DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, SAHIBZADA AJIT SINGH NAGAR (MOHALI)

Consumer Complaint No.800 of 2017

                                               Date of institution:  25.09.2017                                         Date of decision   :  27.07.2018

Sewa Singh son of Late Shri Udai Singh, # 973, Sector 41-A, Chandigarh 160036.  Mobile No.9815554973.

…….Complainant

Versus

1.     Branch Manager, Indian Overseas Bank, PTL Campus Branch, Mohali (Punjab).

2.     Branch Manager, ICICI Bank, S.P. Marg, Civil Lines, Allahabad U.P.

                                                        ……..Opposite Parties

Complaint under Section 12 of

the Consumer Protection Act.

Quorum:   Shri G.K. Dhir, President,

                Shri Amrinder Singh Sidhu, Member

                Mrs. Natasha Chopra, Member.

Present:    Complainant in person.

                OPs ex-parte

Order by :-  Shri G.K. Dhir, President.

Order

               Complainant, a senior citizen, claims to be maintaining saving bank account with OP No.1 for the last more than 20 years and as such he is consumer of OP No.1. Complainant went to Allahabad in first week of February, 2016 for making arrangement for marriage of his daughter and there on 07.02.2016, he used his ATM card for withdrawing Rs.10,000/- at a stretch, two times, but cash was not disbursed from ATM of OP No.2. After reaching back at Chandigarh on 11.02.2016, complainant visited OP No.1 branch for finding if any amount debited to his saving bank account on 07.02.2016 or not. At that time, complainant was surprised to know as if amount of Rs.20,000/- was debited to his account. However, complainant disclosed OP No.1 as if the said amount has been wrongly debited to his account in view of non disbursal of amount by ATM machine of OP No.2. Despite lodging of complaint with OP No.1, amount of Rs.20,000/- has not been credited in the account of complainant. Acquirer bank i.e. OP No.2 rejected the claim of complainant for crediting the amount. Certificate dated 30.05.2016 was issued by OP No.1 in that respect. Matter was taken up with Banking Ombudsman, who expressed his helplessness vide letter dated 05.08.2016 and as such finding no other way, this complaint filed for seeking direction to OPs to credit amount of Rs.20,000/- in his account. Compensation for mental harassment and agony of Rs.50,000/- and litigation expenses of Rs.10,000/- more claimed and interest @ 7% (applicable on fixed deposits) on amount of Rs.20,000/- for period from February, 2016 till date also is claimed.

2.             OPs are ex-parte in this case.

3.             Complainant to prove his case tendered in evidence his affidavit Ex.CW-1/1 alongwith documents Ex.C-1 and Ex.C-2 and later on by way of additional evidence he produced document Ex.C-3 alongwith enclosures.

4.             Written arguments not submitted. Oral arguments heard and records gone through.

5.             Though complainant through affidavit Ex.CW-1/1 claims that an amount of Rs.20,000/- not disbursed to him on 07.02.2016, when he used the ATM card at Allahabad, but no ATM transaction slip has been produced on record in that respect. Even if such transaction slip has not been produced on record, despite that contents of the certificate Ex.C-1 establishes that complainant lodged complaint with OP No.1 for complaining as if an amount of Rs.20,000/- has not been disbursed to him, but said amount has been debited to his account. However, through Ex.C-1, complainant was informed by OP No.1 after contacting OP No.2 that the acquirer bank has rejected his request because confirmation regarding success of ATM transaction received from OP No.2. When such confirmation has already been received by complainant from OP No.1, then it was for him to prove about non receipt of debited amounts of Rs.10,000/- each.

6.             Complainant took up matter with Banking Ombudsman who found as if no action can be taken and that is why intimation through letter Ex.C-2 was given to complainant. Order of the Banking Ombudsman certainly is not a final order.

7.             Complainant had produced application Ex.C-3 addressed to this Forum for claiming about wrong debiting of amount of Rs.20,000/- in his account. That Ex.C-3 with annexes is the application addressed by complainant to OPs for expressing grievance of non credit of amount of Rs.20,000/-. Aman Kumar, Senior Manager of OP No.1 replied to the e-mail in terms that complainant is an old customer of their bank and he should be helped in matter of making complaint to the Banking Ombudsman. Matter was taken up with Transaction Banking Department through ATM Transaction Team, of Indian Overseas Bank Central Office, Chennai is a fact borne from enclosed e-mail dated 22.04.2016. However, in response to that it was disclosed to complainant that the matter has been resolved on 11.02.2016. In this letter, it is mentioned that matter has been resolved because claim already credited qua which verification required, so it is vehemently contended by complainant that actually OPs have admitted as if amount of ATM transactions not disbursed to him. That submission of complainant has no force because verification of credit of amount alone was sought through this letter. Complainant has produced on record copy of saving passbook containing entries upto 19.04.2016 only. The transaction in question took place on 07.02.2016. In this passbook mention regarding ATM transaction of amount of Rs.10,000/- numbering two is made. No other record produced by complainant to establish his contention of non disbursal of amount. As and when such position arises, then record of switch report; Inter Bank Reconciliation Report; EJS Report can throw light alongwith verification certificate of cash in ATM, qua finding of excess amount in ATM, if any, at the time of daily checking while loading the currency in the ATM machine. No such record has been got produced by complainant and as such complainant unable to prove his case qua deficiency in service on part of OPs. Being so, complaint merits dismissal and the same is hereby dismissed but without any order as to costs.

8.             As a sequel of above discussion, the complaint dismissed without any order as to costs. Certified copies of the order be supplied to the parties free of cost as per rules.  File be indexed and consigned to record room.

Announced

July 27, 2018.

                                                                (G.K. Dhir)

                                                                President

(Amrinder Singh Sidhu)

Member

(Mrs. Natasha Chopra)

Member