What do they do?
Case I: After the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, many pensioners who draw their pension from banks did not get their arrears in time. The matter was sorted out after the intervention of the Banking Ombudsman. Not only did the pensioners get the arrears, the banks also paid them two per cent compensation over and above the applicable interest for the period delayed.
Case II: There have been cases in which customers did not get money out of ATM machines but found the amount had been debited from their accounts. On receipt of complaints a Banking Ombudsman looked into the documents, and as per his instructions the banks reversed the transactions. A compensation of Rs 100 per day was also paid for the period that lapsed before the account was set in order.
The Banking Ombudsman is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to redress customer complaints against deficiency in certain banking services. The word ‘Ombudsman’ in general means a public official appointed to investigate citizens’ complaints against the administration. “He is to intervene for the ordinary citizen in his dealings with the complex machinery of the establishment,” says H Kulshrestha, chief general manager and Banking Ombudsman (New Delhi).
“In India any person whose grievance against a bank is not resolved to his satisfaction by the bank within one month, can approach the Banking Ombudsman, if his/her complaint pertains to any of the matters specified in the Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006.”
The scheme envisages expeditious and satisfactory disposal of customer complaints in a time-bound manner. The Banking Ombuds- man on receipt of the complaint works to promote a settlement of the complaint by agreement between the complainant and the bank through conciliation or mediation. “ The Banking Ombud- sman is a quasi-judicial authority,” says Kulshrestha. If a complaint is not settled by agreement within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the complaint he may pass an award after granting the parties reasonable opportunity to present their case. “He will be guided by the evidence placed before him by the parties, the principles of banking law and practice, directions, instructions and guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time and such other factors, which in his opinion are necessary in the interest of justice,” elaborates Kulshrestha.
The Banking Ombudsman can award a compensation for the actual loss suffered by the complainant as a direct consequence of the act of omission or commission by the bank or Rs 10 lakh, whichever is lower. And in case of complaints arising out of credit card operations, he can award compensation not exceeding Rs one lakh to the complainant.
The popularity of the scheme has grown over the years. While, in 2005 the Banking Ombudsman, New Delhi, which covers Delhi NCR, J&K and Haryana (excepting Panchkula, Yamunanagar and Ambala districts), received only 800 customer complaints, the number is expected to cross 13,000 this year.
And the scheme, according to P Shimrah, secretary, Banking Ombudsman, New Delhi, has benefited the banking sector a lot. Agrees Kulshrestha. “In many of the cases, but for the Banking Ombudsman, the complainants would have gone to a consumer forum or other courts of law,” he points out.
