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
High Processing fee charges (RBL Bank) Open
Charging higher rate of Interest/service charges /Excess Billing Grievance Details This complaint is in continuous with earlier grievance ******* with National Consumer Helpline. As I didn?t received satisfactory response from RBL bank. It is ...
Nov 24, 2019 by Shiva Shankar L
Threatening calls received from Axis bank credit card after closing the account in 2010 (Axis Bank Credit Card) Open
Respected Sir, I am Robert John. My mobile number is xxxxxxxxxx. Also I am using a JIO number because of network issues. Long back in the year **** I had used a credit card from the Axis bank. Also I settled and closed the account in ****...
Nov 13, 2019 by Robert John
Amount debited from mobikiwik wallet without my concern (Mobikiwik) Open
On **th Jan, while adding amount of Rs **** to mobikiwik wallet, amount got deducted from my PNB account but was not added in mobikiwik due to which I raised complaint on both parties. After two days , amount got added in my wallet. On *th ...
Oct 31, 2019 by Sanjana Aggarwal
Harassment by Vikas Vajpayee Krishan Wig of HDFC Limited (Hdfc) Open
Vikas Vajpayee and Krishan Wig had been harassing for long time including frequent threats of property repossession. We have taken a part loan for our home and have paid more than what we have taken already including payment of about ** lac in ...
Oct 31, 2019 by Dippankar S Halder
Amount not credited to UPPCL by Mobikwik (Mobikwik) Open
I paid Rs**** via Mobikwik to UPPCL Urban on **.**.**** for my electricity bill of August ****. The money was not credited to UPPCL, and when enquired at the electricity board counter, they also said that the bill was not paid. When I emailed t...
Oct 26, 2019 by Muhammad Inamullah
Fraud against Personal Loan Ref no (Yes Bank Limited) Open
Hi Team, Recently I have taken Personal loan from Yes Bank. Reference no for the same is *******. Before taking the loan, the agent committed that rate of Interest is **% and processing fee is *% and zero pre closing charges after one yea...
Oct 23, 2019 by Raju
Maturity return of fixed deposit (Sbi) Open
I Sri Shyamal Biswas deposited Rs. ****/ (Eighty thousand) on **-**-**** and Rs. **** (Nine thousand and one hundred) on **-**-**** as fixed deposit, Receipt no. SD/A/**, ****** and TD/A/**, ****** respectively for a period of * (six) months bu...
Oct 22, 2019 by Shyamal Biswas
Fraud Transaction made on (PayTM) Open
I Lakshit Sharma having Savings Bank Account (Account No.: ***********) in State Bank of India, Circuit House Branch, Jodhpur (Raj.) would like to draw your attention towards a very serious issue. On **.**.****, * fraudulent transactions we...
Oct 21, 2019 by Lakshit Sharma
Bounce charge (IDFC first loans) Open
i pay my emi on *th oct,**** by online through idfc first loan app payment but the next his agent call you don not pay your emi pay otherwise i charge bounce charged i told him sir i yesterday paid and i gave my transaction id to him for updat...
Oct 20, 2019 by Himanshu Thakur
Transaction Dispute (State Bank of India ) Open
Unwanted two transaction done (Rs **** + Rs ****) in my credit card on **/**/**** at **:** pm & **:** pm. Card was with me but transaction happen. Both transaction done in +SBI, G-***, SHAKURPUR. Kindly resolve this issue as early as pos...
Oct 19, 2019 by K SRUJAN
Amount deducted from bank but not received by merchant (PayTM) Open
An amount of ***.**/- was paid to Actcorp via Paytm UPI. The amount was deducted from my bank account but was not received by merchant...
Oct 18, 2019 by Sandip Sahu
Online Financial Fraud (Airtel Payments Bank) Open
I, Subedar Jatinder Pal Singh, have been residing at E ***, Ganga Vihar Extension, Sadullabad, Loni, Ghaziabad ******. I was having a balance of Rs **** in my Airtel Payments Bank Account No **********, on ** Sep ** and wanted to make an online...
Oct 17, 2019 by JATINDER PAL SINGH
Rewards points redemption issue (Hdfc Bank) Open
I had one lakh thirty thousand seven hundred points in my card as a reward point. They gave me a *-month notice on **st August to redeem the point because their team consisting of Gods thought I used the card for Virtual currency purchase which...
Oct 15, 2019 by Ritesh kumar singh
Fraudulent transactions through ATM (SBI BANGANA) Open
Fraudulent transactions through ATM were done without any OTP on **th March during the night . The complaint was raised at different platforms including the local bank branch and also with the cyber cell Shimla, but nothing has been done so far...
Oct 05, 2019 by Tilak Raj dhiman
Harassment even after paying complete Loan amount (Bajaj Finance Housing Loan) Open
Respected Sir, I had taken a Loan from Bajaj Housing finance Ltd. for the flat booked in Migsun Kiaan Vasundhra, Ghaziabad in the month Oct. **** and Bajaj Finance had disbursed amount of rs. **.** lac against same, but due to some...
Sep 14, 2019 by Jitendra Kumar vig
Loan amount not received (Mahindra finance aurangabad) Open
Hi i have applied for a loan in Mahindra Finance, Aurangabad. They asked me to send **** rupees processing fees. When they were going to transfer the loan amount i got this message - Your A/c : XXXXXXXXXX**** Transfer **,***.**/-INR Unsuccess...
Sep 12, 2019 by Iti sachdeva
Over billing of Credit Card by RBL Bank (RBL Bank) Open
I want to lodge a complaint against RBL Bank for constantly over billing my credit card account over the past several months. I brought this issue to their attention first time on June *, ****, and provided screenshots. In the credit card...
Sep 12, 2019 by Sumit Kumar Chakrabarti
Loan variance from bajaj (Bajaj Finance Ltd) Open
As discussed with Bajaj finance on ROI it is calculated by *.** paisa and the Loan amount is ******. EMI is ***** for ** months and an average of **% they charged. Whereas another person taking the same amount with same tenure and the EMI charg...
Sep 10, 2019 by Suresh Barri
Lawyers & Advocates :
Consumer Forum :
Online Complaints :
Resources :
Take Action :
File online consumer complaint from any state or district. We prepare your consumer complaint for consumer court and consumer forum in state or district or any consumer court and forum in India.
Voxya does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. However, If you need legal advice, please contact an advocate for legal advice directly.
Voxya is an independent platform and it is not affiliated with any Brand, Company, Government agencies or Forums.
All trademarks, product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners.
"Thank you so much to Voxya.com. Legal Notice really worked and Byjus had to refund my amount and cancel the loan. Thanks once again Voxya. "
Ramachal V
Complaint filed against: Byjus