Kochiites can lodge a complaint with the district administration if a business house refuses to accept cheques, demand drafts and online payments for various transactions.
They can call 0484-2423513 and register their grievances. On Wednesday, officials handling the help desk said most of the callers complained about the shortage of currencies in ATMs and the withdrawal limits set by banks.
“A person called to say that a security personnel at a private bank shouted at him while he was waiting in the queue to withdraw cash. People are also asking on the daily transaction limit and other related things,” said an official handling the queries.
A communication issued by the District Collector quoting a directive from the Department of Economic Affairs said that customers could lodge a complaint with the District Magistrate or the district administration for action against business houses, namely hospitals, caterers, etc., for not accepting cheques, demand drafts and online payment transfer from customers.
Assistant Collector Renu Raj pointed out that the district administration would go by the directives issued by the Reserve Bank of India and the Union government in ensuring that cheques, demand drafts and online payment transfers are accepted in business houses.
The directive by the Department of Economic Affairs has requested the Chief Secretaries of States to identify rural pockets, if any, where availability of cash remains a problem. It has asked the authorities to provide all support to banks and post offices in order to ensure that the last-mile distribution of smaller denomination notes is done through mobile banking vans and banking correspondents.
Instructions have been given to the banks and post offices to ensure proper distribution of all denomination notes.
