The total number of complaints received by the Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) and Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC) saw a 68.24 per cent jump to 7,03,544 during FY23 compared with 4,18,184 complaints during FY22, per the latest Annual Report of the Ombudsman Scheme.
Complaints relating to mobile/electronic banking were the largest contributor to the total number of complaints received against banks as well as non-bank payment system participants, while complaints relating to non-adherence to the Fair Practices Code were the highest in respect of NBFCs, the report said.
The Annual Report of the Ombudsman Scheme 2022–23 is the first standalone report under the Reserve Bank-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021 (the Scheme), elucidating the activities of the 22 Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs), Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC), and the Contact Centre during the year.
The majority (57.48 per cent) of maintainable complaints disposed of under RB-IOS 2021 were resolved through mutual settlement, conciliation, and mediation. The rest of the maintainable complaints were either rejected by RBIOs, withdrawn by the complainants, or adjudicated by the passing of awards.
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The complaints disposed of at the ORBIOs had an average turn-around time (TAT) of 33 days during 2022-23, which improved significantly from 44 days during 2021-22.
The report said the RBI’s Consumer Education and Protection Department will review, consolidate, and update the extant Reserve Bank regulatory guidelines on customer service; review and integrate the internal ombudsman schemes, applicable to different regulated entity types; and establish a Reserve Bank Contact Centre at two additional locations for local languages, including disaster recovery and business continuity facilities.