Banking Complaints
A bank refers to a financial institution that accepts deposits and creates credit. Banks are of utmost importance to the economy and are a safe place to deposit excess cash.
The Indian Banking sector is ranked 6th across the globe. With many private sector and public sector banks thriving in India, the banking industry is congruously capitalised and well-regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. The stats on market, credit and liquidity bespeak the handy preparedness to sustain any global crisis.
India is presently home to 34 banks out of which 22 are private sector banks, and 12 are public-owned banks. Multiple other Foreign Private Sector Banks are operating as part of the Indian banking sector as well. Let us take a look at the Top 5 Famous Banks in India.
Famous Banks in India
1. State Bank of India: SBI is the oldest and also the largest bank functioning in India and has been a Fortune 500 company for 14 long years. Post-Independence, the State Bank of India got enacted on 1st July 1955. It has its headquarters located in Mumbai, the financial capital of the country.
The bank has 57 Zonal centres and 14 Local centres with 85,356 branches and 59,291 ATMs pan India. SBI has a market cap of INR 2,93,218.11 crores with a market share of 23% with its presence in 36+ countries. It has been recognised as the Best Transaction Bank & Best Payment Bank in India.
Total Assets – INR 30 lakh crores
Revenue – INR 3.68 lakh crores
Number of employees – 2,64,041
2. HDFC Bank: The bank is well known for receiving first 'in principle' consent from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which authorised it to set up a bank in the private sector. It was founded in August 1994 given the liberalisation that took place in the Indian Banking Industry.
The bank started its operations as a Commercial Bank from January 1995. With its headquarters in Mumbai, The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) functions across 2,768 towns and cities with 5,314 branches and 13,610 ATMs in India. It has a market cap of Rs.6,25,666 crores as of 2019.
Total Assets – INR 11.89 lakh crores
Revenue – INR 1.17 lakh crores
Number of employees – 98,061
3. ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank Private Limited: It occupies the second place when it comes to volume of assets operated by the bank. The bank is the second largest in terms of market cap and total assets, making it the leading private sector bank in India.
ICICI was formed in 1994 with the principal aim to offer medium-term and long-term project funding to Indian businesses. The bank has its headquarters in Mumbai with its registered office in Vadodara, Gujarat. It currently has its footprint across India with 5,275 branches and 15,589 ATMs along with its presence in 16 countries outside India.
Total Assets – Rs. 13.77 trillion
Revenue – INR 1.49 lakh crores
Total employees – 82,724
4. Punjab National Bank: The Punjab National Bank, PNB is the third-largest bank functioning in India. The bank serves more than 80 million customers with 7000 branches and 10,681 ATMs, expanding its footprint to 764 cities. It currently operates from its head office located in New Delhi.
Founded in 1894 from Lahore, the bank has served eminent freedom fighters of India. It later got nationalised in July 1969. As one of the oldest banks in the country, it has a market cap of Rs. 37,411 crores as in 2019. PNB recently bagged the prestigious IBA Banking Technology Awards.
Total Assets – INR 6 lakh crores
Revenue – INR 80,512 crores
Total employees – 70,801
5. Bank of Baroda: Bank of Baroda has now become the third-largest lender of the country after it merged with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank into a single entity. It carries a pride of 127 million customers across 21 countries and growing bigger and better day by day.
The bank operates from its main office in Vadodara and has 9,500 branches and 13,400 ATMs across India. Founded in July 1908, it has a market cap of more than 35,000 crores currently.
Total Assets – INR 11.5 trillion
Revenue – INR 91,000 crores
Total employees – 48,807
Top Banking Complaints in India
According to a recent survey by Times of India, every hour 11 people complain against their bank. The most commonly reported banking complaints in India by consumers include bad customer service, checks/funds bouncing, extra charges levied, debit/credit card blocked etc.
Almost 30% to 37% of bank complaints occur due to the bank's failure to fulfill commitments and lack of fair practices. Banks reporting fraud or complaints have been on the rise more than ever before. What's more disturbing is the account holders face never-ending issues even after being connected with the banks for a long time.
