the banking ombudsman

101
Project Report On “THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN” Bachelor of Commerce Banking & Insurance Semester – V Submitted By FREDDY SAVIO D’SOUZA Roll No. 45 BIRLA COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCE & COMMERCE Murbad Road Kalyan (W) UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI (2009-2010)

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College Project Report on The Banking Ombudsman

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Page 1: The Banking Ombudsman

Project Report

On

“THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN”

Bachelor of Commerce

Banking & Insurance

Semester – V

Submitted By

FREDDY SAVIO D’SOUZA

Roll No. 45

BIRLA COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCE & COMMERCE

Murbad Road Kalyan (W)

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

(2009-2010)

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Project on

“THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN”

Bachelor of Commerce

Banking & Insurance

Semester – V

(2009-2010)

Submitted

In partial fulfillment of requirement for the Award of Degree of

Bachelor of Commerce (Banking & Insurance)

By

FREDDY SAVIO D’SOUZA

Roll No. 45

BIRLA COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCE & COMMERCE

Murbad Road Kalyan (W)

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BIRLA COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCE, & COMMERCE, KALYAN

(Conducted by Kalyan Citizens’ Education Society)

(Affiliated by University of Mumbai)

BACHELOR OF BANKING AND INSURANCE

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that MR. FREDDY SAVIO D’SOUZA of T.Y.B.Com.

Banking & Insurance (V Semester) has successfully completed the project

on “THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN”, under the guidance of

MS. HEMA TAHILRAMANI.

Project Guide Principal

Course Co-ordinator

Internal Examiner

External Examiner

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TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that Mr. Freddy Savio D’souza, Student of Birla

College, Kalyan (West), pursuing Bachelor of Commerce (Banking

& Insurance), fifth semester, had visited our bank situated at Kalyan.

He had successfully completed his Project on “The Banking

Ombudsman”. We wish him best luck for his future.

Akshai Kumar,

Asst. Manager, IDBI Bank Ltd. Kalyan

Nivara Complex, Opposite Mahalakshmi Temple, Tilak Chowk, Kalyan (West), Thane 421301. Tel.: 91-0251-2203327. Fax: 91-0521-2201738

IDBI Tower, WTC, Complex, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai 400 005. Website: www.idbi.com

Page 5: The Banking Ombudsman
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DECLARATION

I, MR. FREDDY SAVIO D’SOUZA, student of T.Y.B.Com (Banking &

Insurance) Semester V (2009-2010) hereby declare that I have completed the

project on “BANKING OMBUDSMAN”.

I further declare that the information contained in this project report is

genuine, true & fair to the best of my knowledge.

Signature of Student

(Mr. Freddy Savio D’souza)

Page 7: The Banking Ombudsman

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Its gives me immense pleasure to present this project on

“THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN”

It is the most pleasant part of any project to express gratitude towards all those

who helped me out to complete this project.

My deepest thanks to my project guide Prof. Hema Tahilramani for guiding and

correcting various documents of mine with attention and care. She has taken pain

to go through the project and make necessary correction as and when needed.

I equally wish to extend my appreciation and thanks to Mrs. Bhanu Vasudevan

the Assistant General Manager of the Banking Ombudsman who provide me

valuable information as the guidance of my project.

I thank Mr. Anil Narkende the Branch Manager of IDBI Bank, Kalyan Branch for being instrumental in the completion of the project with his complete guidance.

I would be failing in my duty if I do not mention here the tremendous cooperation

and support I received from my family members in the completion of this book.

I would also like to thank to all those who supported me directly or indirectly in

completing this project.

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INDEX

Ch. No. Content Page No.

Executive Summary

Preface

1. Introduction to Banking 01-09

Types of Banks

Grievance Redressal

2. Introduction to Banking Ombudsman 10-19

Duties, & Functions

Types of Ombudsman

3. Banking Ombudsman Scheme 20-33

4. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 34-40

5. Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 41-56

6. Difference Between Banking Ombudsman Scheme

1995, 2002 & 2006

57-64

7. Policy for Grievance Redressal in IDBI Bank 65-70

Case Study 71-73

Conclusion 74

Bibliography

Wibliography

Annexure ‘A’

Annexure ‘B’

Page 9: The Banking Ombudsman

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The aim of this project is to introduce the reader to the topic of “THE BANKING

OMBUDSMAN”. The project also deals with the policy adopted by the RBI and

the excess of case laws.

The ability of the banking industry to achieve the socio-economic objectives and

in the process bringing more and more customers into its fold will ultimately

depend on the satisfaction of the customers. Banks have a strong belief that a

satisfied customer is the foremost factor in developing our business.

This project is focused in understanding the essentiality of the Banking

Ombudsman in regards to the public interest and the interest of the banking

policies to enable resolution of complaints related to deficiency in banking

services.

Sensing the need for a easy, expeditious and inexpensive mechanism for redressal

of unresolved grievances of customers, the RBI initially formulated the Scheme of

Ombudsman, 1995, which became operational in June 1995, providing an

institutional and legal framework to bank customers to resolve all their complaint

The scheme is applicable to all scheduled commercial banks having business in

India and scheduled primary co-operative banks except Regional Rural Banks.

Fifteen offices of Banking Ombudsman at important centres were set up to cover

the entire country.

The Banking Ombudsman offers customers the opportunity to resolve disputes

with their banks without needing to resort to the Courts.

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PREFACE

OBJECTIVES

To present Banking Ombudsman Scheme & how does it works.

To present the services of the Banking Ombudsman offered to the customer.

To show how the Banking Ombudsman deals with customer complaints.

To explain the duties, functions & powers of the Ombudsman.

METHODLOGY

The methodology includes the information of the features of the Ombudsman in

the form of primary data that had been received from the Branch Managers of the

banks and the officers of the RBI. It also includes the information’s from the

related books & the related websites.

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INTRODUCTION

The basic services a bank provides are checking accounts, which can be used like

money to make payments and purchase goods and services; savings accounts and

time deposits that can be used to save money for future use; loans that consumers

and businesses can use to purchase goods and services; and basic cash

management services such as check cashing and foreign currency exchange. Four

types of banks specialize in offering these basic banking services: commercial

banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks, and credit unions.

A broader definition of a bank is any financial institution that receives, collects,

transfers, pays, exchanges, lends, invests, or safeguards money for its customers.

This broader definition includes many other financial institutions that are not

usually thought of as banks but which nevertheless provide one or more of these

broadly defined banking services. These institutions include finance companies,

investment companies, investment banks, insurance companies, pension funds,

security brokers and dealers, mortgage companies, and real estate investment

trusts.

Banking services are extremely important in a free market economy such as that

found in Canada and the United States. Banking services serve two primary

purposes. First, by supplying customers with the basic mediums-of-exchange

(cash, checking accounts, and credit cards), banks play a key role in the way goods

and services are purchased. Without these familiar methods of payment, goods

could only be exchanged by barter (trading one good for another), which is

extremely time-consuming and inefficient. Second, by accepting money deposits

from savers and then lending the money to borrowers, banks encourage the flow of

money to productive use and investments. This in turn allows the economy to

grow. Without this flow, savings would sit idle in someone’s safe or pocket,

money would not be available to borrow, people would not be able to purchase

cars or houses, and businesses would not be able to build the new factories the

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economy needs to produce more goods and grow. Enabling the flow of money

from savers to investors is called financial intermediation, and it is extremely

important to a free market economy.

Banking institutions include commercial banks, savings and loan associations

(SLAs), savings banks, and credit unions. The major differences between these

types of banks involve how they are owned and how they manage their assets and

liabilities. Assets of banks are typically cash, loans, securities (bonds, but not

stocks), and property in which the bank has invested. Liabilities are primarily the

deposits received from the bank’s customers. They are known as liabilities

because they are still owned by, and can be withdrawn by, the depositors of the

financial institution.

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TYPES OF BANKS

There are various types of banks which operate in our country to meet the

financial requirements of different categories of people engaged in agriculture,

business, profession, etc. On the basis of functions, the banking institutions in

India may be divided into the following types:

TYPES OF BANKS

DEVELOPMENT BANKS

COMMERCIAL BANKS CO-OPERATIVE BANKS

Public Sector Banks

Private Sectors Banks

Foreign Banks

Primary Credit Societies

Central Co-operative Banks

State Co-operative Banks

SPECIALIZED

BANKS

CENTRAL

BANKS

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1. Central Banks

A bank which is entrusted with the functions of guiding and regulating the

banking system of a country is known as its Central bank. Such a bank does not

deal with the general public. It acts essentially as Government’s banker; maintain

deposit accounts of all other banks and advances money to other banks, when

needed. The Central Bank provides guidance to other banks whenever they face

any problem. It is therefore known as the banker’s bank. It advises the

Government on monetary and credit policies and decides on the interest rates for

bank deposits and bank loans. Another important function of the Central Bank is

the issuance of currency notes, regulating their circulation in the country by

different methods. No other bank than the Central Bank can issue currency.

2. Commercial Banks

Commercial Banks are banking institutions that accept deposits and grant short-

term loans and advances to their customers. In addition to giving short-term loans,

commercial banks also give medium-term and long-term loan to business

enterprises. Commercial banks are of three types:

Public Sector Banks

These are banks where majority stake is held by the Government of India or

Reserve Bank of India. Examples of public sector banks are: State Bank of India,

Corporation Bank, Bank of Baroda and Dena Bank, etc

Private Sectors Banks

In case of private sector banks majority of share capital of the bank is held by

private individuals. These banks are registered as companies with limited liability.

For example: The Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd., Bank of Rajasthan Ltd.,

Development Credit Bank Ltd, Lord Krishna Bank Ltd., Bharat Overseas Bank

Ltd., Global Trust Bank, Vysya Bank, etc.

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Foreign Banks

These banks are registered and have their headquarters in a foreign country but

operate their branches in our country. Some of the foreign banks operating in our

country are Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Citibank,

American Express Bank, Standard & Chartered Bank, Grindlay’s Bank, etc. The

number of foreign banks operating in our country has increased since the financial

sector reforms of 1991.

3. Development Banks

Business often requires medium and long-term capital for purchase of machinery

and equipment, for using latest technology, or for expansion and modernization.

Such financial assistance is provided by Development Banks. They also undertake

other development measures like Public Sector Banks comprise 19 nationalized

banks and State Bank of India and its 7 associate banks. Industrial Finance

Corporation of India (IFCI) and State Financial Corporation’s (SFCs) are

examples of development banks in India.

4. Co-Operative Banks

People who come together to jointly serve their common interest often form a co-

operative society under the Co-operative Societies Act. When a co-operative

society engages itself in banking business it is called a Co-operative Bank. The

society has to obtain a license from the Reserve Bank of India before starting

banking business. Any co-operative bank as a society is to function under the

overall supervision of the Registrar, Co-operative Societies of the State. As

regards banking business, the society must follow the guidelines set and issued by

the Reserve Bank of India. There are three types of co-operative banks operating

in our country:

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Primary Credit Societies

These are formed at the village or town level with borrower and non-borrower

members residing in one locality. The operations of each society are restricted to a

small area so that the members know each other and are able to watch over the

activities of all members to prevent frauds.

Central Co-operative Banks

These banks operate at the district level having some of the primary credit

societies belonging to the same district as their members. These banks provide

loans to their members (i.e., primary credit societies) and function as a link

between the primary credit societies and state co-operative banks.

State Co-operative Banks

These are the apex (highest level) co-operative banks in all the states of the

country. They mobilize funds and help in its proper channelization among various

sectors. The money reaches the individual borrowers from the state co-operative

banks through the central co-operative banks and the primary credit societies.

