DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, BATHINDA.
CC.No.538 of 30-10-2012
Decided on 11-04-2013
1.Harmail Kaur Wd/o Mander Singh Sidhu S/o Gurbachan Singh.
2.Rajwinder Singh aged about 28 years S/o Mander Singh S/o Gurbachan Singh.
R/o Gali No.7/2, Hazura Kapura Colony, Bathinda
........Complainants
Versus
1.HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited), SCO No.153-155, Sector 8-C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh-1600081, through its Managing Director.
2.HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited), SCO No.343-344, Sector 35-B, Chandigarh, through its Authorized Representative.
3.HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited), Near New Bus Stand, Goniana Road, Bathinda.
4.HDFC Standard Life Insurance Limited, SCF No.6, 2nd floor, Opp.State Bank of Patiala, Leela Bhawan Market, Patiala.
5.HDFC Standard Life Insurance Limited, Near New Bus Stand, Goniana Road, Bathinda.
.......Opposite parties
Complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
QUORUM
Smt. Vikramjit Kaur Soni, President.
Sh.Amarjeet Paul, Member.
Smt.Sukhwinder Kaur, Member.
Present:-
For the Complainants: Sh.Amanpal Singh, counsel for complainants.
For Opposite parties: Sh.Vinod Garg, counsel for opposite parties.
ORDER
VIKRAMJIT KAUR SONI, PRESIDENT:-
1. The complainants have filed the present complaint under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as amended upto date (Here-in-after referred to as an 'Act'). The brief facts of the complaint are that the husband of the complainant No.1 and father of the complainant No.2 namely Mander Singh Sidhu took a house loan of Rs.1,50,000/- from HDFC Ltd., Bathinda on 11.6.1999 vide loan account bearing No.560150865 and Top Up of Rs.1,60,000/- vide Top Up account bearing No.560821189 which was sanctioned on 10.2.2006 and the said amount of loan was repayable by him in monthly installments. The complainants further alleged that the officials of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 obtained the blank signed cheques from Mander Singh Sidhu for payment of EMIs and also obtained the original sale deed regarding the house in question by way of equitable mortgage for creating the charge on the said property of Mander Singh Sidhu and the original sale deed is still lying deposited with the opposite party Nos.1 to 3. In order to secure the said amount, the officials of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 purchased two HDFC Home Loan Protection Plan policies from the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 i.e. policy bearing Nos.10516347 and 10516353 dated 17.2.2006 respectively for which Mander Singh Sidhu paid the requisite amount of the premium i.e. Rs.6536/- and Rs.2960/- respectively having initial sum of Rs.1,50,000/- against the policy bearing No.10516347 and Rs.1,13,351/- against the policy bearing No.10516353 and the said amount of sum assured was to be reduced with the passage of the time as detailed in the schedule given in the said policies. Mander Singh Sidhu has been paying the amount of the installments regarding the abovesaid loan accounts with the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 but he died on 5.10.2007 and after his death the complainants intimated the opposite parties about his death and also supplied all the requisite documents including the copy of the death certificate of Mander Singh Sidhu with a request to do the needful and to obtain the insurance claim from the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 against the abovesaid insurance policies and to settle the aforesaid loan accounts in full and final and also to return back the original sale deed regarding the house in question and blank signed post dated cheques of Mander Singh Sidhu given by him to the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 for the payment of EMIs which are in their possession. The officials of the opposite party No.3 assured the complainants that whenever the insurance claim is received by the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 from the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 regarding the abovesaid two HDFC Home Loan Protection policies of Mander Singh Sidhu, the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 shall inform them about the same and the said loan accounts shall be settled in full and final but however a long period of more than 4½ years has already been lapsed but the opposite parties have failed to settle the loan account of Mander Singh Sidhu. The complainants approached the opposite parties from time to time with a request to settle the abovesaid loan accounts after obtaining the insurance claim from the opposite party Nos.4 & 5 under the said policies but to no effect. The complainants have also made the written representations vide applications dated 2.7.2009 and 26.7.2011 but the opposite parties did not pay any heed to their requests. On 22.12.2011 the complainants obtained the copies of the statements of both the abovesaid accounts of Mander Singh Sidhu and came to know that the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 have already received a sum of Rs.1,46,300/- against policy bearing No.10516347 and Rs.1,06,500/- against the policy bearing No.10516353 from the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 in the abovesaid loan accounts i.e. a total sum of Rs.2,52,800/- but even thereafter the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 have failed to settle the accounts of Mander Singh Sidhu and to furnish any details to the complainants regarding the status of the abovesaid loan accounts. The opposite parties have not disclosed as to whether any amount is due against the complainants so that the complainants may be able to pay the same for the full and final settlement of the loan accounts and also not disclosed the complainants that if any amount has been received by them in excess which is refundable to them. The opposite parties have failed to return back the original sale deed regarding the property in question and post dated cheques of Mander Singh Sidhu to the complainants despite their repeated requests although a sufficient long time has already been lapsed since the date of receipt of the abovesaid amounts in the loan accounts of Mander Singh Sidhu against the said policies. Hence the complainants have filed the present complaint to seek the directions to the opposite parties to settle the abovesaid loan accounts in full and final after supplying the complete statements of both the abovesaid accounts and to refund the original sale deed and post dated cheques of Mander Singh Sidhu to them alongwith cost and compensation.
