A woman from north Manchester said she had her ‘dream holiday’ to Miami ruined after her bank account was frozen as she made her way to the airport.
Suzanne Lorrey, 29, from Harpurhey, was due to fly out from Heathrow Airport last Friday (June 16) to see her boyfriend for the first time in 18 months. Before leaving, she opened an HSBC Global Money Account, which allows customers to spend and send money abroad without incurring fees.
The night before her departure, Suzanne sent £500 to the account and the next day on the way to the airport transferred her money into dollars ready to spend abroad. But Suzanne, who works as a telesales agent, said she was left horrified when she got an alert on her phone stating her account had been frozen and put ‘under review’.
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Panicking and anxious about her flight the next day, she went into a HSBC bank but claims she was told there was nothing they could do and she would need to wait for the account to be reviewed.
Stranded in Heathrow Airport, Suzanne said she was then unable to board the plane as she had no money and missed out on her trip, which she had spent months saving for.
"I have been planning for this holiday for a long time,” Suzanne explained. “I started paying it off in February. Altogether, including flights and accommodation I have spent just over £3000 which I can't get back.
"There was no way for me to go on holiday, I had another bag to check in that I was going to pay for at the airport. I was going to use that £500 - everything I needed was on that card.
"I had no choice but to come back to Manchester, I was there at the check-in point until check-in closed."
Whilst she was on the way to the airport, Suzanne said she continued to call the bank for an update on the situation in the hopes that she could get it rectified before her flight.
She even dramatically sent text messages to the bank's customer service explaining her circumstances in a bid for them to speed up the review process.
"I was crying on the phone to the bank, even when I was in the branch I was crying - I was stranded,” she said. "I called the bank around 60 times and I kept being told there was nothing they could do.
"I still tried to go to the airport and continue on my journey. I spent the night at the airport on live chat with the bank, I was desperate, I needed to check into the flight. I came back to Manchester the next morning."
Suzanne's account is still under review and she has missed her three-week holiday to Miami.
"It has destroyed my entire year, this was my trip for the year,” she added.
"The last time I saw my partner was in March last year. He has been working in America for 18 months. It's not even about the money, I want my holiday. I should be on a beach right now.
"I should not be in England right now, I want my flights and I want them to compensate me for my accommodation. It isn’t easy to see my boyfriend, he lives in California – and we have both missed out."
An HSBC UK spokesperson said: “We apologise for any uncertainty and inconvenience this has caused. We were complying with our statutory obligations.”
