Those of you who know me know that I have had my battles with my bank - HSBC - who now will feel, even in a limited way, my distaste.

My hope is that after reading this, even if you considered using them, that you won't or even if you do that you will consider going elsewhere!

Frankly I no longer care for them and if I score some points and create just a little bit of reputational damage then so be it and my task will be complete for today.

So why am I so irked?

Let me start at the beginning. It's all very sad really. When I was a child I joined Midland Bank with a child's account. The bank was then much later taken over by HSBC and everything was rebranded, but I saw no reason to change, especially when a friend of mine who now works for another bank basically said they are all the same anyway.

So things were going along smoothly and while the standards of service were not necessarily outstanding they were good enough and I saw no reason to change things.

I am not a bad client. Although I have an overdraft facility, I haven't used it for years and I clear my credit card every month. I save and that's remember that my funds help contribute to their liquidity from which they take much of their profit. Straightforward retail banking.

Then a couple of years ago things started to go wrong.

• They blocked my transactions three times when I started Crypto investments. (I use Coinbase and the primary reason is because they insure their client's assets, even if their fees are more expensive).
• I tried to move money through an aggregator between my international accounts. Blocked twice and then again recently (more below)
• I tried to pay for an airline ticket a couple of months ago and they blocked it - you may have read about it on here. The airline in question I have used literally dozens, even up to a couple of hundred times over the years always paid for through HSBC. So what's the problem suddenly?

And then...

Last week I tried to move some money again between my international accounts, but aware of the history of problems I went into branch the day before. I told them what I wanted to do and while the guy I spoke to was polite he was as useful as a chocolate teapot. I actually felt for him because he said it was the system and at "branch level" he could sway no influence. This is wrong, but not his fault. What is the point of having F2F contact in a branch if the staff cannot actually do anything?

So the next day I went online on my laptop to set up the transfer through the aggregator company (btw about three years ago HSBC did allow me to use them a couple of times - so in a similar way to the airline what changed?) and upon completion of my payment details I was directed to an HSBC page for verification and went though their protocols and I had to simply confirm on my mobile app. Straightforward two factor authentication.

It failed.

So I did it again and it failed.

Please note, for the sake of absolute clarity, I used my laptop to set up the transaction and my phone to confirm it. Two devices that only I can log on confirming a precise transaction that had only been put in place literally seconds before. What are the chances that it is somebody else or of me doing it by accident with so many steps to go through?

"Excuse me HSBC - can I use the toilet now" - as I seem not to have permission to do anything on my own anymore with MY money.

There is protection and then there is overprotection. If I was a child it would be called mollycoddling.

So, given what had happened, I tried the second option which was to receive a one time password by SMS / Text message which I duly set up. And guess what...

Yes that's right it failed.

So let me summarise, they blocked a transaction set up on my laptop which I tried to confirm twice through mobile app which I can only enter using my pin and then they also blocked me when receiving the password on my phone through SMS / Text.

This is not even 2FA, I failed using three factor authentication - which means the BANK failed me.

FFS what the hell is 3FA- when 2FA is the industry standard

At the end of the day, it is my money and while they do have a duty of care it is I who ultimately makes the decisions and especially if I go through all the safeguarding measures that are in place. If I am wrong or scammed ultimately it is I that must take responsibility for it so long as the bank has acted with due diligence and not overstepped the mark. That's the whole point of 2FA..

I went back into the bank the next day and the bemused guy couldn't figure it out either.

In the end as on all previous occasions I had to ask a friend who I CAN actually send money to for some reason and he then sent the money on as per my wishes immediately. This is not the way it should work and is a disgrace. As kind as he is, he should not have to do my banking for me.

Ironically my friend banks where my friend works - yes the same friend who warned my that they are all the same.

Well, take it from me they are not!

Avoid HSBC like it is the plague and if you bank with them I strongly advise you to look elsewhere!

We need the dream of unbanking ourselves to become a reality - even though such a thought is naive in itself because all crypto is ultimately rooted in fiat and can only be monetised through fiat.

Rant over, as always stay safe and well my friends.