5. Specialized Banks

There are some banks, which cater to the requirements and provide overall support

for setting up business in specific areas of activity. EXIM Bank, SIDBI and

NABARD are examples of such banks. They engage themselves in some specific

area or activity and thus, are called specialized banks.

Export Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank)

If you want to set up a business for exporting products abroad or importing

products from foreign countries for sale in our country, EXIM bank can provide

you the required support and assistance. The bank grants loans to exporters and

importers and also provides information about the international market.

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Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

If you want to establish a small-scale business unit or industry, loan on easy terms

can be available through SIDBI. It also finances modernization of small-scale

industrial units, use of new technology and market activities. The aim and focus of

SIDBI is to promote, finance and develop small-scale industries.

National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development

(NABARD)

It is a central institution for financing agricultural and rural sectors. If a person is

engaged in agriculture or other activities like handloom weaving, fishing, etc.

NABARD can provide credit, both short-term and long-term, through regional

rural banks. It provides financial assistance, especially, to co-operative credit, in

the field of agriculture, small scale industries, cottages and village industries in

rural areas.

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POLICY FOR THE GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL OF THE

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

In the present scenario of competitive banking, excellence in customer service is

the most important tool for sustained business growth. Customer complaints are

part of the business life of any corporate entity. This is more so for banks because

banks are service organizations. As a service organization, customer service and

customer satisfaction should be the prime concern of any bank. The bank believes

that providing prompt and efficient service is essential not only to attract new

customers, but also to retain existing ones. This policy document aims at

minimizing instances of customer complaints and grievances through proper

service delivery and review mechanism and to ensure prompt redressal of

customer complaints and grievances. The review mechanism should help in

identifying shortcomings in product features and service delivery. Customer

dissatisfaction would spoil bank’s name and image. The Bank’s policy on

grievance redressal follows the under noted principles:

Customers be treated fairly at all times

Complaints raised by customers are dealt with courtesy and on time

Customers are fully informed of avenues to escalate their

complaints/grievances within the organization and their rights to

alternative remedy, if they are not fully satisfied with the response of the

bank to their complaints.

Bank will treat all complaints efficiently and fairly as they can damage

the bank’s reputation and business if handled otherwise.

The Bank employees must work in good faith and without prejudice to

the interests of the customer.

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In order to make bank’s redressal mechanism more meaningful and effective, a

structured system needs to be built up towards such end. Such system would

ensure that the redressal sought is just and fair and is within the given frame-work

of rules and regulation. The policy document would be made available at all

branches. All employees of the Bank should be made aware about the Complaint

handling process

The customer complaint arises due to:

The attitudinal aspects in dealing with customers

Inadequacy of the functions/arrangements made available to the

customers or gaps in standards of services expected and actual services

rendered.

The customer is having full right to register his complaint if he is not

satisfied with the services provided by the bank. He can give his

complaint in writing, orally or over telephone. If customer’s complaint is

not resolved within given time or if he is not satisfied with the solution

provided by the bank, he can approach Banking Ombudsman with his

complaint or other legal avenues available for grievance redressal.

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INTRODUCTION

An ombudsman is a person who has been appointed to look into complaints about

an organization. Using an ombudsman is a way of trying to resolve a complaint

without going to court. Banking Ombudsman is a quasi judicial authority

functioning under India’s Banking Ombudsman Scheme, and the authority was

created pursuant to the a decision by the Government of India to enable resolution

of complaints of customers of banks relating to certain services rendered by the

banks. The Banking Ombudsman Scheme was first introduced in India in 1995,

and was revised in 2002 and 2006. In the wake of the failure in the efficient

services of the banks, the RBI brought a scheme for the prompt, efficient and

courteous services and also to protect the rights of the customers.

The Banking Ombudsman is an official authority to investigate the complaint from

the customers and address the complaint and thereby bring the solution among the

aggrieved parties. So the Banking Ombudsman plays the role of a mediator and

serves the purpose of reconciliation. The Banking Ombudsman has been defined

under clause 4 of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006.

APPOINTMENT & TENNURE

The Reserve Bank may appoint one or more of its officers in the rank of Chief

General Manager or General Manager to be known as Banking Ombudsmen to

carry out the functions entrusted to them by or under the Scheme.

The appointment of Banking Ombudsman under the above Clause may be made

for a period not exceeding three years at a time.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF BANKING OMBUDSMAN

The Banking Ombudsman is a quasi judicial authority. It has power to

summon both the parties - bank and its customer, to facilitate resolution

of complaint through mediation.

All Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks and Scheduled

Primary Co-operative Banks are covered under the Scheme.

The Banking Ombudsman has power to consider complaints from Non-

Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation to their remittances

from abroad, deposits and other bank-related matters.

The Banking Ombudsman does not charge any fee for resolving

customers’ complaints.

Complaint can be made before a Banking Ombudsman on the same subject

matter for which any proceedings before any court, tribunal or arbitrator or any

other forum is pending or a decree or award or a final order, has already been

passed by any such competent court, tribunal, arbitrator or forum.

DUTIES & FUNCTIONS OF OMBUDSMAN

The Ombudsman shall enquire into and investigate in accordance with the

provisions of the Act, and take action or steps as may be prescribed by the

Act and concerning-

Practices and actions by persons, enterprises and other private

institutions where complaints allege that violations of fundamental

rights and freedoms have taken place.

Page 24: The Banking Ombudsman

All instances or matters of alleged or suspected corruption and the

misappropriation of public moneys or other public property by

officials.

Without derogating from the provisions, any request or complaint in

respect of instances or matters referred to in that provisions, may include

any instance or matter in respect of which the Ombudsman has reason to

suspect-

That the provisions of any law or under the authority of the State or by

any person in its employment, or that any practice is so followed, in a

manner which is not in the public interest.

That the powers, duties or functions which vest in the State or, body or

institution, or any person in its employment are exercised or

performed in an irregular manner.

That moneys forming part of the funds of the State or body or institution,

or received or held by or on behalf of the State or body or institution are

being or have been dealt with an irregular manner.

Any person wishing to lay any instance or matter referred to in provisions

before the Ombudsman shall do so in such manner as the Ombudsman

may determine or allow.

The Ombudsman shall not be required to investigate any instance or

matter referred to in the provisions which has been laid before him or her

under the provisions when the grounds on account of which the inquiry is

desired is in the opinion of the Ombudsman.

The provisions shall not apply in respect of any decision taken in or in connection

with any civil or criminal case by a court of law.

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TYPES OF OMBUDSMAN

Banking Ombudsman

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) first introduced the Banking Ombudsman

Scheme In1995, which has been revised in 2002 and 2005. The latest revised

Scheme has come into force from 1st Jan 2006.

S.E.B.I. Ombudsman

The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under section 30 read with sub-

section (1) of section 11 of the SEBI Act, 1992, has framed the SEBI

(Ombudsman) Regulations, 2003, which were notified on 21st August 2003. The

Regulations provided for the establishment of the office of Ombudsman to redress

the Grievance of investors in securities and connected matters. The listed

companies and registered stock intermediaries have to disclose the name address

and other particulars of ombudsman in their for the benefit of the investors.

Banking Ombudsman

TYPES OF OMBUDSMAN

S.E.B.I. Ombudsman

Electricity Ombudsman Telecom Ombudsman

Income Tax Ombudsman Insurance Ombudsman

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Electricity Ombudsman

The Electricity Regulatory Commission, under section 181 read with sub-section

(5) of section 42 of the Electricity Act, 2003, issues guidelines for establishment

of forum and Ombudsman for redressal of grievances of Electricity consumers.

The Delhi Regulatory Commission (DERC) vide its Notification dated 11th March,

2006 has issued DERC (Guidelines for establishment of Forum of redressal of

grievance of the consumer and Ombudsman) Regulations, 2003. It may be noted

that the Ombudsman is the APPELLATE Authority under the Electricity Act

2003, and the DERC Regulations, 2003 and therefore an electricity consumer has

to first approach the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum established under the

DERC Regulations, 2003.

Telecom Ombudsman

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, empowers the Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997, empowers the Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (TRAI) to make the recommendations on laying down the

standards of quality of services to be provided by the services providers and

conduct the interest of the periodical surveys of Telecom services so as to protect

the interest of the consumers. The telecom operators frequently threaten to

disconnects the phones and with draw the numbers given t o subscribers if the

deadline for payment is missed by a day or there is miscalculation of the tiniest

amount. The TRAI is, however, neither empowered to look into the grievances of

individual customers nor take action against the operators who do not meet quality

of standards As there is no specialized body to redress the grievance of telecom

customers, they have to approach consumer forum setup under THE Consumer

Protection Act, 1986, or civil courts for Resolutions adjudication of disputes.

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Income Tax Ombudsman

The government is considering creating an office of Income Tax Ombudsman to

protect individual taxpayer’s right. The Ombudsman will identify issues that

increase the compliance burden or create problems for taxpayers and bring those

issues to the attention of the ministry of Finance. The Ombudsman will make

appropriate legislative proposal where necessary and send periodical reports to the

Department of Revenue, suggesting appropriate action. It is proposed to initially

setup offices of Ombudsman at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Insurance Ombudsman

The Government of India, Minister of Finance, Department of Economics Affairs,

Insurance Division under section 114 (1) of Insurance Act, 1938, has framed the

“Redressal of Public Grievance Rules, 1998”, for appointment of Insurance

Ombudsman, which comes into force with effect from 11th November 1998. The

Insurance Ombudsman has started functioning from 1999, to provide for efficient,

cost effective and impartial settlement of claims and grievance of any person

against a Life r General Insurance in Public and private sector. The meaning of

expression ‘any other person’ is wider than ‘consumer’ and therefore, even third

party having grievance with respect to an Insurance contract can approach the

Ombudsman.

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GROUNDS OF CUSTOMERS COMPLAINTS CONSIDERED

BY BANKING OMBUDSMAN

The Banking Ombudsman can receive and consider any complaint relating to the

following deficiency in banking services (including internet banking):

non-payment or inordinate delay in the payment or collection of cheques,

drafts, bills etc.;

non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of small denomination notes

tendered for any purpose, and for charging of commission in respect

thereof;

non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of coins tendered and for

charging of commission in respect thereof;

non-payment or delay in payment of inward remittances ;

failure to issue or delay in issue of drafts, pay orders or bankers’ cheques;

non-adherence to prescribed working hours ;

failure to provide or delay in providing a banking facility (other than loans

and advances) promised in writing by a bank or its direct selling agents;

complaints from Non-Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation

to their remittances from abroad, deposits and other bank-related matters;

levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the customer;

non-adherence by the bank or its subsidiaries to the instructions of Reserve

Bank on ATM/Debit card operations or credit card operations;

refusal to accept or delay in accepting payment towards taxes, as required

by Reserve Bank/Government;

refusal to issue or delay in issuing, or failure to service or delay in servicing

or redemption of Government securities;

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forced closure of deposit accounts without due notice or without sufficient

reason;

refusal to close or delay in closing the accounts;

non-observance of Reserve Bank guidelines on engagement of recovery

agents by banks; and

non-observance of Reserve Bank Directives on interest rates;

delays in sanction, disbursement or non-observance of prescribed time

schedule for disposal of loan applications;

non-acceptance of application for loans without furnishing valid reasons to

the applicant; and

GROUNDS OF CUSTOMERS COMPLAINTS NOT .

CONSIDERED BY BANKING OMBUDSMAN

Ones complaint will not be considered if:

One has not approached his bank for redressal of his grievance first.

One has not made the complaint within one year from the date one has

received the reply of the bank or if no reply is received if it is more than

one year and one month from the date of representation to the bank.

The subject matter of the complaint is pending for disposal / has already

been dealt with at any other forum like court of law, consumer court etc.