2. Notice was sent to the opposite parties. The opposite party Nos.1 to 3 after appearing before this Forum have filed their joint written statement and pleaded that the complainants have not disclosed in the complaint that it is only on 18.8.2011 when they provided the requisite documents for processing the insurance claim. In this regard the documents executed by the complainant No.2 on 11.8.2011 and 16.8.2011 which were handed over to the office of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 on 18.8.2011. On 23.8.2011 the claim was forwarded to the insurance company and the same was accepted and on 29.9.2011 the claim was received in the loan accounts. The cause of action if any arose to the complainants first time on 5.10.2007 when the husband of the complainant No.1 passed away. The present complaint has been filed on 30.10.2012 thus it is barred by the limitation. The complainants have concealed the fact that the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 have acted strictly as per the terms & conditions of the loan agreements/accounts bearing No.150865 and 821189 entered into between the deceased Mander Singh Sidhu and the opposite party Nos.1 to 3. The opposite party Nos.1 to 3 received the insurance claim from the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 to the extent of Rs.1,06,500/- on 29.9.2011 against the insurance policy bearing No.10516353 which has been adjusted against the loan account bearing No.150865 and another sum of Rs.1,46,400/- on 29.9.2011 against the insurance policy bearing No.10516347 which has been adjusted in the loan account bearing No.821189. Thereafter a sum of Rs.72,871/- is due against the account bearing No.150865 and a sum of Rs.1,08,399/- is due against the loan account bearing No.821189 as on 24.12.2012 as such a total sum of Rs.181,270/- is due as on 24.12.2012. The loanee defaulted in repayment of the monthly installments as per the terms and conditions of the loan accounts bearing No.150865 and 821189. It is for the complainants to explain as to why they provided the complete documents after 4 years. The insurance claim was settled without any delay. However, for the default period i.e. for the period when the intallments were not paid by the complainants, in addition to the outstanding principal amount, they will have to pay the interest and other charges as agreed by the loanee in the loan agreement. The complainants could have accessed the loan accounts from any branch of HDFC Ltd., in India or abroad and a loanee can also access his accounts online from the official website of HDFC Ltd.
