Delhi

North East

CC/12/2022

Shri Varun Jain - Complainant(s)

Versus

Axis Bank Limited - Opp.Party(s)

02 Jan 2024

ORDER

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION: NORTH-EAST

GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

D.C. OFFICE COMPLEX, BUNKAR VIHAR, NAND NAGRI, DELHI-93

Complaint Case No. 12/22

 

 

In the matter of:

 

		Sh. Varun Jain S/o Sh. Sushil Kumar Jain R/o B 32, First Floor, St. No.2, West Jyoti Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi-94		Complainant
		Versus
	1.               2.         3.	Axis Bank Ltd. Though its Managing Director Amitbah Chaudhry Registered Office at:- Trishul 3rd Floor Opp. Samartheshwar Temple, Law Garden, Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad, Gujarat-380006   Axis Bank Ltd. Through Branch Manager, Laxmi Nagar Branch, D 32, Ground Floor, Vikas Marg, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92   Axis Bank Ltd. Credit Card Department Axis House, Sector 128, Noida, UP 201304		Opposite Parties
			DATE OF INSTITUTION:         JUDGMENT RESERVED ON:                           DATE OF ORDER:		01.02.22 01.05.23 02.01.24

 

CORAM:

Surinder Kumar Sharma, President

Adarsh Nain, Member

ORDER

Surinder Kumar Sharma, President

The Complainant has filed the present complaint under Section 35 of the Consumer protection Act, 2019.

Case of the Complainant

1. The case of the Complainant as revealed from the record is that the Complainant is having credit card of axis bank having no. 4111460600077550 and account with axis bank having no. 916010072730989. On 19.03.19 Complainant used his axis card online and paid Rs. 9,500/- to Allied Health Organization for medi claim policy for 2 years for 4 family members. The Complainant stated that merchant is not going to provide any medical service and on 05.04.19 Complainant sent email to bank to raise charge back request against merchant and refund of Rs. 9,500/- and Complainant also called to the bank executive stating that he also sent an email to the bank for cancellation the transaction which happened on 19.03.19 and wants to raise charge back request. On 12.04.19 axis bank has given temporary credit Rs. 9,500/- to Complainant and Complainant kept on following the matter with Opposite Party and every time he gets the answer he would get update. On 04.07.19 Complainant got to know that temporary credit received on 12.04.19 was reversed back to bank and then Complainant called customer care but of no use. On 04.07.19 Complainant again submit complaint on bank website and received reply for submitting document on 05.07.19 and cancellation email which sent to the merchant has already been sent to the bank and further Rs. 9,500/-which is disputed is not payable. On 02.08.19 Complainant sent email for refunding of Rs. 9,500/- and mentioned that he is not going to pay Rs. 9,500/- because it is disputed transaction. On 29.08.19 Complainant sent email for refund of his amount stating that kindly refund the amount of Rs. 9,500/- and interest plus penalty which was levied on Rs. 9,500/- as per the statement dated 17.08.19. On statement dated 17.08.19 Complainant has been charged with interest because non payment of Rs. 9,500/- and the same has already been informed to the bank that Rs. 9,500/- is not payable as this is disputed transaction and the same is pending on the bank side. The Complainant stated that he had also sent email to nodal officer and stated that due to non payment of Rs. 9,500/- the interest and penalty kept on levying every month. On 02.12.19 bank sent email to Complainant stating that the Complainant did not submit the document hence the temporary credit was reversed. On March 2020 Complainant called bank executive and told that he is ready to pay Rs. 9,500/- done on 19.03.19 but kindly waive off interest and penalty levied on it but all in vain.  On May 2020 Complainant blocked the credit card of axis bank and did not receive a new credit card. The Complainant had also raised request to RBI ombudsman but RBI rejected the complaint vide email dated 15.06.20. On 24.12.20 Rs. 50,000/- was debited from Complainant’s account by credit card department of axis bank and in this regard Complainant talked to branch manager and he told him that credit card department debited his account on account of non-payment of Rs. 9,500/- and interest and penalty. The Complainant talked to officials of Opposite Party in this regard but all in vain. On 18.02.21 Complainant received credit of Rs. 5288.93. On 02.12.21 Complainant sent notice to axis bank to refund Rs. 35,212/- through email dated 02.12.21. Hence, this shows deficiency in service on behalf of Opposite Parties. The Complainant has prayed for Rs. 35,212/- with interest @ 12 % p.a. and Rs. 60,000/- for mental harassment. He also prayed for Rs. 15,000/- towards litigation cost.  

