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
Fraud company by mahindra finance (Mahindra Finance loan) Open
I leena Kharkongor resident of golden estate lawjynriew nongthymmai shillong that i have taken a personal loan from mahindra finance for my personal needs which is located in Aurangabad Maharashtra the corporate office - Ground floor, Ratnapr...
Jul 16, 2020 by Leena Kharkongor
Bank torture (Bajaj Finance) Open
In moratorium I didn't paid emi they r threatening me.....
Jul 16, 2020 by Haribaskar
Unacceptable behavior of your customer care executive (Sbi) Open
Hi, I have outstanding on SBI card of rupees ***** and for that One of your executive form recovery department called to my fathers mobile number and scolded him.with very bad words in kannada language. This is how the recovery @ SBI is being...
Jul 16, 2020 by shashidhar warad
EMI option required for credit card payment (RBL bank credit card) Open
Sir, I am having credit card of RBL bank and my outstanding amount is *****/-. Due to COVID** lockdown i have lost my job and didn't get salary from April **** onward. Now i am not in situation to pay outstanding amount to bank as i am only pe...
Jul 16, 2020 by Anuj Yadav
HDFC treating Customers as waste items and not abiding the terms and conditions (Hdfc Bank) Open
I have raised a case with HDFC bank * months ago. I have raised for two different queries one is on getting a waiver for the extra credit card charges which I haven't got yet completely and I'm requesting repeatedly to consider and waive off be...
Jul 16, 2020 by Senthur Murugan R
SBI Credit card Fake Bill (Sbi Cards & Payments Service Private Limited) Open
As I have already closed my account of this credit card. But from last * Yrs they are showing bills and repeated asking by sms/phone to deposit the same bill. ...
Jul 15, 2020 by Krishnat Suryawanshi
Pass book not received from long time by Bank Bank of Baroda (Banking System) Open
My mother is open a saving account in Bank of Baroda dtd on**.**.****(Shahabad Branch) Distt Kurukshetra but till time we have not recd my pass book.I visited bank with my mother many times but no any positive response given by bank.I am very f...
Jul 15, 2020 by narender singh
Release of Fixed Deposits money from Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited (Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited) Open
On behalf of my mother and late father submitting this request. Release of Fixed Deposits money from Sahara Credit Co-operative Society Limited Respected Sir, I along with my husband had invested Rs. **,**,***/- In Sahara Credit Co-operative...
Jul 15, 2020 by Nirmala Agrawal
Unauthorised charges on Credit card (State Bank Of India ) Open
This is to bring into your notice with regards to the glitch in the incomplete payment of SBI ELITE CREDIT CARD. Please find the below cover statement and explanation for the payment of credit amount which we have not paid and why we have not p...
Jul 15, 2020 by P.Lasitha
Maturity amount not paying (Sahara credit coop society ltd branch code 6304 ) Open
I am Mallikharjuna Rao, With trust in the Sahara, I am investing in different schemes from last ** years. I have invested in Sahara E.Shine and A. Select. I expected the sum amount on maturity date in ****, but due to demonetization, I had to r...
Jul 15, 2020 by Mallikharjuna Rao
Incorrect charges deducted from paytm fastag (PayTM) Open
I had travelled from Pune to Goa on **th June paying the proper toll charges. Still I got an query regarding incorrect toll deduction and asked me to submit car RC book which I did on the next day. Still they went ahead and deducted the said ch...
Jul 14, 2020 by Pankaj Arsekar
About personal loan (Sky blue finance private limited company) Open
My name is Kshiradhar kumura l also applied personal loan in sky blue finance private limited company * months ago,all types of fees amount I paid which was demand this company but they were not give me loan and not refund my amount,so I honest...
Jul 14, 2020 by Kshiradhar kumura
Without taking service SBI card is charging me for cradit card (Sbi Cards ) Open
I have applied for a credit card of sbi. But without they sending me my card they start billing for that card. After so many mail they are not ready to settle the bill and continue charging me....
Jul 14, 2020 by Sushil Kumar
Mpokket is cheating (Mpokket Loan Application) Open
I had taken a loan of rs*** from this application but i didn't have money to repay it. They have increased the repaying loan amount on their own according to their wish. They are forcing me to pay a much bigger amount. And now they are calling...
Jul 12, 2020 by Shaifali Chauhan
Online Amount Transfer (Bank of India) Open
Amount transfer to incorrect account number....
Jul 12, 2020 by Shib Prakash Singh
Paytm incomplete Order Delivery (PayTM) Open
I order a Combo for Wireless Mouse & Keyboard of Zebronics from Paytm. But I didnt got Nano Receiver from Paytm. I have pics of packaging. It was not tempered, but may be seller forget to place the nano receiver within the package. Please as...
Jul 11, 2020 by Gaurav Khiwasara
Fraud in Paytm Wallet (PayTM) Open
Hi, Today morning when I have checked my SMS then I come to know that around *.** AM there were two transactions was done from my Paytm wallet which is for amount **** Rs and *** rs.... I havent any idea for these transactions. I have never sh...
Jul 11, 2020 by Saurabh Agrawal
Closing of SBI card (Sbi) Open
I several time contact to customer care of SBI credit card bu they did not response by saying that the server down ...
Jul 11, 2020 by Tapan Kumar Das
Unauthorised withdrawal from bank account (State Bank of India ) Open
Respected sir, I have lodged a complaint on **th may **** regarding unauthorised withdrawal from my account from **th may to **th may.My account was not seeded with my mobile no. after so many application it shows ignorance of sbi employees to...
Jul 11, 2020 by Ruli chand
Fraud Alert (Jindal Finance Company) Open
Yesterday I applied for a loan through 'Finance Phases' and an executive of Jindal finance called me to collect documents and told will update by Today. Today I got a call and message from 'Rajat Mehta' stating that loan is approved and shared ...
Jul 11, 2020 by Muhammad Sabith
"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