3. The opposite party Nos.4 and 5 after appearing before this Forum have filed their separate joint written statement and pleaded that the complainants have concealed the fact that they did not give any intimation of the death of insured Mander Singh Sidhu and did not lodge the claim regarding the insurance policies in time. As per system entry, the date of receipt of the intimation of the claim for the policies bearing No.10516347 and 10516353 is 5.9.2011, the declaration date of the complainant No.2 is 2.9.2011, indemnify bond for last policy was submitted on 5.9.2011 with the stamp papers purchased on 3.9.2011, discharge voucher is dated 11.8.2011 and certificate of Dr.Bakramjit is dated 2.9.2011. Accordingly the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 paid the said claims i.e. Rs.1,46,300/- vide cheque No.949980 dated 21.9.2011 against the policy bearing No.10516347 and Rs.1,06,500/- vide cheque No.949979 dated 21.9.2011 against the policy bearing No.10516353 to the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 which has already been adjusted against the loan accounts of the deceased Mander Singh Sidhu by the opposite party Nos.1 to 3. The payment against the insurance policies has been made as per the terms & conditions of the said policies which were single premium policies. The opposite party Nos.4 and 5 admitted that the deceased Mander Singh Sidhu obtained two insurance policies bearings Nos.10516347 and 10516353 from them. The opposite party Nos.4 and 5 denied that the complainants intimated them regarding the death of deceased Mander Singh Sidhu immediately after his death. The opposite parties are independent companies and the complainants had to lodge the claim with the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 for getting any amount against the insurance policies. The complainants neither wrote any letter nor made any representation dated 2.7.2009 or 26.7.2011 to the opposite party Nos.4 and 5. The opposite party Nos.4 and 5 further pleaded that any sale deed or post dated cheque of deceased Mander Singh Sidhu are not in their possession.
4. The parties have led their evidence in support of their respective pleadings.
5. Arguments heard. The record alongwith written submissions submitted by the parties perused.
6. Admitted facts of the parties are that Mander Singh Sidhu took a house loan of Rs.1,50,000/- from HDFC Ltd., Bathinda on 11.6.1999 vide loan account bearing No.560150865 and Top Up of Rs.1,60,000/- vide Top Up account bearing No.560821189, sanctioned on 10.2.2006. The said amount of the loan was repayable by him in monthly installments. At the time of sanctioning of the loan the officials of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 obtained the original sale deed regarding the house in question by way of equitable mortgage for creating the charge on the said property of Mander Singh Sidhu. To secure the loan amount, the officials of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 purchased two HDFC Home Loan Protection Plan policies from the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 i.e. policy bearing Nos.10516347 and 10516353 dated 17.2.2006 respectively for which Mander Singh Sidhu paid the requisite amount of the premium i.e. Rs.6536/- and Rs.2960/- respectively having initial sum of Rs.1,50,000/- against the policy bearing No.10516347 and Rs.1,13,351/- against the policy bearing No.10516353. Mander Singh Sidhu died on 5.10.2007 and the intimation regarding his death was given to the the opposite party Nos.4 and 5. The amount of Rs.1,46,300/- against policy bearing No.10516347 and Rs.1,06,500/- against the policy bearing No.10516353 was paid by the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 in the abovesaid loan accounts i.e. the total amount of Rs.2,52,800/-.
7. The disputed facts between the parties are the complainants alleged that the intimation was given to the opposite parties regarding the death of Mander Singh Sidhu. Despite receiving the insured amount i.e. paid in the loan accounts of Mander Singh Sidhu, the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 have failed to settle the accounts of Mander Singh Sidhu. A period of 4 and half years has already been lapsed. The opposite parties have neither settled the account of Mander Singh Sidhu nor returned the original sale deed, post dated cheques nor supplied the complete accounts statement of Mander Singh Sidhu. The complainants have also made the written representations vide applications dated 2.7.2009 and 26.7.2011 but no heed was paid to their requests.
8. On the other hand the submissions of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 are that on 18.8.2011 the complainants have provided the requisite documents for processing the insurance claim. In this regard the documents executed by the complainant No.2 on 11.8.2011 and 16.8.2011 which were handed over to the office of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 on 18.8.2011. On 23.8.2011 the claim was forwarded to the insurance company and the same was accepted and on 29.9.2011 the claim was received in the loan account of Mander Singh Sidhu. The opposite party Nos.1 to 3 have acted strictly as per the terms & conditions of the loan agreements/accounts bearing No.150865 and 821189 entered into between the deceased Mander Singh Sidhu and the opposite party Nos.1 to 3. The opposite party Nos.1 to 3 received the insurance claim from the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 to the extent of Rs.1,06,500/- on 29.9.2011 against the insurance policy bearing No.10516353 which has been adjusted against the loan account bearing No.150865 and another sum of Rs.1,46,400/- on 29.9.2011 against the insurance policy bearing No.10516347 which has been adjusted in the loan account bearing No.821189. Thereafter a sum of Rs.72,871/- is due against the account bearing No.150865 and a sum of Rs.1,08,399/- is due against the loan account bearing No.821189 as on 24.12.2012 as such the total sum of Rs.181,270/- is due as on 24.12.2012. The loanee defaulted in repayment of the monthly installments as per the terms and conditions of the loan accounts bearing No.150865 and 821189. The complainants have not provided the requisite documents to the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 within time.