Case of the Opposite Party No.1,2 and 3

2. The Opposite Party No.1,2 and 3 contested the case and filed common written statement and stated that the Complainant had made a payment for the health Insurance Policy taken by him for his family using the credit card issued by the Bank bearing No.  411160600077550 of Rs. 9,500/- on 19.03.19. The Complainant got to know that the health insurance organisation to which the payment has been made will not render the services as promised in the policy. Hence, it does not want insurance policy from insurance company and wrote a mail intimating the same to Opposite Party No.3 on 05.04.19 and requested to revert the payment made by the bank to the insurance company through the credit card of the Complainant.
3. That after receiving the mail the bank had reverted a temporary credit of Rs. 9,500/-. However, there were documents which were asked by the Opposite Parties so that the said dispute which was raised by the Complainant can be resolved but, the said documents which were asked by the officials of Opposite Party No.3 in order to resolve the dispute as raised by the Complainant which were namely acknowledgement for the cancellation of the transaction by the merchant, any refund confirmation from merchant, and credit voucher receipt. The same has been mentioned in the reply dated 05.07.19 to the mail dated 04.07.19 lodging the complaint for cancelled transaction however none of the abovementioned documents were furnished by the Complainant, the Complainant had written various emails to the Opposite Parties however, got the same reply that the dispute cannot be resolved as the documents which were required by the Opposite Parties were not submitted by the Complainant.
4. It is submitted that the Opposite Parties have got no role whatsoever in the present complaint because there is nothing which is submitted by the Complainant which proves that the payment which was made fraudulently was because of any of the Opposite Parties as the Complainant had itself admitted in the very 1^st para of its consumer complaint that it had made the payment from the credit card issued to him by the Opposite Party No.1 on 19.03.19.
5. It is submitted that the alleged fraud which took place with the Complainant had taken place because of the Complainant was unhappy with the services of the insurance company to which the payment was made using the credit card issued by the Opposite Parties. The payment through credit card can only be made when the authentication is provided by the user of the credit card and the payment in the said complaint was made by the Complainant itself which has been duly admitted by the Complainant.
6. It is also submitted that the Complainant had made the payment to the insurance company on 19.03.19 however the Complainant has showed a gross delay as the intimation to the bank that the transaction was a fraudulent one was intimated on 05.04.19 i.e. much after the payment was made by the Complainant to the insurance company using the credit card of the Opposite Party No.3.  It is pertinent to mention that as per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India the notification bearing no. RBI/2017-18/15 DBR. No. Leg. BC. 78/09.07.005/2017-18 clearly states the situations and the extent to which the banks will be held liable for the fraudulent transactions that have taken place with the customer’s card and the same is reiterated herewith below:-

Limited Liability of a Customer

(a) Zero Liability of a Customer

6. A customer’s entitlement to zero liability shall arise where the unauthorised transaction occurs in the following events (i) Contributory fraud/ negligence/ deficiency on the part of the bank (irrespective of whether or not the transaction is reported by the customer). (ii) Third party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, and the customer notifies the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding the unauthorised transaction.

In the present complaint it is pertinent to mention that firstly, it is not an unauthorized transaction at all as the authorization for the payment of the same amount was duly authorized by the Holder of the card itself i.e. by the Complainant, second even if it was a fraudulent transaction which was taken by the authorization of the customer i.e. the Complainant the same should have been reported within three working days as per the guidelines issued by the RBI, it is clearly mentioned by the Complainant that the payment to the insurance companyusing the credit card was made on 19.03.19 whereas it was reported to the bank on 04.04.19. Hence, in the light of the above fact the Opposite Parties are not at all liable to revert the amount to the Complainant.

7.  It is therefore most humble submitted in the light of the abovementioned facts, judgment and guidelines that firstly the transaction in question was not at all a fraudulent transaction the Complainant had decided to cancel the agreement with the insurance company because the Complainant got to know that it would not perform according to the terms and conditions of the policy. Secondly even if it was a fraudulent transaction the fraud has been done by the insurance company and not the Opposite Parties as the Opposite Parties had made the payment through card issued only when it was authorized by the Complainant and the same has been admitted by the Complainant as well that the payment was made by Complainant only on 19.03.19 and finally when even after the fault of the Complainant and Opposite Parties were completely trying to help the Complainant and asked for few documents so that the issue can be resolved the same was not provided by the Complainant and the Complainant kept on evading from its liability to make the payment which is due on its card along with the interest and penalties accumulated upon the same due to delayed payment. 
8.  In the light of the abovementioned facts and circumstances this Hon’ble Commission shall be gracious enough to dismiss the present complaint as it lacks any cause of action arising in the favour of the Complainant with costs and against the Opposite Parties and directed the Complainant to pay the dues which is to be paid by the Complainant to Opposite Party No.2 and Opposite Party No.3 according to the terms of its agreement.

Evidence of the Complainant

9. The Complainant in support of his complaint filed his affidavit wherein he has supported the averments made in the complaint.

Evidence of the Opposite Party No.1, 2 and 3

10. In order to prove its case Opposite Party No.1, 2 and 3 have filed affidavit Sh. Anil Kumar, AR of the Opposite Party No.1,2 and 3 wherein the averments made in the written statements of Opposite Party No.1,2 and 3 have been supported.

