
From excessive fees to poor customer service to issues with loans, plenty of account holders have been frustrated with their Banks. Many of them have taken to online forums and social media to voice their complaints, too.
All those efforts to shame their banking institutions pale in comparison to former HSBC account holder, Christopher George. According to George, the bank sold him an unnecessary insurance policy on a business loan. George was unhappy with the bank's activity -- so unhappy that he decided to trademark an online domain name for the institution's original name.
HSBC was founded in 1865 as the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. However, George's new site, thehongkongandshanghaibankingcorporation.com, was registered as a different kind of bank: a sperm bank.
"I felt that this world-famous banking provider took advantage of me, coercing me into taking out unnecessary protection and playing a part in the demise of my own business," George wrote in an unconventional press release I received last week.
"Many people in my position would have no idea how to stand up for themselves against a financial behemoth such as this –- but in registering this domain name, I have proven that there are ways in which these banks can be got at, in the most public manner," George said.
George's path to revenge is certainly comedic, but I'm not sure how many people actually are aware of the meaning behind the HSBC acronym. Still, he gets an A for effort. It's easy to post negative comments about a bank on Facebook. Trademarking a domain name is another story.
While other customers may not be upset enough to spend this kind of time and energy, data shows that many of them still resent the banking industry.
Angry customer gets back at bank
By David McMillin · Bankrate.com
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Posted: 10 am ET
From excessive fees to poor customer service to issues with loans, plenty of account holders have been frustrated with their Banks. Many of them have taken to online forums and social media to voice their complaints, too.
All those efforts to shame their banking institutions pale in comparison to former HSBC account holder, Christopher George. According to George, the bank sold him an unnecessary insurance policy on a business loan. George was unhappy with the bank's activity -- so unhappy that he decided to trademark an online domain name for the institution's original name.
HSBC was founded in 1865 as the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. However, George's new site, thehongkongandshanghaibankingcorporation.com, was registered as a different kind of bank: a sperm bank.
"I felt that this world-famous banking provider took advantage of me, coercing me into taking out unnecessary protection and playing a part in the demise of my own business," George wrote in an unconventional press release I received last week.
"Many people in my position would have no idea how to stand up for themselves against a financial behemoth such as this –- but in registering this domain name, I have proven that there are ways in which these banks can be got at, in the most public manner," George said.
George's path to revenge is certainly comedic, but I'm not sure how many people actually are aware of the meaning behind the HSBC acronym. Still, he gets an A for effort. It's easy to post negative comments about a bank on Facebook. Trademarking a domain name is another story.
While other customers may not be upset enough to spend this kind of time and energy, data shows that many of them still resent the banking industry.
