There has been a general decline in the number of complaints being reported to the Office of the Banking Ombudsman (OBO) here.
The decline was not a secular trend but observed across the country at large, according to Mr F. R. Joseph, Banking Ombudsman for Kerala, Union Territory of Lakshadweep and Mahe.
Mr Joseph was speaking to newspersons here on Tuesday in what was described as the first media interface after the Reserve Bank gave the go-ahead to the OBO to go public with its activities.
During 2010-11 (July 1 to June 30), the number of complaints filed at the OBO here had come down by 18 per cent to 2,077 from the previous year's 2,532.
At the all-India level, the latest figure was 71,274 (79,266) , Mr Joseph said.
The decline was attributed to banks making concerted efforts at raising quality of services and streamlining and strengthening of the internal redress mechanism.
NODAL OFFICERS
The fact that new generation banks such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have appointed nodal officers in charge of customer relations to expedite settlement of complaints may also have helped in the denouement.
The OBO has also received complaints against insurance companies and cooperative banks, which are outside its purview, Mr Joseph said.
Such complaints havebeen forwarded to the sectoral regulator/regulatory department, i.e., the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority and the Registrar of Cooperatives in this case.
Of the 2,163 complaints dealt with by the office during the year 2010-11 (including 86 brought forward from the previous year), 1,167 could not be admitted as governed by various provisions of the OBO scheme.
COPIES SENT
However, a copy of the complaint was invariably sent to the bank concerned as also the regulator/regulatory department of the institution for direct disposal, and the complainant was also kept informed about this.
As on June 30, only 75 cases complaints were pending for settlement, constituting only 3.6 per cent of those received (2,077).
All customer complaints received were given a uniquenumber for easy identification. The complainant also received an acknowledgement letter from the OBO.
In respect of the complaints admitted, a copy was forwarded to the nodal officer of the bank and to the branch concerned.
CLOSURE OF CASES
The bank took steps to settle the complaints and thereafter, advise the OBO of the resolution. On being satisfied, the cases were closed.
There were 414 cases that were resolved in this manner during this year, Mr Joseph said. In two cases, awards were issued directing the banks to redress the grievances of the complainants.
In the remaining 507 cases, based on the detailed documents furnished by banks, it was found that there had been no deficiency in service and hence, the complaints were closed and the complainants advised accordingly.
HEARINGS HELD
Hearings and conciliation meetings were held with respect to some complicated cases, mainly in Thiruvananthapuram.
Hearings were held in 23 cases which facilitated resolution of complaints in a transparent and fair manner.
In certain other cases, bank officials were called to the OBO to discuss the issues.