Frivolous or vexatious.

The institution complained against is not covered under the scheme.

The subject matter of the complaint is not within the ambit of the Banking

Ombudsman.

If the complaint is for the same subject matter that was settled through the

office of the Banking Ombudsman in any previous proceedings.

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PROCEDURE FOR FILING COMPLAINT

Any person who has a grievance against a bank on any one or more of the grounds mentioned

above, may, himself or through his authorized representative (other than an advocate), make a

complaint to the Banking Ombudsman within whose jurisdiction the branch or office of the

bank complained against is located.

Complaints arising out of the operations of credit cards, shall be filed before the Banking

Ombudsman within whose territorial jurisdiction the billing address of the card holder is

located and not the place where the bank concerned or the credit card processing unit is

located.

The complaint shall be made in writing duly signed by the complainant or his authorized

representative and shall as far as possible be in the form and shall contain such particulars as

specified in the Scheme.

The complainant shall file along with the complaint, copies of the documents, if any, which

he proposes to rely upon and also a declaration that the complaint is maintainable as per

clause 9(3) of the Scheme..

A complaint can also be made through electronic means.

The complainant shall before making a complaint to the Banking Ombudsman, make a

written representation to the bank.

The complaint can be filed if the bank has rejected the complaint or the complainant had not

received any reply within a period of one month after the bank received his representation or

if the complainant is not satisfied with the reply given to him by the bank.

The complaint to the Banking Ombudsman is to be made not later than one year after the

complainant has received the reply of the bank to his representation or, where no reply is

received, not later than one year and one month after the date of the representation to the

bank.

The complaint should not be in respect of the same subject matter which was settled or dealt

with on merits by the Banking Ombudsman in any previous proceedings whether or not

received from the same complainant or along with one or more complainants or one or more

of the parties concerned with the subject matter.

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The complaint should not pertain to the same subject matter, for which any proceedings

before any court, tribunal or arbitrator or any other forum is pending or a decree or Award or

order has been passed by any such court, tribunal, arbitrator or forum.

The complaint should not be frivolous or vexatious in nature.

The complaint should be made before the expiry of the period of limitation prescribed under

the Indian Limitation Act, 1963 for such claims.

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INTRODUCTION

The Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 1995 was notified by RBI on June 14, 1995 in

terms of the powers conferred on the Bank by Section 35A of the Banking

Regulation Act, 1949 to provide for a system of redressal of grievances against

banks. The Scheme sought to establish a system of expeditious and inexpensive

resolution of customer complaints. The Scheme is in operation since 1995 and has

been revised during the years 2002 and 2006. The Scheme is being executed by

Banking Ombudsmen appointed by Reserve Bank at 15 centers covering the entire

country. As mandated by the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, the Banking

Ombudsmen submit an Annual Report on the functioning of their offices every

year. Based on such reports, an Annual Report for the Banking Ombudsman

Scheme in a whole is prepared at Reserve Bank of India, Central Office. As is

being the practice, the Annual Report covers the last five-year period with focus

on the current year. Further, as a result of computerization of the functioning of

Banking Ombudsman Offices through the Complaint Tracking Software, detailed

analysis was possible on the information pertaining to year 2006-07. With the

decision to merge the Banking Ombudsman Offices with that of RBI offices, the

accounting period for the Banking Ombudsman Offices was changed from April

1-March 31 to July 1-June 30 to be in congruent with that of RBI offices.

Accordingly, the information analysed for the year 2006-07 pertains to the period

July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007.

GENERAL PARTICULARS ON THE SCHEME

The word ‘Ombudsman’ in general means a ‘grievance man’, a public official who

is appointed to investigate complaints against the administration. He is to

intervene for the ordinary citizen in his dealings with the complex machinery of

the establishment. In India, any person whose grievance against a bank is not

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resolved to his satisfaction by that bank within a period of one month can

approach the Banking Ombudsman if his complaint pertains to any of the matters

specified in the Scheme. Banking Ombudsmen have been authorized to look into

complaints concerning deficiency in banking service , sanction of loans and

advances in so far as they relate to non-observance of the Reserve Bank directives

on interest rates, delay in sanction or non-observance of prescribed time schedule

for disposal of loan applications or nonobservance of any other directions or

instructions of the Reserve Bank as may be specified for this purpose, from time to

time, and such other matters as may be specified by the Reserve Bank. The

Scheme envisages expeditious and satisfactory disposal of customer complaints in

a time bound manner.

The Banking Ombudsman on receipt of any complaint endeavors to promote a

settlement of the complaint by agreement between the complainant and the bank

named in the complaint through conciliation or mediation. For the purpose of

promoting a settlement of the complaint, the Banking Ombudsman has been

allowed to follow such procedures as he may consider appropriate and he is not

bound by any legal rule of evidence. If a complaint is not settled by agreement

within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the complaint or such

further period as the Banking Ombudsman may consider necessary, he may pass

an Award after affording the parties reasonable opportunity to present their case.

He shall be guided by the evidence placed before him by the parties, the principles

of banking law and practice, directions, instructions and guidelines issued by the

Reserve Bank from time to time and such other factors, which in his opinion are

necessary in the interest of justice.

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SCOPE OF THE SCHEME

The Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2002 covered all the Regional Rural Banks in

addition to all Commercial Banks and Scheduled Primary Co-operative Banks,

which were already covered by earlier Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 1995. There

is no change in this regard in the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006.

In 2006, the Reserve Bank of India announced the revised Banking Ombudsman

Scheme with enlarged scope that included customer complaints on certain new

areas, such as, credit card complaints, deficiencies in providing the promised

services even by banks' sales agents, levying service charges without prior notice

to the customer and non adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by

individual banks. The important new grounds of complaints added include credit

card issues, failure in providing the promised facilities, non-adherence to fair

practices code, levying of excessive charges without prior notice and issues

pertaining to accepting payment towards taxes and issuing/servicing of

Government securities. The grounds of complaints have been enumerated in

Clause 8 of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006.

OPERATIONALISATION

Reserve Bank of India operationalised the Banking Ombudsman Scheme by

establishing Banking Ombudsman Offices at 15 centers all over the country. The

names, addresses and area of operation of the Banking Ombudsmen have been

given in to Annexure ‘A’. Reserve Bank frames the guidelines for operationalizing

the Scheme and supervises the running of the Scheme. It also supervises the

running of the Scheme and administrative arrangements, budget and expenditure

of the Banking Ombudsman Offices.

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PERFORMANCE OF THE OFFICES OF BANKING

OMBUDSMAN

The performance of the Offices of the Banking Ombudsman was analyzed on the

aspects such as the quantum of complaints handled by them, the timeliness in

handling the issues, and appropriateness of the decisions given against the

complaints.

Number of Complaints Received

The number of complaints received by the Banking Ombudsman Offices had

constantly increased in the last five years. There was more than threefold increase

in the number of complaints received in the year 2006-07 from the previous year

after the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 was notified. The increasing receipt

was also observed in the year 2007-08 with a 24% increase from the year 2006-07.

The average number of complaints received per Banking Ombudsman Office has

also increased from 550 in 2003-04 to 3192 in 2007-08.

Number of complaints received by the Banking Ombudsman Offices

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Period No of Offices of

Banking

Ombudsman

Complaints received

during the year

Average

No. of

complaints

per office

No. Change

from

Previous

year

2003-04 15 8246 +53% 550

2004-05 15 10560 +28% 704

2005-06 15 31732 +200% 2115

2006-07 15 38638 +22% 2576

2007-08 15 47887 +24% 3192

The increase in the number of complaints received during the years 2005-06

and2006-07 can be attributed to new areas such as credit card complaints included

and to facilitation of complaint submission by allowing complaint submission in

any form including by online and by email allowed in the Banking Ombudsman

Scheme, 2006. Per month receipt in the number of complaints received under the

BO Scheme 2006 was more than thrice the number of complaints received under

the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2002.

The increase in the number of complaints received under the Banking

Ombudsman Scheme 2006 as compared to the previous scheme clearly indicates

the extent to which the scheme has benefited larger sections of the banking

customers. The comparative effects of the Banking Ombudsman Schemes 2002

and 2006 in complaint receipt are given as below:

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Number of complaints received in 2005-06 and 2006-07

Period Scheme

running

No. of complaints

From To Total

received

From To Total Total Per

month

01.04.2005 31.12.2005 9

months

BO Scheme,

2002

9723 1080

01.01.2006 30.06.2007 18

months

BO Scheme,

2006

60647 3370

Disposal of Complaints

During the year 2007-08, the Banking Ombudsman Offices disposed of 49100

complaints (including from the complaints pending at the beginning of the year

and those received during the year). Of these, 21747 complaints (49%) were

settled to the satisfaction of the complainants, 15914 complaints (36%) could not

be considered under the scheme owing to several reasons like being outside the

purview of the scheme, time-barred, without sufficient cause, frivolous, pending in

other fora, etc. A sample analysis of 756 complaints that could not be considered

under the scheme disclosed that 42% of such complaints fell outside the purview

of the scheme and 23% were first resort complaints and could not be taken up by

the Banking Ombudsmen. In 11% of the complaints, deficiency of service could

not be established and the remaining 24% complaints could not be considered for

reasons like they were pending in other fora or the complaints required

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consideration of elaborate documentary and oral evidence etc. Details of disposal

of complaints over the last five years are furnished in the following table:

Disposal of Complaints by Banking Ombudsman Offices

Particulars 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Total complaints

dealt

with during the

year

9483 12034 33363 44766 54992

Complaints settled

to the satisfaction

of complainants (a)

3998

(42%)

5440

(45%)

14931

(45%)

21747

(49%)

29365

(53%)

Complaints that

could not be

considered under

the

scheme (b)

4011

(42%)

4963

(41%)

12304

(37%)

15914

(36%)

19735

(36%)

Total number of

complaints

disposed of (a+b)

8009

(84%)

10403

(86%)

27235

(82%)

37661

(84%)

49100

(89%)

Complaints under

process

1474

(16%)

1631

(14%)

6128

(18%)

7105

(16%)

5892

(11%)

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Mode of Disposal of Complaints

The Banking Ombudsmen disposed of complaints, other than the complaints that

could not be considered, either by mutual settlement or by issuing an Award.

During the period reviewed, the ratio of complaints disposed by settlement to the

complaints disposed by award was around 99:1 clearly indicating the effectiveness

of the Banking Ombudsmen in arriving at mutually agreed consensus between

bankers and complainants. During the period above, only 563 awards were issued

which formed less than 2% of the total 49,253 complaints disposed of. From the

year 2006-07, the number of awards issued and the percentage of disposal through

award issuance have come down despite huge increase in the complaints received.

Details are as given table below. The fact that the Banking Ombudsmen could

dispose of more than 98% of the complaints by mutual settlement between the

complainant and the concerned banks to their satisfaction indicates that they took

appropriate decisions taking into consideration all the relevant and extant legal and

banking instructions and practice.

Mode of disposal of complaints

(Other than complaints that could not be considered)

Sr.

No.

