RBI announces ombudsman scheme to address complaints against NBFCs

If the NBFC rejects the complaint or does not respond within a month, the customer can approach the Ombudsman

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday brought non-banking financial companies (NBFC) under an Ombudsman Scheme, by which an aggrieved person can file a complaint against an NBFC.

The scheme, for now, will cover NBFCs that take deposits and will later include those with an asset size of Rs 1 billion and above with a customer interface.

The scheme will not be applicable to infrastructure-related NBFCs and NBFCs under liquidation.

According to the RBI, there are 168 deposit-taking NBFCs out of the more than 11,500 registered with the regulator.

There can be complaints about interest payment, deposits, cheques, or “undue” charges.  Complaints can