9. The submissions of the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 are that as and when the intimation of the death of Mander Singh Sidhu was received, his claim was paid in his loan accounts. As per system entry, the date of receipt of the intimation of the claim for the policies bearing No.10516347 and 10516353 is 5.9.2011, the declaration date of the complainant No.2 is 2.9.2011, indemnify bond for last policy was submitted on 5.9.2011 with the stamp papers purchased on 3.9.2011, discharge voucher is dated 11.8.2011 and certificate of Dr.Bakramjit is dated 2.9.2011. The amount of Rs.1,46,300/- vide cheque No.949980 dated 21.9.2011 against the policy bearing No.10516347 and Rs.1,06,500/- vide cheque No.949979 dated 21.9.2011 against the policy bearing No.10516353 has already been paid to the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 by the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 which has already been adjusted against the loan accounts of the deceased Mander Singh Sidhu by the opposite party Nos.1 to 3. No intimation was given to the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 vide applications dated 2.7.2009 or 26.7.2011.
10. To prove their version the complainants have placed on file Ex.C2 application informing the death of Mander Singh Sidhu to the insurance company but a perusal of Ex.C2 shows that the said application is undated and has not been received by the HDFC official. Ex.C3 is the reminder sent to the HDFC on dated 2.7.2009, in this in para No.2, the complainant No.2 has mentioned that his father expired on 5 October 2007 at that time they have submitted the application, required document & Zerox copies for clearance & further course of action after his death, but in this application also there is no mention of the previous date when the first application Ex.C2 was sent to the insurance company. Vide Ex.C4 again a reminder was sent by Rajwinder Singh, the complainant No.2 to the Manager of HDFC Ltd., for the settlement of the loan account bearing Nos.150865 and 82119. In this letter also there is no reference of the very first letter Ex.C2, meaning thereby as per the record placed on file the complainants have intimated the opposite parties regarding the death of Mander Singh on 2.7.2009 vide Ex.C3 which also shows the stamp affixed on it by the HDFC Bank i.e. duly received by the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 and the postal receipts regarding Ex.C4 also placed on file vide Ex.C5 to Ex.C9. The reminder Ex.C4 dated 1.7.2011 sent to (i) HDFC Ltd. Mumbai (Head Office); (ii) HDFC Standard Life Insurance, Mumbai; (iii) HDFC Ltd. Patiala Branch: (iv) HDFC Standard Life Insurance, Patiala Branch alongwith 4 documents.
