The ICICI Bank has been ordered by a consumer forum here to pay Rs 55,000 as compensation to one of its customers for unilaterally transferring her loan account to an asset reconstruction company for her alleged failure to repay it.

An asset reconstruction company acquires bad loans from banks and makes special efforts to recover the same.

The Central District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum said it was the bank’s duty to inform Delhi resident Malobika Biswas that her loan account has been assigned to Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd (ARCIL).

“The bank was duty-bound to inform complainant (Biswas) about full particulars of ARCIL along with address and copy of the letter of assignment of loan to that concern.

“The bank had not served the same to complainant and, as such, she could not deal with her loan account with ARCIL. It amounts to deficiency in service,” said the bench presided by B. B. Chaudhary.

He directed ICICI Bank “to pay the complainant Rs 50,000 as compensation for causing, harassment and mental agony, and Rs 5,000 as cost of litigation”. The forum’s order came on her complaint seeking directions to ICICI Bank to issue her a ‘no dues certificate’ regarding the housing loan of Rs 5.5 lakh she had availed from it in 2003.

She had sought a ‘no dues certificate’ after she was told by the bank that the loan she had availed, had been recovered in full, Biswas had said in her complaint.

During adjudication of her complaint, the ICICI Bank contended that it cannot issue her the no dues certificate as her loan account had been transferred to ARCIL and that she had been informed about the same.

It also argued that the loan account was assigned to ARCIL as Biswas was unable to repay the amount in time.

The forum, while observing that ICICI Bank had submitted no evidence to prove it had informed her about the transfer of the loan account, however, refused to direct it to issue a no dues certificate to Biswas or to decide the issue whether her loan was repaid in full.

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