Year No. of

complaints

disposed

of

Disposal by

Award

Disposal by

settlement

No. % No. %

1. 2003-2004 3998 121 2.21 3877 97.78

2. 2004-2005 5440 165 3.03 5275 96.97

3. 2005-2006 14931 146 0.98 14785 99.02

4. 2006-2007 21747 84 0.39 21662 99.61

5. 2007-2008 29365 70 0.24 29295 99.76

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Analysis of Complaints:

Analysis of Complaints dealt with - Category-Wise

The analysis of complaints received at the Banking Ombudsman offices includes

analysis of subject category of complaints and the bank-groups against which the

complaints were made. Computerization of the functioning of Banking

Ombudsman Offices through the Complaint Tracking Software has enabled

detailed analysis in this regard. The maximum number of complaints dealt with

during the last five-year period pertained to complaints regarding deposit

accounts, deficiency in servicing of loans and advances and delay in collection of

cheques/bills, etc, besides the miscellaneous complaints. The details are given in

the following table:

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Analysis of complaints dealt with - category-wise

Category 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07

Deposit

Accounts

1789

(27%)

2500

(26%)

3239

(27%)

6733

(20%)

5803

(15%)

Loans and

Advances

1651

(25%)

1226

(13%)

2291

(19%)

5215

(16%)

5151

(13%)

Collection of

cheques/bills

908

(14%)

1001

(11%)

1245

(10%)

3058

(9%)

4058

(11%)

Others 2158

(34%)

4756

(50%)

5259

(44%)

18357

(55%)

23626

(61%)

Total 6506 9483 12034 33363 38638

However, during the year 2006-07, the maximum number of complaints received

pertained to credit cards at 20%. Complaints pertaining to deposit accounts, loans

and advances and remittances occupied the next three places in the number of

complaints received. The details are shown below.

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Complaints received in 2007-08: Category-wise

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Complaints received in 2006-07 & 2007-08: Category-wise

Sr.No. Nature of complaint Received during

2006-07 2007-08

1. Deposit accounts 5803 5612

2. Remittances 4058 5213

3. Credit cards 7688 10129

4. Loans and advances - General 4442 5297

5. Loans and advances - Housing 709 757

6. Charges without notice 2594 3740

7. Pension 1070 1582

8. Failure on commitments made 1469 6388

9. DSAs and recovery agents 1039 3128

10. Notes and coins 130 141

11. Others 9636 5900

Total 38638 47887

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Analysis of complaints-Bank-group-wise

Group-wise, the majority of the complaints pertain to the Nationalized Banks

followed by the State Bank Group. However, over the years, the percentage of

complaints against public sector banks, including the SBI Group, showed a decline

vis-à-vis the number of complaints received against private sector banks and

foreign banks.

Break-up of complaints dealt with - Bank-group-wise

Bank group

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

Total

No. %

NationalizedBanks

4049 5124 10137 10543 12033 45031 30

SBI Group 2779 3359 9892 11117 13532 42593 29

PrivateSectorBanks

1325 1863 6754 9036 14077 33773 23

ForeignBanks

406 577 2997 3803 6126 14222 10

ScheduledPrimary

Coop.Banks

166 256 198 313 295 1340 1

RRB 232 359 794 536 826 2780 2

Others 526 496 2591 3290 998 8127 5

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Total 9483 12034 33363 38638 47887 147911 100

COST DETAILS OF RUNNING THE SCHEME

The costs of the Scheme include the revenue expenditure and capital expenditure

incurred in running the Banking Ombudsman offices. The revenue expenditure

includes the establishment items like salary and allowances of the staff attached to

Banking Ombudsman offices and non-establishment items such as rent, taxes,

insurance, law charges, postage and telegram charges, printing and stationery

expenses, publicity expenses, depreciation and other miscellaneous items. The

capital expenditure items include the furniture, electrical installations,

computers/related equipments, telecommunication equipments and motor vehicle.

Cost details of Banking Ombudsman Offices

Period Total Cost

(Rs. Cr)

No. of

Complaints

dealt

Cost per

Complaint (Rs)

2003-04 7.03 9,483 7,413

2004-05 7.60 12,034 6,315

2005-06 10.16 33,363 3,045

2006-07 9.81 38,638 2,538

2007-08 12.50 47,887 2,611

Page 47: The Banking Ombudsman
Page 48: The Banking Ombudsman

THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

The consumer protection Act, 1986 is the history of socio-economic legislation in

the country. It is one of the most progressive and comprehensive piece of

legislations enacted for the protection of consumers. It was enacted after in-depth

study of consumer protection laws in a number of countries and in consultation

with representatives of consumers, trade and industry and extensive discussions

within the Government.

The Aim of Consumer Protection Act (CPA) is to address the grievances of the

consumers and protecting them from the unethical practices/ behavior or unfair

trade practices of the manufacturer/ supplier. All the provisions of the Act have

come into force from 1 July 1987. The Act was amended in 1991 and 1993. To

make the Consumer Protection Act more functional and purposeful, a

comprehensive amendment was carried out in December 2002 and brought into

force from 15 March 2003. As a sequel, the Consumer Protection Rules, 1987

were also amended and notified on 5 March 2004.

Earlier though there were several legislations to protect the consumer, but the

same never proved adequate to protect consumer and compensate them for their

compliances. The act not only enhances the awareness and educate the consumer

but also provide compensation to them by summary and inexpensive proceedings.

Unlike existing laws which are punitive or preventive in nature, the provisions of

this Act are compensatory in nature. The act is intended to provide simple, speedy

and inexpensive redressal to the consumers' grievances, and relief of a specific

nature and award of compensation wherever appropriate to the consumer. It

confers upon consumers eight rights i.e.: basic needs, safety, information, choice,

representation, redress, consumer education, healthy environment. It provides

remedies to the aggrieved customer in form Replace, Remove, Refund, Redress.

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CONSUMER

“Consumer” means any person who,-

Buy any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid

and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any

user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration

paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised or under any system of deferred

payment when such use is made with the approval of such person, but does not

include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose,

or Hires any services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or

partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and

includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person who hires the

services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or

under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the

approval of the first mentioned person.

COMPLAINT

“Complaint” means any allegation in writing made by a complaint that: -

As a result of any unfair trade practice adopted by any trader, the

complainant has suffered loss or damage.

The goods mentioned in the complaint suffer from one or more defects.

The services mentioned in the complaint suffer from deficiency in any

respect.

A trader has charged for the goods mentioned in the complaint a price in excess of

the price fixed by or under any law for the time being in force or displayed on the

goods or any package containing such goods, with a view to obtaining any relief

provided by this Act.

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Remedies Granted under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

against unfair Trade Practices.

The District Forum / State Commission / National Commission may pass one or

more of the following orders to grant relief to the aggrieved consumer :-

1. to remove the defects pointed out by the appropriate laboratory from

goods in question;

2. to replace the goods with new goods of similar description which shall be

free from any defect;

3. to return to the complainant the price, or, as the case may be, the charges

paid by the complainant;

4. to pay such amount as may be awarded by it as compensation to the

consumer for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer due to

negligence of the opposite party;

5. to remove the defects or deficiencies in the services in question;

6. to discontinue the unfair trade practice or the restrictive trade practice or

not to repeat them;

7. not to offer the hazardous goods for sale:

8. to withdraw the hazardous goods from being offered for sale

9. to cease manufacture of hazardous goods and to desist from

offering services which are hazardous in nature;

10. to pay such sum as may be determined by it if it is of the opinion

that loss or injury has been suffered by a large number of

consumers who are not identifiable conveniently:

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11. to issue corrective advertisement to neutralize the effect of

misleading advertisement at the cost of the opposite party

responsible for issuing such misleading advertisement;

12. to provide for adequate costs to parties.

RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS

Right to

Information

Right to Safe

EnvironmentRight to

Consumer

EducationRight to

Basic Needs

Right to

Redress

Right to

Safety

Rights of

Consumers

Right to

Choice

Right to

be Heard

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Right to Safety

The right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which are

hazardous to life and property Consumer right to safety applies to all possible

consumption patterns and to all goods and services. In the context of the new

market economy and rapid technological advances affecting the market, the right

to safety has become a pre-requisite quality in all products and services. For e.g.

some Indian products carry the ISI mark, which is a NB symbol of satisfactory

quality of a product? Similarly, the FPO and AGMARK symbolize standard

quality of food products.

Right to Information

Right to information means the right to be given the facts needed to make an

informed choice or decision about factors like quality, quantity, potency, purity

standards and price of product or service. The right to information now goes

beyond avoiding deception and protection against misleading advertising,

improper labeling and other practices. For e.g. when you buy a product or utilize a

service, you should be informed about;

a) How to consume a product.

b) The adverse health effects of its consumption.

c) Whether the ingredients used are environment- friendly or not etc.

Right to Redress

The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade

practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers. It is to protect consumer

interests that consumers have been given the right to obtain redress. In India, we

have a redress machinery called Consumer Courts constituted under the Consumer

Protection Act (1986), functioning at national state and district levels. But it has

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not been made complete use of under due to lack of awareness of basic consumer

rights among consumers themselves. While in the developed world, right to

redress is perhaps the most commonly exercised consumer right, in developing

countries, consumers are still wary of getting involved in legal redress system.

There are consumer courts in India where any consumer can lodge a case if s/he

thinks he or she has been cheated.

Right to Consumer Education

Consumer education empowers consumers to exercise their consumer rights. It

means the right to acquire the knowledge and skill to be informed consumer

throughout life. The right to consumer education incorporates the right to the

knowledge and skills needed for linking action and influences factors which affect

consumer decisions. It is the single most powerful tool that can take consumers

from their present disadvantageous position to one of strength in the marketplace.

Consumer education is dynamic, participatory and is mostly acquired by hands-on

and practical experience.

Right to Basic Needs

This right is the right to basic goods and services which guarantee dignified living.

It includes adequate food, clothing, health care, drinking water and sanitation,

shelter, education, energy and transportation. Access to food, water and shelter are

the basis of any consumer's life. Without these fundamental amenities, life cannot

exist. The right to basic needs means that availability of articles which are the

basic need of every consumer must be ensured.

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Right to Safe Environment

It means the right to a physical environment that will enhance the quality of life. It

includes protection against environmental damage. It acknowledges the need to

protect and improve the environment for future generations as well. This right

involves protection against environmental problems over which the individual

consumer has control. It acknowledges the need to protect and improve the

environment for present and future generations.

Right to Choice

The right is to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of products and

services at competitive prices. It means the right to have access to a variety of

products and services at competitive prices and in the case of monopolies, to have

an assurance of satisfactory quality and service at a fair price. The right to choose

has been reformulated to read: the right to basic goods and services. This is

because the unrestrained right of a minority to choose can mean for the majority a

denial of its fair share.

Right to be Heard

This means the right to be represented so that consumers’ interests receive full and

sympathetic consideration in the formulation and execution of economic policy.

This right is being broadened to include the right to be heard and represented in

the development of products and services before they are produced or set up; it

also implies a representation, not only in government policies, but also in those of

other economic powers.

Page 55: The Banking Ombudsman
Page 56: The Banking Ombudsman

THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEME, 2006

The Scheme is introduced with the object of enabling resolution of complaints

relating to certain services rendered by banks and to facilitate the satisfaction or

settlement of such complaints.

SHORT TITLE, COMMENCEMENT, EXTENT AND

APPLICATION

1) This Scheme may be called the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006.

2) It shall come into force on such date as the Reserve Bank may specify.

3) It shall extend to the whole of India.

4) The Scheme shall apply to the business in India of a bank as defined under

the Scheme.

SUSPENSION OF THE SCHEME

1) The Reserve Bank, if it is satisfied that it is expedient so to do, may by

order suspend for such period as may be specified in the order, the

operation of all or any of the provisions of the Scheme, either generally or

in relation to any specified bank.

2) The Reserve Bank may, by order, extend from time to time, the period of

any suspension ordered as aforesaid by such period, as it thinks fit.

DEFINITIONS

1) ‘Award’ means an award passed by the Banking Ombudsman in

accordance with the Scheme.

2) ‘Appellate Authority’ means the Deputy Governor in charge of the

Department of the Reserve Bank implementing the Scheme.

