Counter Claim

“With great regret,  we inform you that Quarterly interest of your FDR (130021XXXXXX-1) has been credited in your account (85512010YYYYYY) on 20/04/2024 and further it will be credited automatically in your account.”

The email had come from cb18551@canarabank.com and landed in my inbox on 22nd April at 14:14.

Despite the occasional advertisement professing their love for customers, I don’t think any Indian Public Sector Bank (PSU Bank) has been known for its love for customers. But apparently, the world had moved on and now things had come to such a pass that they are able to openly lament the fact that they had to pay interest on customer deposits, and in such unambiguous language.

Or was it a sign of a maturing ecosystem where one could say it like it really was? Bravo for a transparent world!

I was transported to a world of possibilities but brought back down to Mother Earth on the realization that the unfortunate sequence of events leading to this email had been kicked into motion through my own folly.

I went to this particular branch of Canara Bank, in Meerut, where my mother lives, on the 8^th of January to point out that the bank was supposed to pay interest every quarter on the Fixed Deposit mentioned earlier, belonging to my mother, into her Savings Bank (transaction) account, which they had failed to do thus far.

I must confess I was taken aback when the lady at the counter punched some keys on her keyboard, peered into the screen in front of her, and told me that an account setting was incorrect which had caused the issue and that she would make sure the amount due was paid forthwith. She did not blame me for the problem. She did not ask me to come back later. She just owned up. It was disgusting. In a moment of weakness, she could destroy the customer-service reputation built by these banks over a lifetime.

By the time I had reached my mother’s house, which was after extracting an assurance from the lady that the necessary correction would be made and that the same issue would not recur, the credit had come into her account.

Smug in my belief that nothing could go wrong since the frequently-changing lady at the counter whose name I did not know had assured me the issue would not recur, I returned to Gurgaon and forgot about the event.

The next date for quarterly interest to be paid was 15^th January.

Come April and here I was collecting information from various accounts, including my mother’s, for the annual income tax return filing for the financial year ended 31^st March. Guess what I find? That the interest due on 15^th January had not been credited.

It was a disappointment in a way, I cannot deny that. At the same time, it was an encouraging sign that the issue would be resolved. Why did I feel that way? Based on my extensive experience of dealing with large corporations, public or private. One had to put in the hard yards. One had to run from pillar to post and spend needless time, money and energy in pursuit of what you should have received in the first place. Only then, at some stage, the large corporation gods will smile at you and grant you what was always yours.

In my enthusiasm at seeing this faint light at the end of the tunnel, I registered a complaint on the bank’s website on 8^th April. Not much space was available for explaining the issue but I somehow managed to squeeze it in.

I had barely pressed the SEND key when a message flashed on my phone alerting me of a message from the bank. Once again, I shook my head in disappointment. These quick responses will kill the art of wasting time on follow-ups, I said to myself.

In reality, the response was received a little later, probably the following day, but since the well-designed system does not seem to have a provision for the date for the response, I can now only guess. But, it was pretty quick.

And it was really helpful, as you can see for yourself:

The case had been RESOLVED and CLOSED. Unilaterally. Unambiguously. In capital lettering.

I checked the account once again. That day. The next day. And the next day. The expected credit had not reached the account.

I cheered up again. This was something I was used to. I could handle this. I resolved to go again to Meerut, where my mother lives and where the bank branch is, on the morning of 15^th April, the next date for the quarterly credit.

There was a lady at the counter. I cannot remember if the same lady was there on the 8^th of January or not. But I presented, once again, my case to her.

I could have saved myself some breath. As soon as my explanation was over, she told me that the computer system was down and if I could come back later. I built up the courage to talk back to her and tell her to check it herself and ensure that the interest had been credited, and walked away. Whether she heard me or laughed at my temerity, I will never know. What was done was done. A PSU bank customer talking back to a bank official at the counter? Unthinkable.

The next day, 16^th April, I checked the account once again.

What do you think happened?

Exactly. Nothing. The account was deathly silent. It seemed all activity in the account had ceased. No debits and no credits.

But not for nothing am I an experienced campaigner for this type of stuff. Without demur, the same day, on 16^th April, I registered a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for redressing customer complaints against entities regulated by them. The complaint number? N202425016001199/ 2024-25.

After the deep emotional effort of escalating the complaint to the regulator, I breathed a sigh and put the case away in the deep recesses of my memory, with a rough plan of taking it out after 3 months since nothing would have happened.

It was a trickle at first on the 20^th of April, which had grown to a cascade by the 22^nd. I was besieged by calls from Canara Bank.

The first call was to apologize for the inconvenience and confirm that the money would be credited “soon.” I took heart from the word “soon.” It could be anytime in this lifetime, or later.

By the 22^nd the calls were telling me that the amount had been credited and if I was satisfied. I told them that the money had been credited but they needed to compensate my mother for the delay, by paying interest for the period of delay.

The next call asked me to check a spreadsheet they had emailed, showing the compensation for the delayed period. I checked the spreadsheet and told them that the interest needs to be calculated at the higher rate of a Fixed Deposit, around 7%, since that is where my mother would park excess funds, and not the 2.90% rate of a Savings Bank account.

They agreed. I shrugged my shoulders. What was the world coming to?

The next call asked me to check the updated spreadsheet, based on the higher rate. I checked and told them that it should be Rs. 1,006, but I would live with the Rs. 1,004 they had arrived at.

The next call told me that they would deposit the money in my account and if I would now send them an email saying I was satisfied with the resolution.

I said that I had also claimed a nominal compensation for the harassment caused to me and my mother.

Some time later I received a call from a voice claiming to be the Chief Manager and requesting me to forego the harassment compensation. The voice said that some person would have to pay out of his/ her pocket.

I advised the voice claiming to be the Chief Manager that so far what they had credited was anyway due. They had done nothing more. None of what had been paid was of a penal nature. I told them that they had three opportunities for rectification which they chose to ignore; 8th January when I first raised the issue, 8th April when I filed a complaint on the website, and 15th April when I went again to the branch. I also said it was irrelevant for me to know where the compensation would come from. It was for the bank to decide. I also said that the compensation claimed was a nominal amount of Rs. 1100 which was to make a point and not for making me rich.

The voice of the chief manager seemed to agree. Then the phone went silent and the call disconnected.

After some time, I received a call from a voice claiming to be the manager, who had been talking earlier as well, except for the brief interlude when the chief manager’s voice called me. The manager said that they would pay for the harassment as well.

I said fine and, for good measure, probably added, “Do it.”

The last call was to tell me that even the harassment claim had been settled and if I could now confirm the closure of the case.

I checked the account. The interest on delayed credit and the harassment claim had been settled by depositing cash into the account. It could be me depositing so much cash into my own account. There was no way to say it was a compensation from the bank.

I closed the case by sending them a final email:

“With regard to the mail trail below, once again, I assume it is with respect to complaint no. N202425016001199 that I lodged with the banking ombudsman on 16th April.

In this respect, the credit of Rs. 2104 (1004 interest on delayed credit and 1100 compensation for harassment) has been credited to the account in Cash by Canara Bank…

My complaint to the RBI ombudsman thus stands resolved.”

For the first time ever, I claimed compensation for harassment, which I thought happened only in the US, and received it.

I am now thinking I must complain to the RBI that they are terrorizing these poor PSU banks and forcing them to pay heed to customers.