 

 

Arguments & Conclusion

11. We have heard the Complainant and the Ld. Counsel for Opposite Parties. We have also perused the file and the written arguments filed by the Opposite Parties. The case of the Complainant is that he was having credit card of Opposite Party. On 19.03.19 Complainant used his credit card and paid Rs. 9,500/- to Allied Health Organization for medi claim policy for himself and his family members. On 05.04.19 Complainant sent email to Opposite Party with request to raise charge back request against merchant i.e. Allied Health Organization and refund of Rs. 9,500/- paid to Allied Health service through his credit card. It is further stated by Complainant that on 12.04.19 Opposite Party  has given temporary credit of Rs. 9,500/- to the Complainant and Complainant kept on following the matter with Opposite Party and every time he get the answer he would get update. On 04.07.19 Complainant received a message regarding temporary credit received by him was reversed back to bank. On 02.08.19 Complainant sent a mail for refunding of Rs. 9,500/- to the Opposite Party on the ground that the said amount is disputed transaction, so same should be refunded to him. In spite of refunding the said amount, Opposite Party charged interest on 9,500/- on the ground of non payment of the said amount. On 02.12.19 Opposite Party sent email to Complainant stating that the Complainant did not submit the document hence the temporary credit was reversed. On March 2020 Complainant took up the matter with Opposite Party with request to waive off interest and penalty levied on the transaction done on 19.03.19 and ready to pay the principal amount i.e. Rs. 9,500/- which was refused by the Opposite Party. On 24.12.20 Opposite Party debited Rs. 50,000/- from the Complainant account on account of non payment of Rs. 9,500/- and interest and penalty. Complainant again took up matter with Opposite Party for refund of excess amount debited from his account and on 18.02.21 he has received credit of Rs. 5,288/-. On 02.12.21 Complainant sent notice to axis bank to refund Rs. 35,212/- through email dated 02.12.21 which was refused by the Opposite Party. Hence, this shows deficiency in service on behalf of Opposite Parties.
12. The case of the Opposite Party is that the Complainant had made a payment for the health Insurance Policy taken by him for his family using the credit card issued by Opposite Party of Rs. 9500/- on 19.03.19. The Complainant got to know that the health insurance organisation to which the payment has been made will not render the services as promised in the policy. Hence, he does not want insurance policy from insurance company and wrote a mail intimating the  Opposite Party on 05.04.19 with requested to revert the payment made by the bank to the insurance company through the credit card of the Complainant. After receiving the mail the bank had reverted the temporary credit of Rs. 9500/-. However, there were documents which were asked by the Opposite Parties so that the said dispute which was raised by the Complainant can be resolved but, the said documents which were asked by Opposite Party in order to resolve the dispute as raised by the Complainant which were namely acknowledgement for the cancellation of the transaction by the merchant, any refund confirmation from merchant, and credit voucher receipt. The same has been mentioned in the reply dated 05.07.19 to the mail dated 04.07.19 lodging the complaint for cancelled transaction however none of the documents were furnished by the Complainant, the Complainant had written various emails to the Opposite Parties however, got the same reply that the dispute cannot be resolved as the documents which were required by the Opposite Parties were not submitted by the Complainant.
13. It is further submitted by the Opposite Parties that they have no role whatsoever in the present complaint because there is nothing which is submitted by the Complainant which proves that the payment which was made fraudulently was because of any of the Opposite Parties as the Complainant had himself admitted in his consumer complaint that he had made payment from the credit card issued to him by the Opposite Party No.1 on 19.03.19. It is further submitted by the Opposite Party that the Complainant had made the payment to the insurance company on 19.03.19 and Complainant intimated the Opposite Party about the transaction which is alleged as fraudulent only on 05.04.19 i.e. much after the payment was made by the Complainant to the insurance company using the credit card of the Opposite Party No.3. According to the Opposite Party as per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India the notification bearing no. RBI/2017-18/15 DBR. No. Leg. BC. 78/09.07.005/2017-18 clearly states the situations and the extent to which the banks will be held liable for the fraudulent transactions that have taken place with the customer’s card and the same is reiterated herewith below:-

Limited Liability of a Customer

(a) Zero Liability of a Customer

6. A customer’s entitlement to zero liability shall arise where the unauthorised transaction occurs in the following events (i) Contributory fraud/ negligence/ deficiency on the part of the bank (irrespective of whether or not the transaction is reported by the customer). (ii) Third party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, and the customer notifies the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding the unauthorised transaction.

In the present complaint it is pertinent to mention that firstly, it is not an unauthorized transaction at all as the authorization for the payment of the same amount was duly authorized by the Holder of the credit card. Secondly, even if it was a fraudulent transaction which was taken by the authorization of the customer i.e. the Complainant the same should have been reported within three working days as per the guidelines issued by the RBI, In this case Complainant took up the matter with Opposite Party after 15 days. Hence in the light of these facts Opposite Party are not at all liable to revert the amount to the Complainant.

14. It is clear from the fact that on receiving the mail from the Complainant the Opposite Party written to Complainant to provide certain documents which were not supplied by the Complainant and further there was no fraudulent transaction alleged by Complainant on behalf of the Opposite Parties. Therefore, in our considered opinion, there is no deficiency in service on behalf of Opposite Parties. Hence, the complaint is dismissed.  
15. Order announced on 02.01.24.

Copy of this order be given to the parties free of cost.

File be consigned to Record Room.

 

(Adarsh Nain)                    Member

(Surinder Kumar Sharma) President