Orissa

Cuttak

CC/192/2013

Debabrata Verma - Complainant(s)

Versus

Branch Manager,ICICI Bank Limited - Opp.Party(s)

N P Parija

23 Dec 2016

ORDER

IN THE COURT OF THE DIST. CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM,CUTTACK.

C.C No.192/2013

        Debabrata Verma,

                     Silipi  Kumbhar   Sahi,

                     P.O:Buxi Bazar,GPO,

                     P.S:Purighat,Dist:Cuttack.                                                         … Complainant.

 

Vrs.

1.         Branch Manager,

ICICI Bank Limited,1320,

Umang Plaza,2^nd Floor,

Bajrakabati Road,Cuttack,Odisha.

 

2.       Manager,ICICI Bank,

     Customer Care Centre,

     Survey No.115/12,

     Road No.12,Nanakaramguda,

     Serilingampally,Gachibowli,

     Hyderabad.

 

3.      General Manager,

                    ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.,

                    Interface Bedg No.11,

                   401/402,4^th Floor,New Link Road,

                   Malad,Mumbai.

 

4.     Branch Manager,

                  ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.,

                  Cuttack Branch,

                  At/PO:Sri Kailash Plaza,Ist Floor,

                  Near Nishamani Hall,

                  Link Road,P.S:Madhupatna,Cuttack.                                                         … Opp. Parties.

 

Present:               Sri Dhruba Charan Barik,President.

Sri Bichitrananda Tripathy, Member.

Smt. Sarmistha Nath, Member.

 

Date of filing:    30.08.2013

Date of Order:  23.12.2016

 

For the complainant:      Sri N.P.Parija,Advocate & Associates..

For the O.P No.1 & 2 :    Sri N.K.Das,Adv. & Associates.

For the O.Ps 3 & 4:          Sri J.S.Mishra,Adv. & Associates.

 

Mr. Bichitra Nanda Tripathy, Member.

                The complaint is against deficiency in service on the part of O.Ps.

Shortly the complaint is as follows:-

1. i) The complainant opened an A/c with O.P.1 Bank vide A/c No.634201016524.  He made an insurance policy under ICICI Lombard Insurance during the year 2008 vide policy No.4005/0008157/3063 which was an accidental death cover policy.  Copy of such policy is given in Annex-1.

ii) The complainant was also having a credit card bearing No.4477460679376006.  The policy was renewable for next year after obtaining consent from the policy holder but the respondent No.3 continued the policy/renewed the policy for the next year without obtaining consent from the policy holder and debited to monthly E.M.I when the balance in the said card was Rs.2954.61p.

iii) The complainant was neither interested to continue the policy nor given his consent for such renewal.  In spite of the complaint lodged by the complainant the monthly E.M.Is were charged and including some other amount a sum of Rs.1         9,129.69 was payable by the complainant for the purpose.

iv) The O.P No.1 proposed for a settlement and requested the complainant to pay Rs.10,000/- in two installments @ Rs.5000/- each to settle the matter(Annex-2).

v) The complainant paid Rs.10,000/- which was adjusted to his A/c but O.P.1 demanded the balance amount of Rs.9,129.69p as per  their  letter dt.21.04.2011(Annex-III).

vi) The O.P No.1 debited a sum of Rs.8352/- forcibly from the S.B.Account of the complainant.

vii) The complainant wrote letter to ICICI customer care i.e. O.P No.2 under intimation to O.P No.1 but it yielded no result (Annex-4).

viii) Finding no other way, the complainant took shelter under this Hon’ble Forum.  He has prayed to direct the O.Ps to pay the amount as paid by him i.e. Rs.10,000/-, amount deducted by O.P.1 from his S.B.A/c amounting to Rs.8,352/-, damage Rs.1648/- and compensation towards mental agony Rs.50,000/-/  Thus has made a total claim of Rs.70,000/-.

