Today, I'll yell about HSBC, their credit cards and their supposed customer service

I have a couple of credit cards issued through HSBC that I use and used to like. The interest rates were reasonable and it came with Best Buy Rewards points which are always useful.
The first sign of trouble came soon after the new customer protection regulations were instituted and I was informed that my interest rates would climb (but they did give me a years notice) so I stopped using them and began paying them off.
The second sign was a notice that at the end of the year, the Best Buy program would change and that points would expire annually instead of rolling over. Even worse, if I bought something in December the points would expire almost immediately rendering the plan almost worthless but those two reasons were annoyances more than anything else. Reason number three is why I'm here today.
The third reason is the absolute ridiculous "automatic payment" feature. Almost as soon as I got the two cards I set up an auto payment through the website. This is done through HSBC's VERY OWN WEBSITE. This isn't a payment made through my bank to them but a full on authorization on my credit card's website to automatically pay the bill every month. The system automatically chooses the date itself and payments are made. The system is sold as a way to make sure payments are always on time and a way to avoid late fees and all that. It should be a great system but, of course, credit card companies really don't want you to pay on time because they can't hike your rates as easily or charge you late fees, over the limit fees, etc.
So far, this all sounds great, right? Well, here's where it all fails. Even though the computer picks the dates for payments and those dates are picked for infinitum (I can scroll through the "scheduled payment date" list for years) it can't coordinate due dates with the payment statement. In other words, while the DUE DATE moves at the whim of the credit card company, the payment date won't. So, the company PICKS the date the payment is due and PICKS the day the payment will process and seems to make sure that the PAYMENT is made after the DUE DATE ensuring that I am always late. Handy feature, eh?
Furthermore, when I bring this situation to the attention of the "customer service associates" via email I get standard, cut and paste emails that don't address the issue I'm raising but offers standard regrets and suggestion on how to be a better customer. It's insulting.

I sent an email with essentially this question...
"Why does the due date change but the automatic payment date not change?" and got this response...
"
We are writing to you in response to your inquiry regarding your Account
ending in 4684 issued by HSBC Bank Nevada N.A.

We can certainly understand your concern regarding the late fee. As on
09/16/09, Our records do not indicate any late fee assessed on your account.


What does that have to do with my question?
So, I sent this response.

" I didn't say I had a late fee this month (which tells me my email isn't being read, read completely or understood at all) but it has been an ongoing problem in the past with getting them. I have a standing re-occurring payment set up through your own system that pays you on the 18th of every month but this month (and in several past months) the due date falls before that. Why doesn't the payment date move automatically or, since the payment is a standing payment, the due date move to the autopay date so that I don't have to do this every month?"

and they return...

We are writing to you in response to your inquiry regarding your Account
issued by HSBC Bank Nevada N.A.

We can certainly understand your concern regarding the late fee. This email
confirms a Standard Online Bill Pay payment of $xxx will post to your
Account on 09/18/09. Your billing statement closes on or around the 16th of
the month. Your payment is due 20 to 25 days after the closing date. Because
the number of days can differ each month, your due date may vary.


Which makes me mad and I ask...
"What use is an automatic payment plan if the plan doesn't prevent the payment from being late?"

And they respond by cancelling my automatic payment!
What craziness is that? Because I'm questioning their tactics they pull my automatic payment? How PETTY!

I'm so not happy with your customer service HSBC!