Around half a million people have reported filing complaints in the last five years. From high interests to willful delay in processing payments (leading to penalties), and lack of fair practices to denial of closing accounts, banking customers are having a tough time continuing with the financial hassle.
The numbers of banking complaints see a double-digit rise in the past few years. The financial period of 2018-19 witnessed a surge of 20% in the complaints against banks. Non-adherence to fair practices saw the most number of complaints followed by issues related to pension, levy of charges, and debit and credit card issues.
1. Hidden fees
Customers feel cheated about the excessive fees and hidden charges by the banks. Most often, customers are not aware how they can choose to stay out of overdraft protection. Unexpected charges by bank remains a major issues for consumers from Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai to Patna. Reaching out to their bank is always a good idea to have a clear picture of fees and extra charges.
2. Bad customer support
This is something which every customer is concerned about. Even if the customers manage to reach out to the customer service, they don't see any credible solution. It gets quite worse when the bank employees are unable to resolve your issue. Being heckled from person to person, and being asked to wait at every desk test the best of temper.
The only solution you have is to stay calm and wait for the response from the bank to get the issue resolved.
3.Beneficiary does not get the money
This is one of the most common issues faced by banking customers in all the major cities in India like Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, New Delhi and Kolkata. The amount gets deducted from their account, and it is shown that the transaction is successful, but it doesn’t get credited into the beneficiary’s account. EMI payers mainly lodged such complaints that the EMI would get deducted from their account but would not be credited to the beneficiary.
4. Fraudulent transaction
According to the Economic Times, there is a rise of 74% in banking frauds. Digital transactions via net banking and UPI are preferred over cash for a contactless mode of payment. But with an increase in online payments, there has been a rise in fraud cases.
Many customers complain that the money from their account has been deducted for things they have not purchased. Banks take a lot of time in addressing such complaints, and usually, customers get frustrated with the process.
5. Transaction failure
Transaction failures are very frustrating and embarrassing. When consumers are out, and they haven’t carried the cash, they will pay via net banking or UPI or ATM, but sometimes bank servers would go down suddenly, and the transaction would fail, or in some cases, the amount would get deducted, and the transaction would fail which can be misleading for both payer and recipient.
How to resolve Banking complaints?
1. First and foremost step should be contacting the bank’s customer care itself as they genuinely care about the customer satisfaction and would be willing to resolve the consumer complaints. Here are customer care number of some of top banks in India :
State bank of India (SBI) Customer Care - 1800 425 3800
Union Bank of India (UBI) Customer Care - 1800 22 2244
Allahabad Bank Customer Care - 1800 57 22 000
Bank of Baroda Customer Care - 1800 102 4455
UCO Bank Customer Care - 1800 274 0123
Bank of Maharashtra Customer Care - 18002334526
Bank of India (BOI) Customer Care - 1800 22 0229
Central Bank of India (CBI) Customer Care - 1800 22 1911
HDFC Bank Card Customer Care - 1800 266 4332
ICICI Bank Customer Care - 1800 200 3344
Punjab National Bank (PNB) Customer Care - 1800 180 2222
Axis Bank Customer Care - 1860 419 5555
2. Apart from calling customer care numbers, a customer can visit the bank and meet the officials or complain at the grievance cell to sort out the issue. However, you should try submitting your complaint to the bank in writing, to keep a record of your complaint. Also, some banks have an option of filing a complaint at their website also.
3. However if the bank is unwilling to address the issue then you can approach the Banking Ombudsman. A banking ombudsman is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to resolve consumer complaints against deficiency in the banking services. So far there are a total number of 15 Bank Ombudsman whose number can be found on the official RBI website.
The consumer has to file a complaint at the ombudsman under whose jurisdiction the bank branch is located. All the consumer has to do is write it down on paper, or send a complaint via email. There are no charges for filing a complaint. However if you are not satisfied with the settlement offered by the ombudsman, you can file an appeal before the appellate authority within 30 days.
4. Send Legal Notice:
A Consumer can send legal notices to the Bank in case it is unable to resolve his complaint. It is one of the efficient ways to handle consumer complaints legally. Check below to know how to send a legal notice to a Bank?
