The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Two private banks pulled up for harassing customers

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Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Two private banks pulled up for harassing customers

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Two city consumer forums, in separate cases, have pulled up the credit card divisions of two private banks for harassing customers.

The forums have directed the ABN Amro Bank and the ICICI Bank to pay Rs. 10,000 each to Kundan Tallam and D.Y. Venkataramana respectively on the grounds of causing harassment, agony and inconvenience to them.

Mr. Tallam wrote to the ABN Amro Bank, Noida, about withdrawal of 273.21 pounds (Rs. 23,449.87) from his account for an online transaction done from the city of “Luston, BEDS, GBR” with merchant establishment Easyjet in July 2007. Stating that it was not a valid transaction, Mr. Tallam asked the bank to reverse the charges. When he called up the bank’s executive to find out the progress, Mr. Tallam was informed about another withdrawal of 229 pounds (Rs. 19,309.85) in August 2007 for a transaction with Super Break.com done from the same city.

Mr. Tallam then wrote another letter to the bank on August 27, 2007 asking it to block his credit card until the completion of the investigation over the disputed transactions.

He filed a complaint with the Third Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum.

The ABN Amro Bank maintained before the forum that the Internet-based transactions were valid ones and the complainant was liable to pay for the transactions. It also said that as such transactions took a long time to investigate, the bank as a goodwill measure not only reversed Rs. 19,309.85, but also credited a sum of Rs. 25,553.75 to his account.

Finding the bank deficient in rendering service, the forum observed that the bank had not taken any step to block the credit card.

“If the bank had any doubts, regarding these two transactions, they should have advised the complainant to cancel the card or they should have blocked the card,” the forum observed in its order dated September 15. It further said that the “dubious behaviour” of the bank of persistently asking Mr. Tallam to pay for the transactions and eventually reversing the charges “proves the bank has been deficient in rendering service.”

Second case

In another case, D.Y. Venkataramana, a master credit card holder, received a statement from the ICICI Bank that mentioned about a transaction made through add-on card standing in the name of his father Surya Prakash Rao, despite his father not having any add-on card.

As neither he nor his father made use of the credit card, leave apart the add-on card, Mr. Venkataramana asked the bank to refund Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 2,630 collected illegally.

As the bank did not respond and in turn sent a notice demanding Rs. 71,360, Mr. Venkataramana filed a complaint before the Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum.

In its order dated September 20, the forum noted that the notice issued by the bank did not mention issuance of add-on card and the transaction made using it.

“Under such circumstances, the contention of bank that the complainant is in due of certain amount on the basis of the transactions through the add-on card appears to be baseless,” it said.

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