For deficiency in services

A customer has few options when in a dispute with a financial institution. At the end, most of the time, it is the customer who suffers.

Take an example of the most common dispute with credit card holders. Sometimes, the issuer levies a hefty fine for late payments even if the customer had paid on time. When the matter is not settled through correspondence, the customer refuses to pay. Banks report such customers as delinquent to the credit information bureau. This makes it difficult for them to get a loan.

However, if the bank does not respond to your communication satisfactorily, one can approach the Banking Ombudsman. This is a quasi-judicial authority that functions under India's Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006. It covers all scheduled banks, regional , rural and scheduled primary cooperative banks. When set up in 1995, it covered complaints regarding non-payment, delayed payment of cheques and drafts, banks not open during working hours and other such problems. With the revision in 2006, it included services like transaction-related complaints at ATMs, debit and credit cards payment issues, deduction of service charges by banks without prior intimation, unfair practices and non-compliance by direct sales agents.

As a customer, you can also register a complaint on grounds of deficiency in service with respect to loans and advances. Complaints like non-observance of Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) directives on interest rates, delays in sanction, disbursement or non-observance of the prescribed schedule for disposal of loan applications, non-acceptance of applications without giving reasons to the applicant and so on.

The Ombudsman is a senior official RBI has appointed to redress customer complaints against deficiencies in services on the part of banks. There are around 15 such Ombudsmen through out the country, with offices located mostly in state capitals. This authority steps in when banks fail to resolve customers' issues. Before approaching the Ombudsman, a person needs to register a complaint in writing with the bank (and get a written acknowledgement).

You can complain to the Ombudsman only if the bank rejects the complaint or one is not satisfied with the bank’s response got or if there is no response for a month.

The process to make a complaint is simple. The affected party can register his/her complaint online by logging on to www.bankingombudsman.rbi.gov.in and fill the form. The form can either be e-mailed or dropped at the regional office.

If the Ombudsman's judgement is not satisfactory, the person can approach RBI's appellate authority, which hears such cases. A Deputy Governor of the RBI is vested with this appellate jurisdiction. The Consumer Court is the last resort.

The author is Chief Editor, ApnaPaisa.com