Step 1: Firstly, get a legal notice drafted by a lawyer.
Step 2: Check it properly and make sure it is signed by a lawyer.
Step 3: Keep a copy of it for future purposes.
Step 4: Send the legal notice to the Bank by registered post.
Step 5: Keep the slip or delivery report for evidence.
5. File consumer forum case:
Consumer forum deals with consumer complaints and you should approach the consumer forum if you feel that your rights as a consumer have been violated.
If your Bank is not responding to your complaint even after sending legal notice by a lawyer then you should file a case against it in a consumer court.
Here is how you can file a case against the Bank in the consumer court?
Step 1: Intimate the aggrieved party via legal notice.
Step 2: Draft the consumer complaint
Step 3: Attach all the relevant documents and proofs to support your complaint.
Step 4: Select the appropriate court for filing the complaint.
Step 5: Pay the prescribed court fee that is required to be paid along with the complaint.
Step 6: Submit the case along with the affidavit & fees in the court.
There are strong chances of nothing being done against your complaint if you're not serious about it. So, if you are still left stranded with nowhere else to go then you can always file a consumer complaint at Voxya. We at Voxya, generally receive around thousands of Banking complaints in a month.
So how do we actually resolve these Banking complaints? We start a social media campaign and then send an email to the Banks to resolve the complaint amicably. Moreover if strict actions need to be taken then we draft a legal notice and send it to the concerned Bank.
Most Common Issue Reported for Banking Complaints
Complaints
LESS INTEREST PAID BY EMPLOYER ON MY EPF AMOUNT (LARSEN TOUBRO LTD) Open
I (Manish V Tawar EC No. ********) was an employee of Larsen & Toubro Ltd.(L&T), and also a member of Exempted PF Trust of L&T from **/**/**** to **/**/****. *. In Jan/Feb,****, I initiated PF transfer out process, L&T also s...
Aug 24, 2020 by MANISH TAWAR
Insurance refund (DHFL) Open
I CLOSE MY LOAN IN MAY **** FROM MAY SINCE THEN I WAS FOLLOW UP WITH CUSTOMER CARE *** OF TIME I CALL & TAKE FOLLOWUP REGARDING MY INSURANCE REFUND ON DEC **** THEY TOLD ME RS ****/- REFUND AMOUNT CONTACT WITH BRANCH BUT NO RESONSE FROM PANV...
Aug 23, 2020 by irfan iqbal shaikh
Misbehaving collection executive (Mahindra & Mahindra Finance Services Limited) Open
I, SanthoshKumar.R, had borrowed a car loan from you. The loan number is *******. Previously I had borrowed a car loan from you, for that I had paid my dues very promptly and one fine day I had settled the loan and approached for a new car l...
Aug 22, 2020 by SanthoshKumar
Bajaj finserv mobikwik wallet amount deducted towatds emi card (Bajaj Finserv) Open
We took washing machine from Adishwar with Bajaj finance loan in october ****. We received a call from bajaj finserv on **-oct-** stating we have to take emi card as lian account will not be valid and made us to download mobikwik app and asked ...
Aug 22, 2020 by Yogitha H M
Unethical practices of IDFC first bank (IDFC first bank) Open
Hi, I've availed personal loan of Rs******/- from IDFC Bank on **.**.****. After paying EMI for few months, i paid lumpsum of Rs******/- on **.**.**** after confirming from their customer care phone so that my EMIs can be debited from the lumps...
Aug 22, 2020 by Hemanth
Unnecessary charges and wrong interest showing (indiabullsdhani) Open
I taken top up loan of rs ****- interest is rs **- unnecessary shows rs **- I also mailed them interest date is *th on *th it's shows me **- unnecessary they are saying send statement of bank which is not necessary they didn't solved my proble...
Aug 22, 2020 by Ghanshyam
Mobikwik Gift voucher (Mobikwik) Open
I had purchased a gift voucher worth **** Rs of Kasturi Gold and Coin from Mobikwik on *th March, ****. I am unable to redeem the gift voucher from past one month and I tried contacting Mobikwik customer care as well the vendor and not received...