2.            The written version dt.17.07.2014 filed by O.Ps 1 & 2 is as follows:-

That the complainant did not pay the settlement amount of Rs.10,000/- in two installments @ Rs.5000/- each i.e. on 05.10.2009 and dt.05.11.2009 as specified by letter dt.05.10.2009.  It was a clear term on the said settlement letter that non-compliance of the terms of settlement would nullify the settlement and the letter of settlement would be void.  Accordingly the loan account was not closed and the complainant was asked to pay the balance amount.

3.            The O.ps 3 & 4 vide their written statement dt.14.08.2014 have intimated that the complainant has not discontinued the policy.

4.            We have gone through the case in details and have heard the learned  advocates, minutely perused the papers, documents as filed by the complainant and as well as by the O.ps and observed as follows:-

                That the complainant was having a S.B.Account and also a credit card with ICICI Bank.  The complainant was also having an Accidental Death Insurance Policy with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.

1. That as per one time settlement letter of the ICICI Bank dt.05.10.2009 the complainant was supposed to pay a sum of Rs.,10,000/- in two installments i.e. Rs.5000/- on 05.10.2009 and Rs.5000/- on 05.11.2009 as full and final settlement of his account. (Annexure-2 as filed by the complainant).  But the complainant paid Rs.5000/- on 25.11.2009 and again paid Rs.5000/- on 25.12.2009.(As stated vide affidavit by the complainant on 12.11.2014).  Though he has paid Rs.10,000/- towards the one time settlement the payment was not made as prescribed by O.Ps for which the said one time settlement was cancelled automatically.
2. Since the onetime settlement t was cancelled, ICICI Bank intimated the complainant to pay the balance amount of Rs.9129.69 within 7 days vided their letter dt.21.04.2011 which the complainant failed to pay. 
3. It is pertinent to record it here that the insurance policy was made by the complainant for one year i.e. from 26.6.2007 to 25.6.2008.  The monthly premium payable was @ Rs.472/-.  The O.P No.3 without obtaining the consent of the complainant to renew the policy continued the policy and O.P.1 also started debiting the monthly E.M.I of such policy to the debit card of the complainant.
4.   The complainant has not stated the exact number of such installments debited by O.P.1 for which we are not able to arrive at the exact amount paid by the complainant for such purpose.
5. As for the one time settlement/compromise made with the O.Ps the complainant has repaid Rs.10,000/- in two installments.  Since the exact date on which such amount was supposed to be paid by the complainant was not failed the said one time settlement was cancelled by the O.Ps.  But the O.Ps have kept quite regarding the payment made by the complainant towards the above insurance policy which was already expired on 25.6.2008.

5. Basing on the facts and circumstances as stated above we observed that the premium collected by O.P.3 on insurance policy which was not renewed is a lapse on the part of O.P.3.

                                                                              ORDER

Basing on the facts and circumstances as stated above and to meet the ends of justice we observed there is deficiency in service on the part of the O.Ps.  Hence the O.Ps are directed to refund the insurance premium as paid by the complainant from June,2008 (the monthly premium payable for one year policy i.e from June,2007 to May,2008) till such E.M.Is are paid by the complainant  along with interest @ 10% with effect from 21.04.2011(from the date on which the one time settlement was cancelled as per letter No.0075023041103 dt.21.4.2011 of the O.Ps till date of actual payment).  The O.Ps will also pay a sum of Rs.10,000/- as compensation towards mental agony and harassment. The above payments shall be made by the O.Ps to the complainant within a period of 45 days from the date of receipt of this order, failing which the complainant is at liberty to take shelter of this Hon’ble Forum.

 

Typed to dictation, corrected and pronounced by the Hon’ble Member in the Open Court on this the 23^rd  day of December, 2016 under the seal and signature of this Forum.

 

   (Sri B.N.Tripathy )

                                                                                                                     Member.

                                                                                                                (Sri D.C.Barik)

                                                                                                                      President.

                                                                                                            (Smt. Sarmistha Nath) 

                                                                                                          Member(W).