3) ‘Authorized representative’ means a person duly appointed and authorized

by a complainant to act on his behalf and represent him in the proceedings

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under the Scheme before a Banking Ombudsman for consideration of his

complaint.

4) ‘Banking Ombudsman’ means any person appointed under Clause 4 of the

Scheme.

5) ‘Bank’ means a ‘banking company’, a ‘corresponding new bank’, a

‘Regional Rural Bank’, ‘State Bank of India’ a ‘Subsidiary Bank’ as

defined in Section 5 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (Act 10 of 1949),

or a ‘Primary Co-operative Bank’ as defined in clause (c) of Section 56 of

that Act and included in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India

Act, 1934 (Act 2 of 1934), having a place of business in India, whether

such bank is incorporated in India or outside India.

6) ‘Complaint’ means a representation in writing or through electronic means

containing a grievance alleging deficiency in banking service as mentioned

in clause 8 of the Scheme.

7) ‘Reserve Bank’ means the Reserve Bank of India constituted by Section 3

of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934).

8) ‘The scheme’ means the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006.

9) ‘Secretariat’ means the office constituted as per sub-clause (1) of clause 6

of the Scheme.

10)‘Settlement’ means an agreement reached by the parties either by

conciliation or mediation under clause 11 of the Scheme.

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ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF BANKING OMBUDSMAN

APPOINTMENT & TENURE

1) The Reserve Bank may appoint one or more of its officers in the rank of

Chief General Manager or General Manager to be known as Banking

Ombudsmen to carry out the functions entrusted to them by or under the

Scheme.

2) The appointment of Banking Ombudsman under the above Clause may be

made for a period not exceeding three years at a time.

LOCATION OF OFFICE AND TEMPORARY HEADQUARTERS

1) The office of the Banking Ombudsman shall be located at such places as

may be specified by the Reserve Bank.

2) In order to expedite disposal of complaints, the Banking Ombudsman may

hold sittings at such places within his area of jurisdiction as may be

considered necessary and proper by him in respect of a complaint or

reference before him.

SECRETARIAT

1) The Reserve Bank shall depute such number of its officers or other staff to

the office of the Banking Ombudsman as is considered necessary to

function as the secretariat of the Banking Ombudsman.

2) The cost of the Secretariat shall be borne by the Reserve Bank.

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JURISDICTION, POWERS AND DUTIES OF BANKING

OMBUDSMAN

POWERS AND JURISDICTION

1) The Reserve Bank shall specify the territorial limits to which the authority

of each Banking Ombudsman appointed under Clause 4 of the Scheme

shall extend.

2) The Banking Ombudsman shall receive and consider complaints relating to

the deficiencies in banking or other services filed on the grounds mentioned

in clause 8 and facilitate their satisfaction or settlement by agreement or

through conciliation and mediation between the bank concerned and the

aggrieved parties or by passing an Award in accordance with the Scheme.

3) The Banking Ombudsman shall exercise general powers of superintendence

and control over his Office and shall be responsible for the conduct of

business thereat.

4) The Office of the Banking Ombudsman shall draw up an annual budget for

itself in consultation with Reserve Bank and shall exercise the powers of

expenditure within the approved budget on the lines of Reserve Bank of

India Expenditure Rules, 2005.

5) The Banking Ombudsman shall send to the Governor, Reserve Bank, a

report, as on 30th June every year, containing a general review of the

activities of his Office during the preceding financial year and shall furnish

such other information as the Reserve Bank may direct and the Reserve

Bank may, if it considers necessary in the public interest so to do, publish

the report and the information received from the Banking Ombudsman in

such consolidated form or otherwise as it deems fit.

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PROCEDURE FOR REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCE

GROUNDS OF COMPLAINT

1) Any person may file a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman having

jurisdiction on any one of the following grounds alleging deficiency in

banking including internet banking or other services.

a) Non-payment or inordinate delay in the payment or collection of cheques,

drafts, bills etc;

b) Non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of small denomination notes

tendered for any purpose, and for charging of commission in respect

thereof;

c) Non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of coins tendered and for

charging of commission in respect thereof;

d) Non-payment or delay in payment of inward remittances;

e) Failure to issue or delay in issue of drafts, pay orders or bankers’ cheques;

f) Non-adherence to prescribed working hours;

g) Failure to provide or delay in providing a banking facility (other than loans

and advances) promised in writing by a bank or its direct selling agents;

h) Delays, non-credit of proceeds to parties' accounts, non-payment of deposit

or non-observance of the Reserve Bank directives, if any, applicable to rate

of interest on deposits in any savings, current or other account maintained

with a bank;

i) Complaints from Non-Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation

to their remittances from abroad, deposits and other bank related matters;

j) Refusal to open deposit accounts without any valid reason for refusal;

k) Levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the customer;

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l) Non-adherence by the bank or its subsidiaries to the instructions of Reserve

Bank on ATM/Debit card operations or credit card operations;

m) Non-disbursement or delay in disbursement of pension (to the extent the

grievance can be attributed to the action on the part of the bank concerned,

but not with regard to its employees);

n) Refusal to accept or delay in accepting payment towards taxes, as required

by Reserve Bank/Government;

o) Refusal to issue or delay in issuing, or failure to service or delay in

servicing or redemption of Government securities;

p) Forced closure of deposit accounts without due notice or without sufficient

reason;

q) Refusal to close or delay in closing the accounts;

r) Non-adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by the bank;

s) Non-adherence to the provisions of the Code of Bank's Commitments to

Customers issued by Banking Codes and Standards Board of India and as

adopted by the bank ;

t) Non-observance of Reserve Bank guidelines on engagement of recovery

agents by banks; and

u) Any other matter relating to the violation of the directives issued by the

Reserve Bank in relation to banking or other services.

2) A complaint on any one of the following grounds alleging deficiency in

banking service in respect of loans and advances may be filed with the

Banking Ombudsman having jurisdiction:

a) Non-observance of Reserve Bank Directives on interest rates;

b) Delays in sanction, disbursement or non-observance of prescribed time

schedule for disposal of loan applications;

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c) Non-acceptance of application for loans without furnishing valid reasons to

the applicant; and

d) Non-adherence to the provisions of the fair practices code for lenders as

adopted by the bank or Code of Bank’s Commitment to Customers, as the

case may be;

e) Non-observance of Reserve Bank guidelines on engagement of recovery

agents by banks; and

f) Non-observance of any other direction or instruction of the Reserve Bank

as may be specified by the Reserve Bank for this purpose from time to

time.

3) The Banking Ombudsman may also deal with such other matter as may be

specified by the Reserve Bank from time to time in this behalf.

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PROCEDURE FOR FILING COMPLAINT

1) Any person who has a grievance against a bank on any one or more of the

grounds mentioned in Clause 8 of the Scheme may, himself or through his

authorized representative (other than an advocate), make a complaint to the

Banking Ombudsman within whose jurisdiction the branch or office of the

bank complained against is located. 3Provided that a complaint arising out

of the operations of credit cards and other types of services with centralized

operations, shall be filed before the Banking Ombudsman within whose

territorial jurisdiction the billing address of the customer is located.

2) a) The complaint in writing shall be duly signed by the complainant or his

authorized representative and shall be, as far as possible, in the form

specified in Annexure ‘A’ or as near as thereto as circumstances admit,

stating clearly:

i. The name and the address of the complainant,

ii. The name and address of the branch or office of the bank against which the

complaint is made,

iii. The facts giving rise to the complaint,

iv. The nature and extent of the loss caused to the complainant, and

v. The relief sought for.

b) The complainant shall file along with the complaint, copies of the

documents, if any, which he proposes to rely upon and a declaration that

the complaint is maintainable under sub-clause (3) of this clause.

c) A complaint made through electronic means shall also be accepted by

the Banking Ombudsman and a print out of such complaint shall be

taken on the record of the Banking Ombudsman.

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d) The Banking Ombudsman shall also entertain complaints covered by

this Scheme received by Central Government or Reserve Bank and

forwarded to him for disposal.

3) No complaint to the Banking Ombudsman shall lie unless:-

a) The complainant had, before making a complaint to the Banking

Ombudsman, made a written representation to the bank and the bank had

rejected the complaint or the complainant had not received any reply within

a period of one month after the bank received his representation or the

complainant is not satisfied with the reply given to him by the bank;

b) The complaint is made not later than one year after the complainant has

received the reply of the bank to his representation or, where no reply is

received, not later than one year and one month after the date of the

representation to the bank;

c) The complaint is not in respect of the same cause of action which was

settled or dealt with on merits by the Banking Ombudsman in any previous

proceedings whether or not received from the same complainant or along

with one or more complainants or one or more of the parties concerned

with the cause of action ;

d) The complaint does not pertain to the same cause of action, for which any

proceedings before any court, tribunal or arbitrator or any other forum is

pending or a decree or Award or order has been passed by any such court,

tribunal, arbitrator or forum;

e) The complaint is not frivolous or vexatious in nature; and

f) The complaint is made before the expiry of the period of limitation

prescribed under the Indian Limitation Act, 1963 for such claims.

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POWER TO CALL FOR INFORMATION

1) For the purpose of carrying out his duties under this Scheme, a Banking

Ombudsman may require the bank against whom the complaint is made or

any other bank concerned with the complaint to provide any information or

furnish certified copies of any document relating to the complaint which is

or is alleged to be in its possession.

Provided that in the event of the failure of a bank to comply with the requisition

without sufficient cause, the Banking Ombudsman may, if he deems fit, draw the

inference that the information if provided or copies if furnished would be

unfavorable to the bank.

2) The Banking Ombudsman shall maintain confidentiality of any information

or document that may come into his knowledge or possession in the course

of discharging his duties and shall not disclose such information or

document to any person except with the consent of the person furnishing

such information or document.

Provided that nothing in this clause shall prevent the Banking Ombudsman from

disclosing information or document furnished by a party in a complaint to the

other party or parties to the extent considered by him to be reasonably required to

comply with any legal requirement or the principles of natural justice and fair play

in the proceedings.

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SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINT BY AGREEMENT

1) As soon as it may be practicable to do, the Banking Ombudsman shall send

a copy of the complaint to the branch or office of the bank named in the

complaint, under advice to the nodal officer referred to in sub-clause (3) of

clause 15, and endeavor to promote a settlement of the complaint by

agreement between the complainant and the bank through conciliation or

mediation.

2) For the purpose of promoting a settlement of the complaint, the Banking

Ombudsman may follow such procedure as he may consider just and proper

and he shall not be bound by any rules of evidence.

3) The proceedings before the Banking Ombudsman shall be summary in

nature.

AWARD BY THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN

1) If a complaint is not settled by agreement within a period of one month

from the date of receipt of the complaint or such further period as the

Banking Ombudsman may allow the parties, he may, after affording the

parties a reasonable opportunity to present their case, pass an Award or

reject the complaint.

2) The Banking Ombudsman shall take into account the evidence placed

before him by the parties, the principles of banking law and practice,

directions, instructions and guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank from

time to time and such other factors which in his opinion are relevant to the

complaint.

3) The award shall state briefly the reasons for passing the award.

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4) The Award passed under sub-clause (1) shall contain the direction/s, if any,

to the bank for specific performance of its obligations and in addition to or

otherwise, the amount, if any, to be paid by the bank to the complainant by

way of compensation for any loss suffered by the complainant, arising

directly out of the act or omission of the bank.

5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-clause (4), the Banking

Ombudsman shall not have the power to pass an award directing payment

of an amount which is more than the actual loss suffered by the

complainant as a direct consequence of the act of omission or commission

of the bank, or ten lakh rupees whichever is lower.