A further perusal of Ex.C3 and Ex.C4 shows that all the documents have been submitted by the complainant as required by the opposite parties for the settlement of the claim. The opposite parties have not placed on file anything to prove that after receiving the intimation on 2.7.2009 they have ever asked the complainant to deposit claim application, required document & Zerox copies for clearance. Moreover as per the version of the complainants they have already deposited the requisite documents that are required for the settlement of the claim. Thus in these circumstances the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 have to pay the claim within 3-6 months from the date of receiving the intimation i.e. 2.7.2009 and the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 would have settled the loan account of Mander Singh Sidhu accordingly but his loan account has been settled in the year 2011. As per Ex.R45 in loan account bearing No.560150865, the amount of Rs.1,06,500/- has been paid and as per Ex.R46 in loan account bearing No.560821189, the amount of Rs.1,46,300/- has been paid. If we correlate these amounts with the policy Ex.R35 it is shown that the loan amount was to be payable to the tune of Rs.1,46,300/- and as per Ex.R38 the loan amount was paid Rs.1,06,500/- when the policy is in the second year and Mander Singh Sidhu had died in the second year of the policy commencement after securing his loan. In standard policy provision in both the policies Ex.R35 and Ex.R38 it has been mentioned that the policy will provide a guaranteed amount on the death of the life assured during the term of the policy. The amount specified in the policy schedule. After receiving the intimation of the death of Mander Singh Sidhu the amount was paid accordingly by the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 indirectly in the loan account of the complainants maintained by the opposite party Nos.1 to 3. The complainants have shown their intention to pre-pay the loan amounts and settled the same. On receiving the request, the opposite parties have given the bifurcation of the amount paid by the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 i.e. in the loan account bearing No.560150865. In Ex.R45 the amount was paid to the tune of Rs.1,06,500/-, in this the Principal Prepayment is shown as Rs.27,828/- and EMI outstanding amount is shown as Rs.78,672/- and in Ex.R46 in account bearing No.560821189, the amount was paid to the tune of Rs.1,46,300/-, in this the Principal Prepayment is shown as Rs.58156/- and EMI outstanding amount is shown as Rs.88,144/-. The amount of Rs.1,06,500/- has been received on 5.10.2011 in the loan account bearing No.560150865 and in Ex.R14 the amount of Rs.1,46,300/- has been received in the loan account bearing No.560821189 on 5.10.2011 from the insurance company meaning thereby the amount has been settled as per the terms and conditions mentioned in their policy schedule but the account has been settled with the delay of approximately 2 years. If it would have been settled earlier the loan accounts of Mander Singh Sidhu should not have accrued more interest. After receiving the amounts in both the loan accounts the complainants have paid EMIs upto May 2012. As per the account statements placed on file the complainants are not liable to pay the interest after the date of intimation of the death of Mander Singh Sidhu to the opposite party Nos.4 and 5. The opposite party Nos.4 and 5 have processed the claim late and paid them after 180 days which is the sufficient for processing and settling the claim. Thus till 2.7.2009 and 6 months interest i.e. upto January 2010 since the date of death is payable by the complainants and the rest of the interest is payable by the insurance company on account of delay. Thus in other words the interest on the loan amount for the period from the death of Mander Singh Sidhu till intimation to the insurance company plus 180 days i.e. processing period interest is payable by the complainants themselves and after that the interest if calculated any is payable by the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 till disbursing of the assured amount in the account of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3. No interest will be charged by the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 after the date of receiving the insurance claim in the account of Mander Singh Sidhu from the complainants. Thus it would meet the ends of justice if this complaint be accepted against all the opposite parties and some compensation be paid to the complainants on account of delay on the part of the insurance company and on the part of the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 for not settling the accounts of Mander Singh Sandhu.
11. Therefore in view of what has been discussed above there is deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. Hence this complaint is accepted with Rs.10,000/- as cost and compensation against the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 and Rs.2000/- against the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 on all accounts. Thus the directions be given to the parties as under:-
1) The opposite party Nos.1 to 3 will issue the complete account statement to the complainants showing all the bifurcation.
2) The interest since the death of Mander Singh Sidhu till intimation to the insurance company on 2.7.2009 plus 180 days i.e. 2.1.2010 mentioned above will be paid by the complainants to the opposite party Nos.1 to 3.
3) The interest from January 2010 till the credit of the insurance amount be paid by the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 to the opposite party Nos.1 to 3 on account of delayed payment of the insurance amount.
4) The opposite party Nos.1 to 3 are directed to waive off the remaining principal amount or interest if any after receiving the interest from the complainants as well as the opposite party Nos.4 and 5. If the amount is already paid in excess, the excess amount be refunded @ 9% per annum to the complainants.
5) The opposite party Nos.1 to 3 will settle the accounts of Mander Singh Sidhu as per above mentioned direction within 30 days after receiving the payment from the complainants as well as the opposite party Nos.4 and 5 and handover the original sale deeds and post dated cheques in the name of Mander Singh Sidhu to the complainants.
12. The compliance of this order as a whole be done within 45 days from the date of receipt of the copy of this order.
13. A copy of this order be sent to the parties concerned free of cost and the file be consigned to the record.
Pronounced
11-04-2013
(Vikramjitt Kaur Soni)
President
(Amarjeet Paul)
Member
(Sukhwinder Kaur)
Member
