Consumer court orders bank to pay Rs 50,000 for deficient services
For misplacing a cheque, the district consumer disputes redressal forum in Chandigarh has directed Canara Bank to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 as cost of litigation to a customer for deficiency in rendering service.
In his complaint, Gurjeet Singh, a resident of Hallomajra, Chandigarh, said that in order to return Rs 1.50 lakh, one Surinder Kumar had issued him an account payee cheque that was presented to the bank for clearing. After a few days, when Gurjeet visited the bank to enquire about the status of the cheque, he was told that the said cheque had been returned and entry in this regard was made in the passbook. The complainant had demanded back the original cheque along with the memo. In this regard, he also met the bank manager repeatedly, who put off the matter and failed to return the cheque. Later on, the bank manager told the complainant that the cheque had been handed over to Surinder Kumar.
Gurjeet alleged that the bank, in connivance with aforesaid Surinder Kumar, misappropriated the cheque in question and its manager also misbehaved with him.
Denying the charge, Canara Bank said that Gurjeet was told that his cheque was misplaced during transit and he was further requested to wait due to the renovation work at the branch. The bank had denied all allegations of misappropriation.
The consumer forum said, “The defence pleaded by the bank is not worthy of credence. On the one hand, the bank has pleaded that the complainant was told that his cheque was misplaced during transit but on the other hand, it has been pleaded that it was further explained to him the renovation work of the branch was going on and he was requested to wait.
“The bank has not produced any such evidence which could show that the cheque of the complainant was misplaced due to renovation work of the office. Conduct of the officials of the bank has been extremely negligent and they did not bother to redress the grievance of the complainant until he filed a consumer complaint.”
Consumer court slaps fine on bank for ‘unjust’ action
The Dehradun District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has imposed a fine of Rs 28,720 on ICICI Bank for seizing a man’s bike without serving any prior notice to him.
“The action of the bank in taking away the bike was not just and therefore, it should pay total punitive damages of Rs 28,720 to the complainant,” an order passed by the forum stated.
Evidently, the complainant Satish Kumar Agarwal had purchased a bike on 5 April 2004 from a local motorcycle dealer and got it partially financed from the bank. The complainant claimed that the total cost of the bike was Rs 43,200 and he got Rs 35,075 from the bank. He also claimed that he was regularly paying his monthly instalments and had returned Rs 16,720 to the bank. However, on 7 July 2005, the bank seized his bike and later auctioned it without serving any notice to Agarwal.
Satish moved the consumer forum, claiming a refund of the entire amount he paid to the bank through monthly instalments. The consumer forum adjudicating over the case directed the bank to refund the entire amount of Rs 16,720, which the complainant paid through monthly instalments, and also imposed a fine of Rs 7,000 for causing mental harassment and Rs 5,000 for other miscellaneous expenses.
The forum also directed the bank to pay the fine amount within 30 days of the order or the complainant would be entitled to charge seven per cent annual interest on the total amount till the day he got the money from bank.