6) In the case of complaints, arising out of credit card operations, the Banking

Ombudsman may also award compensation not exceeding Rs 1 lakh to the

complainant, taking into account the loss of the complainant's time,

expenses incurred by the complainant, harassment and mental anguish

suffered by the complainant.

7) A copy of the Award shall be sent to the complainant and the bank.

8) An award shall lapse and be of no effect unless the complainant furnishes

to the bank concerned within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of

copy of the Award, a letter of acceptance of the Award in full and final

settlement of his claim.

Provided that no such acceptance may be furnished by the complainant if he has

filed an appeal under sub. clause (1) of clause 14.

9) The bank shall, unless it has preferred an appeal under sub. clause (1) of

clause 14, within one month from the date of receipt by it of the acceptance

in writing of the Award by the complainant under sub-clause (8), comply

with the Award and intimate compliance to the Banking Ombudsman.

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REJECTION OF THE COMPLAINT

The Banking Ombudsman may reject a complaint at any stage if it appears to him

that the complaint made is;

a) Not on the grounds of complaint referred to in clause 8 or otherwise not in

accordance with sub clause (3) of clause 9; or

b) Beyond the pecuniary jurisdiction of Banking Ombudsman prescribed

under clause 12 (5) and 12 (6) or

c) Requiring consideration of elaborate documentary and oral evidence and

the proceedings before the Banking Ombudsman are not appropriate for

adjudication of such complaint; or

d) Without any sufficient cause; or

e) That it is not pursued by the complainant with reasonable diligence; or

f) In the opinion of the Banking Ombudsman there is no loss or damage or

inconvenience caused to the complainant.

APPEAL BEFORE THE APPELLATE AUTHORITY:

1) Any person aggrieved by an Award under clause 12 or rejection of a

complaint for the reasons referred to in sub clauses (d) to (f) of clause 13,

may within 30 days of the date of receipt of communication of Award or

rejection of complaint, prefer an appeal before the Appellate Authority;

Provided that in case of appeal by a bank, the period of thirty days for filing an

appeal shall commence from the date on which the bank receives letter of

acceptance of Award by complainant under sub. clause (6) of clause 12;

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Provided that the Appellate Authority may, if he is satisfied that the applicant had

sufficient cause for not making the appeal within time, allow a further period not

exceeding 30 days;

Provided further that appeal may be filed by a bank only with the previous

sanction of the Chairman or, in his absence, the Managing Director or the

Executive Director or the Chief Executive Officer or any other officer of equal

rank.”

2) The Appellate Authority shall, after giving the parties a reasonable

opportunity of being heard

a) Dismiss the appeal; or

b) Allow the appeal and set aside the Award; or

c) Remand the matter to the Banking Ombudsman for fresh disposal in

accordance with such directions as the Appellate Authority may consider

necessary or proper; or

d) Modify the Award and pass such directions as may be necessary to give

effect to the Award so modified; or

e) Pass any other order as it may deem fit.

3) The order of the Appellate Authority shall have the same effect as the

Award passed by Banking Ombudsman under clause 12 or the order

rejecting the complaint under clause 13, as the case may be.

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BANKS TO DISPLAY SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME

FOR COMMON KNOWLEDGE OF PUBLIC

1) The banks covered by the Scheme shall ensure that the purpose of the

Scheme and the contact details of the Banking Ombudsman to whom the

complaints are to be made by the aggrieved party are displayed prominently

in all the offices and branches of the bank in such manner that a person

visiting the office or branch has adequate information of the Scheme.

2) The banks covered by the Scheme shall ensure that a copy of the Scheme is

available with the designated officer of the bank for perusal in the office

premises of the bank, if anyone, desires to do so and notice about the

availability of the Scheme with such designated officer shall be displayed

along with the notice under sub-clause (1) of this clause and shall place a

copy of the Scheme on their websites.

3) The banks covered by the Scheme shall appoint Nodal Officers at their

Regional/Zonal Offices and inform the respective Office of the Banking

Ombudsman under whose jurisdiction the Regional/Zonal Office falls. The

Nodal Officer so appointed shall be responsible for representing the bank

and furnishing information to the Banking Ombudsman in respect of

complaints filed against the bank. Wherever more than one zone/region of a

bank are falling within the jurisdiction of a Banking Ombudsman, one of

the Nodal Officers shall be designated as the 'Principal Nodal Officer' for

such zones or regions.

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REMOVAL OF DIFFICULTIES

If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Scheme, the

Reserve Bank may make such provisions not inconsistent with the Banking

Regulation Act, 1949 or the Scheme, as it appears to it to be necessary or

expedient for removing the difficulty.

APPLICATION OF THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEMES,

1995 AND 2002

The adjudication of pending complaints and execution of the Awards already

passed, before coming into force of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006, shall

continue to be governed by the provisions of the respective Banking Ombudsman

Schemes and instructions of the Reserve Bank issued there under.

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEME

1995, 2002 & 2006

The Ombudsman’s task is to provide citizens with a means of redress for

maladministration. By performing this role, the Ombudsman helps, first, to relieve

the burdens of litigation by promoting friendly settlement and making

recommendations to avoid the need for proceedings in courts; and second, to

promote the effective implementation of citizen's rights. The Ombudsman is

impartial and has a conciliatory approach.

In India, any person whose grievances against a bank are not resolved to his

satisfaction by that bank within a period of two months then he can approach the

Banking Ombudsman for redressal. This is however subject to the complaint

pertaining to any of the matters specified in the Banking Ombudsman Scheme.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which assumes the role similar to that of quasi-legal

machinery as it is established by a competent authority to provide for an additional

but optional legal remedy for effective, expeditious and inexpensive redressal of

customer grievances. Towards effective compliance of this optional legal remedy

it introduced the Banking Ombudsmen Scheme in 1995 and got it further amended

in 2002 and in 2006.

The Reserve Bank of India notified the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme,

2006 which came into effect from January 1, 2006. The new scheme widens its

scope thereby to include customer complaints on certain areas like credit card

complaints, deficiencies in providing the promised services even by banks’ sales

agents, levying service charges without prior notice to the customer and non-

adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by the individual banks. It is made

applicable to all commercial banks, regional rural banks and scheduled primary

cooperative banks whose principal place of business is in India.

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The Revised Scheme with well-equipped staff is wholly funded by the Reserve

Bank of India. This new scheme allows the complainants to file a complaint in any

form, including online and the bank customers are entitled to file an appeal with

the Reserve Bank of India. It provides a forum for bank customers for redressal of

their common complaints against banks. On the basis of the new Banking

Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 the customers are also privileged to complain about

non-payment or any inordinate delay in payments or collection of cheques towards

bills or remittances by banks, as also non acceptance of small denomination notes

and coins or charging of commission for acceptance of small denomination notes

and coins by banks. The Banking Ombudsmen currently have their offices in 15

centers covering the entire country.

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Is the New Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006 differs from its

previous schemes?

The vision behind the emergence of Banking Institution is to evolve into a strong,

sound and globally competitive financial system, providing integrated services to

customers from all segments, leveraging on technology and human resources,

adopting the best accounting and ethical practices and fulfilling corporate and

social responsibilities towards all stakeholders. As a part of this vision, the RBI

lodged various Ombudsman schemes till today which forms a part of our

discussion.

Yes, the new scheme 2006 differs from its previous schemes. The extent and

scope of the scheme, 2006 is much wider than its earlier schemes of 1995 and

2002. Because the new scheme introduces for the first time;

Includes complaints relating to credit cards, deficiencies in providing the

promised services by banks and its marketing agents, levying of service

charges without prior notice to the customers and non-compliance of fair

practice codes by the banks;

Facilitates the submission of complaints through online;

Establishes an appellate authority to facilitate appeals against the awards

rendered by the Banking Ombudsmen instead of filing with the Review

Authority for review of such awards.

The extent and scope of the new Scheme is wider than the earlier Scheme of 2002.

The new Scheme also provides for online submission of complaints. The new

Scheme additionally provides for the institution of an 'appellate authority' for

providing scope for appeal against an award passed by the Ombudsman both by

the bank as well as the complainant.

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In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 35A of the Banking Regulation

Act, 1949 and in partial modification of its Notification dated December 26, 2005,

Reserve Bank of India hereby amends the Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006 to

the extent specified in the Annex hereto. The Reserve Bank hereby directs that all

commercial banks, regional rural banks and scheduled primary co-operative banks

shall comply with the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 as amended hereby.

The amendments in the Scheme shall come into force from January 1, 2006.

AMENDMENT PASSED BY RBI FOR THE CHANGES IN

BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEME, 2006:

Amendment 1:

RBI expands Scope of Banking Ombudsman Scheme; Includes Fair

Banking Practices.

Date: 26 Dec 2005

The Reserve Bank of India today announced the revised Banking Ombudsman

Scheme with enlarged scope to include customer complaints on certain new areas,

such as, credit card complaints, deficiencies in providing the promised services

even by banks' sales agents, levying service charges without prior notice to the

customer and non adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by individual

banks. Applicable to all commercial banks, regional rural banks and scheduled

primary cooperative banks having business in India, the revised scheme will come

into effect from January 1, 2006.

In order to increase its effectiveness, the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme

will be fully staffed and funded by the Reserve Bank instead of the banks. Under

the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme, the complainants will be able to file

their complaints in any form, including online. The bank customers would also be

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able to appeal to the Reserve Bank against the awards given by the Banking

Ombudsmen.

The new scheme provides a forum to bank customers to seek redressal of their

most common complaints against banks, including those relating to credit cards,

service charges, promises given by the sales agents of banks, but not kept by

banks, as also, delays in delivery of bank services. The bank customers would now

be able to complain about non-payment or any inordinate delay in payments or

collection of cheques towards bills or remittances by banks, as also non-

acceptance of small denomination notes and coins or charging of commission for

acceptance of small denomination notes and coins by banks.

The Reserve Bank had first introduced the Banking Ombudsman Scheme in 1995

to provide expeditious and inexpensive forum to bank customers for resolution of

their complaints relating to deficiency in banking services. The Scheme was

revised in 2002 mainly to cover Regional Rural Banks and to permit review of the

Banking Ombudsmen’s awards against banks by the Reserve Bank. The Banking

Ombudsmen currently have their offices in 15 centers.

The Reserve Bank is also in an advanced stage of setting up an independent

Banking Codes and Standards Board of India to ensure that comprehensive code

of conduct for fair treatment to customers are formulated by banks and adhered to.

The Reserve Bank of India had announced setting up of the Board in its Annual

Policy for 2005-2006 announced by the Governor, Dr Y V Reddy in April 2005.

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Amendment 2:

Customers can now appeal against the Banking Ombudsman's Decision.

Date: 24 May 2007

Bank customers can now appeal against the decision of the Banking Ombudsman

where he has rejected the customer's complaint relating to matters falling within

the grounds of complaints specified under the scheme. The Reserve Bank of India

has amended the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 to enable the customers to

appeal against the Banking Ombudsman's decision. The amendments are available

on the RBI website. Before the scheme was amended, the bank customers could

appeal only against the awards given by the Banking Ombudsman. The appellate

authority for the Banking Ombudsman Scheme is the Deputy Governor of Reserve

Bank of India.

It may be recalled that in the Annual Policy for 2007-2008, the Reserve Bank had

announced that based on customer feedback, it would amend the Banking

Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 to extend the appeal option also to the decisions of the

Banking Ombudsman.

Originally introduced in 1995, the Banking Ombudsman Scheme enables speedy

and cost effective resolution of complaints of bank customers relating to

deficiency in bank services. The Scheme now covers all Scheduled Commercial

Banks, Regional Rural Banks and Scheduled Primary Co-operative Banks. The

customers can also now complain to the Banking Ombudsman against deficiency

in almost any banking services, including credit cards, after exhausting the

channel available with the bank concerned for resolving their complaints. The

Reserve Bank has appointed 15 Banking Ombudsmen who are located mostly in

State Capitals under the Scheme. The Banking Ombudsman tries to resolve the

complaint through conciliation or mediation and even passes an award if it is not

resolved through such settlement.