Aug 21, 2020 by Bhautik Doshi
Finance Company not transferred the sanctioned loan amount ( Ramtirth Leasing and Finance Company) Open
We applied medical loan on **th June **** of Rs ******.**(One Lakhs Twenty Thousand) and sanctioned the same from Arogya finance officially named as Ramtirth Leasing and Finance Company Pvt. Ltd. Since we undergone treatment, the finance compa...
Aug 21, 2020 by k. Ranjithkumar
Money not yet credited from refund and no reply from the bank officials (Hdfc Bank) Open
On *st July I had booked an internet connection from Airtel and paid ₹**** towards. Unfortunately, due to some issues from their end, I requested them for the refund. They agreed to refund the money to my HDFC bank account on * July. It’s b...
Aug 21, 2020 by Ijaz Nizami
Paytm post paid (PayTM) Open
on **-**-**** I did the last Paytm postpaid transaction payment (OID ********** TID ******************* Amount ****.**) But, as I was late by few days after that the very account was blocked and from that day I could not use postpaid servic...
Aug 20, 2020 by Mayur Jena
Mpokket harrasment (Mpocket Loan Application) Open
I have taken loan from mpokket and repay on time. But during this lockdown I don't repay their loan so they are harrasing me to call all of my contacts..plz help me to overcome this situation...
Aug 20, 2020 by Manisha Acharyya
Money not refunded and not accessing the loan (Bajaj Finance Personal Loan Dept) Open
Bajaj finance department accepted personal loan and said pay for rs **** for processing fee. I paid that money. Later on they said pay rs ***** for bank NOC and they are not paying any legal or authorised document for paying. They must sent any...
Aug 19, 2020 by Dhandu Venkatesh
MISBEHAVING AND HARASSMENT (Central Bank of India) Open
Branch Code :- CBIN******* Manager Name :- Jasramandeep Singh Bedi Subject :- Harassment And Misbehaviour , Respected Sir , *. With Due Respect I Owner Of Garg Karyana Store Mullanpur Was A Permanent Client Of The Bank Mullanapur Dakha S...
Aug 19, 2020 by RAMESH KUMAR
Cheating SBI Credit Card (Sbi Credit Card) Open
I was called by SBI Credit Card executive for offer exclusively for me for their premium card during the lockdown (May, ****). I accepted the offer and applied for the card, and the executive took my documents through whatsapp. When I received...
Aug 18, 2020 by Ishan Singh
Harresmeny (Mpokket) Open
They are collecting our contact details without our permission and calli g our relatives and abising them.As because of covid situations my income sources are none so i'm not able to repay on time....
Aug 18, 2020 by Vikrant kumar jaiswal
Recharge of mobile phone (PayTM) Open
I have done a recharge of airtel pack of Rs.*** through paytm mobile app on * Aug **** the money is deducted and recharge is shown in paytm is successful but the service is started in mobile and on contacting to airtel they to deny about it and...
Aug 18, 2020 by PRANJAL RAKESH KUTHAR
Not able to close my personal loan with HDFC (Hdfc) Open
I have a personal loan with HDFC Bank. I took another loan from another bank to close this one and have been trying since January to close but not able to. The problem being, HDFC refuses to provide an online pre closure option and have just *-...
Aug 18, 2020 by Binay Singh
Wrongly Debited my Account by Airtel Payment Bank (Airtel Payments Bank) Open
APB debited my account Rs.**** to crefit my electricity provider account but they credited to some insurance provider. I need refund of my amount....
Aug 18, 2020 by Bharat Garg
Refund not received (Vijaya Bank) Open
I cancelled an order on Amazon on *th August **** and the refund was initiated by their side and the amount was supposed to reflect in my account by **th August ****, but till now no refund has reflected into my account. Even their customer car...
Aug 18, 2020 by Soumallya Mukherjee
"I was unable to get in touch with anyone in Byjus nor with my counselor regarding my problem for 3 months. But Voxya team helped me solve my issue very soon. Thank you!"
Mamta D
Complaint filed against: Byju's