How bank customers get short-changed

Speakers at the BCSBI (Banking Codes and Standards Board of India) highlighted the importance of understanding bank’s commitment to customers and urged the invitees to seek their rights and not suffer in silence.

Addressing a gathering of bank officials and customers of various banks, DG Kale, General Manager (Customer Service Department), Reserve Bank of India, said the Code of Customer Rights aims to provide protection to customers and promote cordial banker-customer relationship.

The customer meet was hosted by BCSBI (Banking Codes and Standards Board of India).

Little known facts RBI’s primary focus has been the common man and the guidelines therefore are aimed at common people, he said and asked the listeners if they were aware that the savings bank account earns interest on a daily basis; that a pensioner is entitled to a penal interest at bank rate plus 2 per cent if there is a delay in pension payment; that the pensioner’s life certificate can be given at any branch of the bank that disburses his/her pension, among other questions.

The response from the crowd was mixed.

Banking Ombudsman for Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry U Chiranjeevi observed that Indian customers by nature do not exert the powers vested in them.

“Banks in the UK paid customers €20 billion last year for not adhering to customer regulations; this does not happen in India. We have powers, but do not exert it to that level,” he said.

Written complaint Citing a study, the BCSBI Chairman AC Mahajan said, “It has been observed that only one in 25 customers give a complaint in writing. The rest prefer to ignore or rather suffer in silence.”

Urging customers to force banks to improve customer service and not to suffer silently, he said, “The codes takes care of 70 to 80 per cent of customer-related activity. The objective of such an exercise is to promote fair banking practices, increase transparency and above all promote and foster customer confidence in the banking system. Our study shows that the compliance of the codes is just around 60 per cent. We therefore urge you to seek your rights and force banks improve customer service.”

Interestingly, when Mahajan sought to know how many of the invitees were in receipt of a copy of the codes, not more than 40 raised their hands. The BCSBI Chairman immediately put the number to the bank representatives present at the event, and urged the customers to demand a copy of the same.

Customer meets He said the BCSBI has been pressing the managements of various banks to form a customer service committee and organise a meet at least once a month. “But our survey reveals that 80 per cent of the banks are not holding customer service meets,” he said.

“While banks have a right to sell insurance products to secure the assets on which banks have a charge, they cannot insist upon the customer to buy the product of a particular insurance company. Are you aware of this? Similarly, banks are duty-bound to provide a pass book and not insist on giving you a statement, unless you agree to the same,” he said, highlighting rights of the customer.