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Amendment 3:

RBI amends Banking Ombudsman Scheme: includes complaints

relating to Internet Banking and Non-adherence to BCSBI Code.

Date: 05 Feb 2009

The Reserve Bank of India has widened the scope of its Banking Ombudsman

Scheme 2006, to include deficiencies arising out of internet banking. Under the

amended Scheme, a customer would also be able to lodge a complaint against the

bank for its non-adherence to the provisions of the fair practices code for lenders

or the Code of Bank's Commitment to Customers issued by the Banking Codes

and Standards Board of India

(BCSBI). The BCSBI is an independent and autonomous watchdog set up by the

Reserve Bank to monitor and ensure that the codes and standards adopted by the

banks for rendering banking services are adhered to in true spirit.

As per the amended Scheme, the Banking Ombudsman can award compensation

not exceeding Rupees one lakh to the complainant in the case of complaints

arising out of credit card operations, taking into account the loss of the

complainant's time, expenses incurred by him as also, harassment and mental

anguish suffered. Further, non-observance of the Reserve Bank's guidelines on

engagement of recovery agents by banks has also been brought specifically under

the purview of the Scheme.

Any customer who has a grievance against a bank can complain to the Banking

Ombudsman in whose jurisdiction the branch of the bank complained against is

located. Some banks have centralized certain transactions, like housing loans,

credit cards, etc. If there are complaints regarding such transactions, complaints

would have to be made to the Banking Ombudsman in the State in which the bank

customer receives the bill.

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In addition, the Reserve Bank has simplified the format for lodging complaint to

the Banking Ombudsman. Though the complainant need not lodge his complaint

in a specific format, the Scheme now provides for an easy-to-fill format for

lodging complaints, in case complainants prefer to use it. The jurisdictions of the

Banking Ombudsman at Kanpur, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Chennai and

Thiruvananthapuram have been rationalized to include/exclude certain areas

taking into account the geographical proximity of those areas to the Office of the

Banking Ombudsman.

The amended Scheme however, does not include certain banking transactions,

such as, failure to honour bank guarantee or letter of credit, etc. Complaints on

these areas of banking services are insignificant in number.

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INTRODUCTION

In the present scenario of competitive banking, excellence in customer service is

the most important tool for sustained business growth. Customer complaints are

part of the business life of any corporate entity. This is more so for banks because

banks are service organizations. As a service organization, customer service and

customer satisfaction should be the prime concern of any bank. The bank believes

that providing prompt and efficient service is essential not only to attract new

customers, but also to retain existing ones. This policy document aims at

minimizing instances of customer complaints and grievances through proper

service delivery and review mechanism and to ensure prompt redressal of

customer complaints and grievances. The review mechanism should help in

identifying shortcomings in product features and service delivery. Customer

dissatisfaction would spoil bank’s name and image. The Bank’s policy on

grievance redressal follows the under noted principles.

Customers be treated fairly at all times

Complaints raised by customers are dealt with courtesy and on time

Customers are fully informed of avenues to escalate their

complaints/grievances within the organization and their rights to

alternative remedy, if they are not fully satisfied with the response of the

bank to their complaints.

Bank will treat all complaints efficiently and fairly as they can damage the

bank’s reputation and business if handled otherwise.

The Bank employees must work in good faith and without prejudice to

the interests of the customer.

In order to make bank’s redressal mechanism more meaningful and effective, a

structured system needs to be built up towards such end. Such system would

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ensure that the redressal sought is just and fair and is within the given frame-work

of rules and regulation. The policy document would be made available at all

branches. All employees of the Bank should be made aware about the Complaint

handling process.

The customer is having full right to register his complaint if he is not satisfied with

the services provided by the bank. He can give his complaint in writing, orally or

over telephone. If customer’s complaint is not resolved within given time or if he

is not satisfied with the solution provided by the bank, he can approach Banking

Ombudsman with his complaint or other legal avenues available for grievance

redressal.

INTERNAL MACHINERY TO HANDLE CUSTOMER

COMPLAINTS/ GRIEVANCES

Customer Service Committee of the Board

This sub-committee of the Board would be responsible for formulation of a

Comprehensive Deposit Policy incorporating the issues such as the treatment of

death of a depositor for operations of his account, the product approval process

and the annual survey of depositor satisfaction and the tri-enniel audit of such

services. The Committee would also examine any other issues having a bearing on

the quality of customer service rendered. This Committee would also review the

functioning of Standing Committee on Customer Service. The Customer Service

Committee of the Board is responsible for the rendering of customer service to the

individual, both as a depositor and also as a borrower. The Committee is,

therefore, responsible for examining loan policies and service issues for the

individual as a borrower also.

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Standing Committee on Customer Service

The Standing Committee on Customer Service will be chaired by the Managing

Director/ Executive Director of the Bank. Besides two to three senior executives

of the bank, the committee would also have two to three eminent non-executives

drawn from the public as members. The committee would have the following

functions.

Evaluate feed-back on quality of customer service received from various

quarters. The committee would also review comments/feed-back on

customer service and implementation of commitments in the Code of

Bank’s Commitments to Customers received from BCSBI.

The Committee would be responsible to ensure that all regulatory

instructions regarding customer service are followed by the bank.

Towards this, the committee would obtain necessary feed-back from

zonal/regional managers/ functional heads.

The committee also would consider unresolved complaints/grievances

referred to it by functional heads responsible for redressal and offer their

advice.

The committee would submit report on its performance to the customer

service committee of the board at quarterly intervals.

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Nodal Officer and other designated officials to handle complaints

and grievances

Bank would appoint a Nodal Officer who will be responsible for the

implementation of customer service and complaint handling for the entire bank.

The bank may also appoint such other officials as it deems necessary.

To enable the customers to voice their grievances or offer suggestions for

improvement in customer service, “Customer Day” is observed at all the offices of

the Bank across the organization covering branches, Regional / Zonal Offices and

Head Office, on 15th of every month ( next day, if 15th is a holiday or half day).

In case of any complaint, the matter may be first brought to the notice of

concerned Branch Manager for immediate redressal. If the complaint is not

redressed to the satisfaction of the customer, the matter may be taken up with the

Regional Manager / Zonal Manager concerned. The Bank has also nominated

concerned Regional Manager as Nodal Officer for handling the complaint

grievances in respect of the branches under their jurisdiction. If the complainant

still feels unsatisfied with the responses received, he/she can address the complaint

to the bank’s Nodal Officer at Head Office designated to deal with customers’

complaints / grievance giving full details of the case.

MANDATORY DISPLAY REQUIREMENTS

It is mandatory for the bank to provide;

Appropriate arrangement for receiving complaints and suggestions.

The name, address and contact number of Nodal Officer(s)

Contact details of Banking Ombudsman of the area

Code of bank’s commitments to customers/Fair Practice code

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RESOLUTION OF GRIEVANCES

Branch Manager is responsible for the resolution of complaints/grievances in

respect of customer’s service by the branch. He would be responsible for ensuring

closure of all complaints received at the branches. It is his foremost duty to see

that the complaint should be resolved completely to the customer’s satisfaction

and if the customer is not satisfied, then he should be provided with alternate

avenues to escalate the issue. If the branch manager feels that it is not possible at

his level to solve the problem he can refer the case to Regional or Zonal Office for

guidance. Similarly, if Regional or Zonal office finds that they are not able to

solve the problem such cases may be referred to the Nodal Officer.

Complaints relating to non-compliance with the Code may be referred to the Code

Compliance officers, who shall ensure speedy disposal of all such complaints.

TIME FRAME

Complaint has to be seen in the right perspective because they indirectly reveal a

weak spot in the working of the bank. Complaint received should be analyzed

from all possible angles. The first level of receiving complaints is at the branch.

Branch Head should try to resolve the complaint within 8 working days. In case

the customer does not receive a revert / response within 8 working days from the

branch, he can escalate the complaint to the Nodal Officer, who shall strive to

revert / answer the complaint within a period of 15 working days. If the customer

does not receive a satisfactory response from the Bank within a period of one

month, he may be provided information about how he can take his complaint

further i.e. to the Ombudsman.

Communication of Bank’s stand on any issue to the customer is a vital

requirement. Complaints received, which would require some time for

examination of issues involved, should invariably be acknowledged promptly.

Page 87: The Banking Ombudsman

INTERACTION WITH CUSTOMERS

The Bank recognizes that customer’s expectation/requirement/grievances can be

better appreciated through personal interaction with customers by Bank’s staff.

Structured customer meets, say once in a month will give a message to the

customers that the bank cares for them and values their feedback/suggestions for

improvement in customer service. Many of the complaints arise on account of lack

of awareness among customers about bank services and such interactions will help

the customers appreciate banking services better. As for the bank the feedback

from customers would be valuable input for revising its product and services to

meet customer requirements.

SENSITIZING OPERATING STAFF ON HANDLING

COMPLAINTS

Staff should be properly trained for handling complaints. We are dealing with

people and hence difference of opinion and areas of friction can arise. With an

open mind and a smile on the face we should be able to win the customer’s

confidence. It would be the responsibility of the Nodal Officer to ensure that

internal machinery for handling complaints/grievances operates smoothly and

efficiently at all levels. He should give feedback on training needs of staff at

various levels to the HR Dept.

Page 88: The Banking Ombudsman

COMPENDIUM OF CASE HANDLED BY THE BANKING

OMBUDSMAN OFFICE

SUBJECT: Refusal to Close the Account

The complainant, Mr.XYZ was holding a current account with ABC Bank. On

11.09.1990, following a raid conducted on his premises by the Income Tax Dept.,

jewellery, FDRs, chequebooks, passbooks pertaining to his bank accounts with

various banks including that with ABC Bank were seized. The credit balance in

his current account with ABC Bank at the time of seizure of the documents was

Rs.44,769.10. He stated that it had taken thirteen years for the Income Tax Dept.

to finalize his case and to exonerate him. The Income Tax Dept. did not to return

the chequebook and passbook seized by them, as they were not traceable. The

complainant had approached the ABC Bank for withdrawing the amount lying in

his current account but the bank refused to allow him to withdraw the amount

without chequebook and the passbook. The Income Tax Dept. by its letter No.

GIR No.V- 715 dated 11.09.2003 addressed to ABC Bank certified that during

search operations conducted in the premises of Mr.XYZ on 11.09.1990, the

department had seized a chequebook in respect of current account No.929 in the

name of Mr.XYZ showing a credit balance of Rs.44,647.10 as on the date of

seizure adding that the chequebook and passbook were not readily traceable and

the department had no objection in allowing operations in the account by the

complainant.

Page 89: The Banking Ombudsman

DECISION

When the complainant had approached the bank on 12.09.2003 for refund of the

amount lying to his credit, the bank had refused to allow him to withdraw the

amount. Article 90 of the Limitation Act clearly mentions that limitation would

start running from the date of demand. The complaint filed with the office of the

Banking Ombudsman is not barred by limitation and is maintainable in law. It is a

general rule that the party who affirms any proposition shall prove it. It is also a

general rule that the onus lies upon the party who seeks to support his case by a

particular fact to prove it. If this basic principle of law of evidence is applied, it is

for the bank to prove conclusively as to when and how the account was closed and

to produce the documents supporting such payment and closure, which ought to

have been in its custody. It may also be pertinent to note that the Asst. Director of

Income Tax [Inv.] had served an order under Sec.132 [3] of the Income Tax on the

branch manager directing him not to part with the funds lying to the credit of the

complainant in current account No.929. When the bank asserts that the account

was closed it is for the bank to bring proof of such closure and it cannot excuse

itself stating that records were destroyed or its tapes were not readable. The

submission that the bank had permitted closure when there was prohibitory order

against it is not credible as in the normal course there is no chance of any bank

allowing operations in an account when there is a prohibitory order in force. All

the facts and circumstances of the case point out to an irrefutable conclusion that

there was no chance that the complainant could have received the refund of the

current deposit prior to 2003. Therefore it was decided to direct the bank that it

should refund to the complainant Rs.44,647.10 which was lying to his credit as on

11.09.1990 when the passbook and chequebook were seized by Income Tax

authorities.

