Annual Report of Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2009-10

January 2011 is just over and Reserve Bank of India, has released the Annual Report of Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2009-10

The Press Release can be accessed @

http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=23844

The Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS) is 15 years old in our country.

Over the years, it has made it presence felt amongst the banking public and the variety of the complaints received under the BOS makes for an interesting study.

There are 15 offices of Banking Ombudsman (OBOs), spread across the country.

From a total of 11, when the BO Scheme was started in 1995, today, the BO Scheme provides for 27 grounds of complaints / deficiencies in bank services.  RBI operates the BOS, free of cost, so as to make it accessible to all. In order to increase its effectiveness and utility, BOS is today fully staffed and funded by RBI.

The BOS enables two way communications between the Banking Industry customers and the Banking Regulator. It enables RBI to receive real-time feedback, which in turn aids RBI in shaping its policies.

The Banking Ombudsman can receive and consider any complaint relating to the following deficiency in banking services (including internet banking):

1. non-payment or  inordinate delay in the payment or collection of cheques, drafts, bills etc.;
2. non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of small denomination notes tendered for any purpose, and for charging of commission in respect thereof;
3. non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of coins tendered and for charging of commission in respect thereof;
4. non-payment or delay in payment of inward remittances ;
5. failure to issue or delay in issue of drafts, pay orders or bankers’ cheques;
6. non-adherence to prescribed working hours ;
7. 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;
8. 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 ;
9. complaints from Non-Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation to their remittances from abroad, deposits and other bank-related matters;

10.  refusal to open deposit accounts without any valid reason for refusal;

11.  levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the customer;

12.  non-adherence by the bank or its subsidiaries to the instructions of Reserve Bank on ATM/Debit card operations or credit card operations;

13.  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);

14.  refusal to accept or delay in accepting payment towards taxes, as required by Reserve Bank/Government;

15.  refusal to issue or delay in issuing, or failure to service or delay in servicing or redemption of Government securities;

16.  forced closure of deposit accounts without due notice or without sufficient reason;

17.  refusal to close or delay in closing the accounts;

18.  non-adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by the bank or 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 ;

19.  non-observance of Reserve Bank guidelines on engagement of recovery agents by banks; and

20.  any other matter relating to the violation of the directives issued by the Reserve Bank in relation to banking or other services.

A customer can also lodge a complaint on the following grounds of deficiency in service with respect to loans and advances:

1. non-observance of Reserve Bank Directives on interest rates;
2. delays in sanction, disbursement or non-observance of prescribed time schedule for disposal of loan applications;
3. non-acceptance of application for loans without furnishing valid reasons to the applicant; and
4. 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;
5. 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.
6. The Banking Ombudsman may also deal with such other matter as may be specified by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

The mode of complaints are basically paper-based and from Rural and Metropolitan areas. It is a very positive sign, that the rural customers are willing to complaint to RBI on Banking Services.