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

Unable to access the account (PayTM) ^Open

I have completed my KYC and then I tried logging in to my account. But each time I enter OTP paytm show an error message something wrong and did not allow to login. I tried to call customer care but when I enter OTP to talk to the executive the...

Apr 22, 2019 by Rudrarup

Misleading information and negligent work (State Bank Of India ) ^Open

I approached ombudsman to vide complaint I'd no *************** registered on **.**.**** and complaint registered with the SBI vide I'd no ********** dated **.**.**** followed by reminders but in vain. The below-mentioned complaint registered ...

Apr 22, 2019 by Vivek Bhatia

Delay in clear the cheque (Pnb) ^Open

I have given Rs. *,**,*** of SBI Bank, Cheque no. ****** on *-*-**** to PNB Belagunj Branch, Gaya. This is local cheque, but it is more than ** days but cheque not cleared yet. When I visited PNB bank then Branch Manager and their staff tell yo...

Apr 22, 2019 by Neetu kumari

Money transferred to other person by mistake (PayTM) ^Open

I was transferring Rs *** to internet connection guy in Bangalore on April ** ****, around **.** am and by mistake it transferred to other person or merchant Manjunatha BN. Right away I complained to Paytm customer support but they don't bother...

Apr 19, 2019 by MD FARIDI

Need closing balance reflect in transaction history against every transaction (Airtel Payments Bank) ^Open

As a customer I am using an e-wallet, I need to know what is my closing balance against every transaction I make in Airtel Payments wallet whether that is a credit or debit. As of now, this is not enabled in Airtel app but this is a must optio...

Apr 19, 2019 by Prabhu Shankar Babu

I didn't get my refund (PayTM) ^Open

I have added a ***** Rs to my paytm wallet. And after some time I return it to my bank account. But on my bank account, I did not get my money credited. Please help me out....

Apr 18, 2019 by Karan makwana

Maturity amount not paid (Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd) ^Open

Meri Sahara India credit cooperative society limited me * fd hai jinki maturity abhi tak nahi hui hai. Total maturity amount on maturity date- ***** on **/**/****. Chaar mahine ho gaye lekin abhi tk koi karwai v nhi hui hai. Kripa karke mere sa...

Apr 17, 2019 by Chun chun rani

Maturity amount not paid (Humara India credit cooperative society limited) ^Open

I had deposited a sum of rupees in Humara India credit cooperative society limited from the Dumra branch in the scheme F** GOLDEN VM for a period if ** months. Total maturity amount is Rs *****. The maturity date was **/**/**** but still, after...

Apr 17, 2019 by Abhishek kumar

Amount got debited from my bank account (Axis Bank) ^Open

My account got debited with Rs. ***+**as the consolidated charges. I asked the manager why my account got debited as I have done all my transactions properly. When I went to the bank then they also not properly answered. I send mail to axis cus...

Apr 17, 2019 by VIGNESH K

Regarding online loan amount (Satya Sai finances) ^Open

Mere Ko Satya Sai finance company se online loan ke liye call aaya or bola me bank manager bol raha hu. Uska number ********** hai. Uske baad mere documents Whatsup kara liye. Uske * day baad call aaya ki company ne apka loan amounts accep...

Apr 16, 2019 by Dharmendra singh

Extra amount deducted (Canara Bank) ^Open

Canara Bank Bakhtiyarpur branch ke dwara saving account band karane ke awaj mein extra paisa katne ke sambandh mein Bank ke dwara mujhe koi bhi suchna nahin di tayi thi. Uske bawjud bhi khata band karne ke baad mein extra paisa kata Gaya....

Apr 16, 2019 by Durga kumar

Amount got debited (PayTM) ^Open

On **th April ****, I have done a transaction using my Paytm Payments bank card of amount ₹ *,***/-. Amount got debited from my account but here ATM has declined my money. I didn't receive the physical cash. Immediately I have raised a ticket...

Apr 16, 2019 by V Srikanth

Worst service given (Phonepe) ^Open

When I'm buying gold it shows me that you can sell your gold after ** hours. After ** hours I try to sell the gold at a very nice price. But it shows me ' due to internal security reasons your transaction is declined'. When I talk with customer...

Apr 16, 2019 by Sanjay yadav

Refund not received (Apcfss) ^Open

When I applied for revaluation the transaction got aborted and my money gets deducted. When I contacted the customer care mobile number they are not lifting. I need the money back. I need to reapply. I need to reapply the last date is appearing...

Apr 15, 2019 by Madhu

Refund credited back to customer (Paytm Business) ^Open

We have received the sum of Rs.*** on *st April **** at *:** by using the QR code from our customers at our shop. We got a message from paytm that money received Rs.*** but we actually found that our bank had not received the money yet. So I ca...

Apr 15, 2019 by Jiblal somar saw

Regarding bank loan (Hdfc Bank) ^Open

They promised a different interest rate and now I have received another. Also, I asked for a parallel loan and they have delivered a top up. I have had great emotional and mental anxiety issues while this was happening. ...

Apr 15, 2019 by RishitaRaghuram

Amount not credited (Phonepe) ^Open

Am amount transferred ***** from yes bank to canara bank account through PhonePe app on **/**/****. But amount didn't credited to receiver bank and in debited account amount also deducted. Ofter that I raised complaint like despute form. Ofte...

Apr 15, 2019 by Manjunath A P

ATM failed transaction (State Bank of India ) ^Open

I have a salary account ( Customer id: ********) in HDFC Bank, Vijaynagar Branch, Mysore. I am working in Raghupati Singhania Cetre of Exellence. I had withdrawn Rs *****/- on **.**.**** ( approx *.** pm), but the transaction was failed due to ...

Apr 15, 2019 by Arnab Dutta

Coupon code provided for deal is invalid (PayTM) ^Open

I have purchased a deal worth Rs **** on Paytm app and the coupon code which they have provided is invalid. Kindly provide me with a valid coupon code or help me to get the refund my **** Rs....

Apr 14, 2019 by Anisha khatri

Refund not received (Sbi Bank) ^Open

I have placed * same orders of Rs **** from Flipkart on *th April and paid through my SBI debit card. Then I have cancelled the order so that I should get the * refunds of **** Rs. As the seller has refunded me already on the same date and it s...

Apr 13, 2019 by Sarita pani