Page 90: The Banking Ombudsman

ANALYSIS OF THE CASE

This case is about a customer Mr.XYZ, who is a current account holder with the

ABC Bank. Mr.XYZ was having a balance of Rs.44,647/- in his current account

when the income tax department conducted a raid in his premises. While the

investigations the income tax department confiscated his passbook, chequebook,

FDR’s and other document of all the banks including the ABC Bank. After

thirteen years the income tax department was not able to trace his documents. So

he decided to withdraw his balance amount and close the account, but the the bank

refused to close the account without the cheque book and the passbook.

Mr.XYZ was able to prove his statement by providing the letter from the income

tax department mentioning that Mr.XYZ’s passbook having a balance of

Rs. 44,647/- as on 11.09.1990 was misplaced by them. The bank refused to refund

of the amount lying to his credit even after showing the evidence to them.

Therefore the customer approached the Banking Ombudsman to complaint the

ignorance of the bank and to get his account closed. As soon as the complaint was

lodged to the Banking Ombudsman he founded that the evidence provided by the

complainant was true. So the Banking Ombudsman directed the bank to refund the

complainant the amount of Rs. 44,467/- that was lying to his credit since

11.09.1990 as per the passbook.

Page 91: The Banking Ombudsman

Though the Banking Ombudsman Scheme was introduced in the year 1995, with a

view to do away with the banking customer complaints, the scheme was amended

in subsequent years of 2002 and 2006. But the banks do not seem to have adopted

the norms for their efficient functioning, that is the reason behind the increasing

consumer cases against the banks, which are governed under the scheme.

In the system of Banking Ombudsman, the results are delivered very soon, the

procedures are fair together with cost, and proportionate to the nature of the issues

involved. The system deals with cases at reasonable speed, is understandable to

those who use it, is responsive to the needs of those who use it, and provides as

much certainty as the nature of particular cases allows. This is true because over

the past five years nearly 36000 complaints are being resolved by the Banking

Ombudsman under this Banking Ombudsman Scheme. Though the Banking

Ombudsman is eligible enough to deliver the bank customer complaints at the

earliest yet the Consumer Redressal Forum/Commission is being taken resort of

by most of the bank customers for their redressal of grievances with the bank. The

reason is they are well popular among the common public which is lacking with

the banking ombudsman and its working. Definitely the Scheme needs popularity

in the society for its more appropriateness and effectiveness so that the aggrieved

bank customer with the services of the bank prefers to knock the door of the

banking ombudsman for redressal. The scheme should provide more powers and

levy more duties on the banking ombudsman so that they can easily be

approachable by the aggrieved bank customer.

Page 92: The Banking Ombudsman

Annual Report by the Reserve Bank of India – Banking Ombudsman

Scheme 2007-2008.

Booklet of “The Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006”.

RBI Journals.

Page 93: The Banking Ombudsman

http://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=159

http://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=11113#2

http://www.nos.org/Secbuscour/25.pdf

http://www.indbank.com/ombudsman.htm

http://www.ucobank.com/ombudsman.htm

Page 94: The Banking Ombudsman

ANNEXURE

Annexure ‘A’

FORM OF COMPLAINT (TO BE LODGED) WITH THE

BANKING OMBUDSMAN

(FOR OFFICE USE ONLY)

Complaint No. ………of year.… Date ……………………..

(TO BE FILLED UP BY THE COMPLAINANT)

To

The Banking Ombudsman

(*Territorial jurisdiction,

Place of BO’s office……)

Dear Sir,

Sub: Complaint against ……………………. (Name of the bank’s branch) of

…………………………………………………………………………………

(Name of the Bank)

Being aggrieved the complainant named herein has submitted a complaint with the

above referred bank. Details of the complaint are as under:

1. NAME OF THE COMPLAINANT …………………………………………...…

Page 95: The Banking Ombudsman

2. FULL ADDRESS OF THE COMPLAINANT ……………………

………………………………………………………………………………………

PIN CODE ……………….. PHONE NO. / FAX NO.……………………..…

3. COMPLAINT AGAINST (NAME AND FULL ADDRESS OF THE

BRANCH/ BANK) …………………………………………………………………

PIN CODE ……………………. PHONE NO. / FAX NO.…….….…………….

4. PARTICULARS OF BANK ACCOUNT

(Please state nature of account viz. Savings bank/current/cash credit/term

deposit/loan account etc. related to the subject matter of the complaint being

made) ………………………………………………………………………………

5. (a) DATE OF REPRESENTATION BY THE COMPLAINANT TO THE

BANK ……………………….

(Please enclose three copies of the representation)

(b) Whether any reminder was sent by the complainant? YES /NO (If yes,

please enclose three copies of the reminder)

6. SUBJECT MATTER OF THE COMPLAINT (Please refer to Clause 8 of the

Scheme) …………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………

7. DETAILS OF THE COMPLAINT

(If space is not sufficient Please enclose separate sheet)

………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………

8. (a) Whether any reply (Within a period of one month after the bank concerned

received the representation) has been received? YES / NO

(If yes, please enclose ‘three copies’ of the bank’s reply)

(b) Whether the representation has been rejected? YES/ NO

(If yes, please enclose ‘three copies’ of the bank’s letter)

(c) Whether the complainant has received any other final decision of the bank?

YES/ NO

Page 96: The Banking Ombudsman

(If yes, please enclose ‘three copies’ of the bank’s letter conveying its final

decision)

9. NATURE OF RELIEF SOUGHT FROM THE BANKING OMBUDSMAN

………………………………………………………………………………………

(Please enclose ‘three copies’ of documentary proof, if any, in support of your

claim)

10. NATURE AND EXTENT OF MONETARY LOSS, IF ANY, CLAIMED BY

THE COMPLAINANT BY WAY OF COMPENSATION Rs. …...……………….

(Please enclose documentary proof, if any, to show that such loss is actual loss

caused as a direct consequence of alleged omission or commission of the bank)

11. LIST OF DOCUMENTS ENCLOSED (Please enclose ‘three copies’ of all the

documents) ………….…………………………………….………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………

12. DECLARATION

1. I/ We, the complainant/s herein declare that:

(a) The information furnished herein above is true and correct; and

(b) I/ We have not concealed or misrepresented any fact stated in aforesaid

columns and the documents submitted herewith.

2. The complaint is filed before expiry of period of one year reckoned in

accordance with the provisions of Clause 9(3) (a) and (b) of the Scheme. 29

3. (a) The subject matter of the present complaint has never been brought before

the Office of the Banking Ombudsman by me/ or by any one of us or by any of the

parties concerned with the subject matter to the best of my/ our knowledge.

(b) The subject matter of the present complaint is not in respect of the same

which was settled through the Office of the Banking Ombudsman in any previous

proceedings.

(c) The subject matter of the present complaint has not been decided by any

forum/court/arbitrator.

Page 97: The Banking Ombudsman

4. I/We authorize the bank to disclose any such information/ documents furnished

by us to the Banking Ombudsman and disclosure whereof in the opinion of the

Banking Ombudsman is necessary and is required for redressal of any other

complaint or our complaint.

5. I/We have noted the contents of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006.

Yours faithfully,

(Signature of Complainant)

NOMINATION – (If the complainant wants to nominate his representative to

appear and make submissions on his behalf before the Banking Ombudsman or to

the Office of the Banking Ombudsman, the following declaration should be

submitted.) 30 I/We the above named complainant/s hereby nominate

Shri/Smt……………………………………who is not an Advocate and whose

address is ……………………………………………………………………………

as my/our REPRESENTATIVE in all proceedings of this complaint and confirm

that any statement, acceptance or rejection made by him/her shall be binding on

me/us. He/She has signed below in my presence.

ACCEPTED

(Signature of Representative)

(Signature of Complainant)

Page 98: The Banking Ombudsman

Annexure ‘B’

Addresses and Area of Operation of Banking Ombudsman

Sl.

No.

Address of the Office

of Banking

Ombudsman

Area of Operation Telephone No. / Fax No.

1. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

La Gajjar Chambers,

Ashram Road,

Ahmedabad-380 009

Gujarat, Union

Territories of Dadra

and Nagar Haveli,

Daman and Diu

Tel. No.6582357/6586718

Fax No.079-6583325

2. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

10/3/8, Nrupathunga

Road,

Bangalore-560 001

Karnataka Tel. No.2210771/2275629

Fax No.080-2244047

3. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

Hoshangabad Road,

Post Box No.32,

Bhopal-462 011

Madhya Pradesh &

Chattisgarh

Tel. No.573772/573776

Fax No.0755-573779

4. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru

Marg,

Bhubaneswar-751 001

Orissa Tel. No. 418007/418008

Fax No.0674-418006

Page 99: The Banking Ombudsman

5. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

15, Netaji Subhas

Road Kolkata-

700 001

West Bengal and

Sikkim

Tel. No.2206222/2205580

Fax No.033-2205899

6. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

New Office Building,

Sector-17, Central

Vista

Chandigarh-160 017

Himachal Pradesh,

Punjab and Union

Territory of

Chandigarh

Tel No.709589/721011

Fax No.0172-721880

7. Kuralagam Building

(3rd Floor)

Esplanade

N.S.C. Bose Road,

Chennai-600 108

Tamil Nadu, Union

Territories of

Pondicherry and

Andaman and

Nikcobar Islands

Tel. No.5341645/5341619

Fax No.044-5341607

8. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

Station Road,

Pan Bazaar

Guwahati – 781 001

Assam, Arunachal

Pradesh, Manipur,

Meghalaya, Mizoram,

Nagaland & Tripura

Tel. No.542556/540445

Fax No.0361-540445

9. C/o Reserve Bank of India Annexe Building, Ground Floor Saifabad, Hyderabad-500 004

Andhra Pradesh Tel No.3210013/3243970

Fax No.040-3210014

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10. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

M.G. Road,

Post Box No.82,

Kanpur-208 001

Uttar Pradesh

excluding District of

Ghaziabad &

Uttaranchal

Te. No.361191/310593

Fax No.0512-362553

11. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

Garment House,

Ground Floor

Dr. Annie Besant

Road, Worli,

Mumbai-400 018

Maharashtra and Goa Tel No.4924607/4960893

Fax No.022-4960912

12. Jeevan Bharati

Building

Tower No.1, 7th Floor,

124 Connaught Circus

New Delhi-110 011

Delhi, Haryana,

Jammu and Kashmir

and Ghaziabad district

of Uttar Pradesh

Tel No.3725445/3710882

Fax No.011-3725218

13. ‘Biscomaun Towers’

2nd Floor, West

Gandhi Maidan

Patna-800 001

Bihar & Jharkhand Tel. No. C/o 236453(NCC)

Fax No.0612-2206308

14. C/o Reserve Bank of

India

Bakery Junction

Thiruvanathapuram-

695 033

Kerala and Union

Territory of

Lakshadweep

Tel. No.332723/329676

Fax No.0471-321625

Page 101: The Banking Ombudsman