File a complaint against Bank services

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

Fraudulent transaction

Beneficiary not credited

No Cashback

Bad customer support

Unauthorized Wallet transaction

Amount deducted but transaction failed

Financial fraud (PayTM) ^Open

On **rd feb **** i placed an advt in OLX.soon someone called and asked me to do some operation in my paytm account. I have semi kyc done wallet account in paytm.But money is transferred from my bank account to the frau's account. Paytm is fully...

Mar 02, 2020 by K N Venkatesh

Fraud transaction by ATM Debit Card by swipe cloning (State Bank Of India ) ^Open

Respected Sir/Madam, Sir, I am GS-******W LDC Shiv Kumar Pandit S/o Shri Panchi Pandit resident of Vill & Po -SAPTA, Distt- MADHUBANI, Pin: *** *** (Bihar) serving in BRO under MoD and at the incident time posted to Kargil (J&K). Sir, ch...

Feb 27, 2020 by SHIV KUMAR PANDIT

No Refund Provided (Phonepe) ^Open

On Friday(**st Feb) I've perfromed trasanction on grofers app of Rs*** using phonepe app. My expected delivery date was **rd Feb(Sunday) at * AM but till **AM I didn't received any order so I contacted Phonepe customer support and they informed...

Feb 26, 2020 by Kedar Lavhate

Personal loan (ADITHYA BIRLA CAPITAL PVT LTD) ^Open

Hii my name vivek. I apply personal loan from "Aditya Birla capital Pvt Ltd" and he called me **-**-**** He told your loan is approve so processing fee transfer I will send my company ac no and then I will transfer ₹ *.***/- sir but then ...

Feb 25, 2020 by Vivek kumar Nayak Nanjanagud

Charging Foreclosure Charges to Individual Borrower on Housing Loan (L & T Finance ) ^Open

I had requested for the foreclosure through balance transfer on *th of February ****, I was clearly told that i will receive the letter within * working days but with foreclosure charges of *%. Upon my multiple requests about the foreclosure c...

Feb 24, 2020 by Jitendra Betediya

Fraudulent activities by Axis bank (Axis Bank) ^Open

I have saving account with Axis bank in Surendranagar, Gujarat Branch since long with customer id *********. My debit card was blocked by the bank without any intimation and not issuing me new one. In spite of taking charges of SMS services...

Feb 24, 2020 by Samir toprani

Wrong late fee charges and not blocking of card (Hdfc Bank) ^Open

I am having two credit cards from HDFC. Issue is i am not getting any email or sms about outstanding amount from *-* months for credit card ending digits ****. and agents called me after due dates and inform late fee penalty is raised due to no...

Feb 22, 2020 by Rahul Rana

SBI card collection executive ask money for other user (Sbi Credit Card) ^Open

Dear sir, I have register *complaint against collection person of SBI card. In online process of complaint . Person name Rahul calling me from no **********. And asking me dues of one SBI credit card which is not borrow my me. I reply him . ...

Feb 21, 2020 by Nitin Bhatnagar

Money debited but it got dailed and it dint credit back (Google pay tez) ^Open

On **th Jan i sent **** rs from Google pay account which is linked to my hdfc bank to credit idfc bank. *st it showed as successful then it showed as failed. I raised dispute which states money should come back in * days. It dint work out. I ca...

Feb 20, 2020 by Evangeline John

Fraud (Stashfin) ^Open

My loan was due since march that was ****.it became **** approx.and I was ready to pay then i got an email that if you pay **** right now your loan will be closed then I done the payment.now I got an email that you also have to pay **** then yo...

Feb 19, 2020 by Sumit vishwakarma

Amount debited but order not generated (Razorpay Payment Gateway) ^Open

I placed an order for Green cofee worth Rs. ****.** on ** Feb **** to Only Valley. Amount debited from my account and email received from Razorpay that amount successfully credited to Radiant international a merchant. But no message received by...

Feb 18, 2020 by Nitin Sharnagat

Complain Regarding Poor Service by Home Loan Dept Of SBI Raipur Chhattisgarh (State Bank of India ) ^Open

Dear Sir/Madam, Good Morning My name is Ashish Barapatre. I have taken a home loan from you Bairan Bazar Devision Raipur Chhattisgarh.. Load was sanctioned on **th Nov'**** as per the message I received from SBI on my mobile number *****...

Feb 15, 2020 by Ashish Barapatre

Unsuccessful BSNL prepaid recharge (IndiTab Esolutions Pvt Ltd) ^Open

I made recharge for my prepaid sim of my wife,********** on */**/**,which was unsuccessful. The mentioned amount was debited from my account and I waited for one month for the refund.I send a mail and three reminders, but no response till date...

Feb 09, 2020 by S Vijayakumar

Loan account not closed and continued charging interest (Hdfc Bank) ^Open

Got a jumbo loan from my hdfc credit card on **st may **** for * laks at ** percent interest for ** months tenure .(loan ac no:********).Gave a request for closure of account on july *th by paying an amount of ******.** after calling the custom...

Feb 07, 2020 by Senthilkumar Muthuswamy

Illegal transfer of money from my account by hdfc bank magarpattcity hadapsar pune to ABSL Insuranc (Hdfc Bank) ^Open

I didn't like to invest in long term plan of ABSL INS Co and wanted to invest in FD of hdfc bank magarpattcity hadapsar pune where I have a saving account. I am a student and my father is a retired pensioner, so any long term plan is out of que...

Feb 04, 2020 by Aishwarya Bahuguna

Fraud by Hdfc life (Hdfc Bank) ^Open

I had taken personal loan against hdfc singtam branch on Nov **** amounting * Lakhs @ **% but it came @ **% and at the at of loan the manager told me do hdfc insurance for the security purpose till my completed of loan, if I pay my loan amount ...

Jan 29, 2020 by Karma tshering bhutia

Misuse of Indemnity bondLoan A c No (IDFC first bank) ^Open

Dear Team, I had applied for a Loan Transfer and top up facility in the month of November'** with IDFC First bank through Ashish Mishra who is Territory Manager(Loan Against Property) in Bank. IDFC Bank team asked for the Foreclosure lett...

Jan 27, 2020 by Shivam Arora

Fraud by HDFC (Hdfc) ^Open

My hdfc loan No.*********. I Sanjay K Raniga, had Transferred Home Loan from dhfl to hdfc after verbal confirmation from hdfc executive for benefit of PMAY Scheme ( Pradhan Mantri Avas yojna subsidy) I had sent many emails to hdfc customer care...

Jan 27, 2020 by Sanjay Kishorbhai Raniga

Refund of a failed transaction (Gpay) ^Open

On *nd Nov **** Rs *** was deducted and the transaction failed. I have raised dispute and also mailed the details for investigation after complaining in G-Pay customer service. They mentioned they will contact me but they never contacted me and...

Jan 20, 2020 by Ranajit Dey

Fraudulent transaction through Third Party Breach (HDFC credit card) ^Open

On **.**.**** around **-** hours undersigned received a call from phone no ********** Informing that he is a representative of PAY TM and that I need to carry out token online transactions of Rs **/- or **/-through each of my saved cards in P...

Jan 16, 2020 by Shyamal Mukherjee