SH KISHORE BIYANI V/S JAGDISH KUMAR ANEJA - Consumer Court Case

Haryana

Panchkula

CC/81/2023

JAGDISH KUMAR ANEJA - Complainant(s)

Versus

SH KISHORE BIYANI - Opp.Party(s)

IN PERSON

23 Jan 2024

ORDER

BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, PANCHKULA

Consumer Complaint No	:	186 of 2021
Date of Institution	:	15.03.2021
Date of Decision	:	23.01.2024

Hoshiyar Singh Ghanghas, resident of Flat No.261, GHS-4, Sector-24, Panchkula.

….Complainant

Versus

1. HDFC Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Card Division, PO Box 8654, Triruvanmiyur, PO Chennai through its Branch Manager Pin- 600041.

2. HDFC Bank Ltd., Credit Card Division, SCO No.2 & 3, Phase II, Mohali(Punjab) through its Customer Services Cards, Manager Arpuna Choudhary.

3. HDFC Bank Ltd., Bank House, 28, Industrial Area, Phase-I, Chandigarh-160002 through its Nodal Officer Mr. Ashok Puri.

4. HDFC Bank Ltd., SCO No.119, Sector-25, Panchkula -134109 through its Manager Neeraj Pathak.

5. HDFC Bank Ltd., Credit Card Department, SCO No.409, Sector-8, Panchkula-134109 through Rohit Kapoor.

6. Reema Kaimal, Customer Service Manager, Chairman & MD Desk, HDFC Bank Ltd., 4^th Floor, HDFC Bank House, Senpati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai(Maharasthra)-400013

7. Shahfahd Mundrawala, Customer Service Officer, Customer DP Help Team, HDFC Bank Ltd., 4^th Floor, HDFC Bank House, Senapat Bapat Marg, Lower Parel(W), Mumabi(Maharasthra)-400013

8. Phoenix ARC Private Limited, Retail Customer Care, 5^th Floor, Dani Corporate Park, 158 CST Road, Kalina, Santacurz (E), Mumbai-400098 through its authorized signatory.

9. M/s Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, Retail ARD Customer Care, Kotak Infiniti, 4^th Floor, Building No.21, Infinity Park, Off Western Express Highway, General A K Vaidya Marg, Malad(E) Mumbai-400097 through its authorized signatory.

….Opposite Parties

COMPLAINT UNDER SECTION 35 OF THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 2019.

Before: Sh.Satpal, President.

Dr.Sushma Garg, Member

Dr.Barhm Parkash Yadav, Member

For the Parties: Sh. Ashok Kumar, Advocate for the complainant.

Sh.Jatin Sahrawat, Advocate for OPs No.1 to 7.

OPs No.8 & 9 ex-parte vide order dated 26.10.2021.

ORDER

Satpal, President

1.The brief facts, as alleged, in the present complaint, are that a credit card ending with no.XXXX1880 and another credit card bearing no.5459 were provided to the complainant by OP No.1; the relationship manager of OP No.1 granted a loan of Rs.5,00,000/- during the month of January 2018 to the complainant against the credit card ending with no.5459, which was in the possession of OPs; the complainant had took the loan of Rs.3,66,000/- on his credit card ending with XXXX1880 and Rs.1,30,000/- during the month of October, 2019 on his credit card ending with no.5459; the loan of Rs.5,00,000/- and Rs.1,30,000/- were jumbo loans, whereas the loan of Rs.3,66,000/- was under the category of Insta loan. The OP No.1 had also issued a policy of Bajaj Allianz for securing the loan granted against the said credit card and the insurance policy was issued online on the payment of premium of Rs.9,933/-. It is stated that the complainant was regularly making the installment of the said loan availed from the OP No.1 without any default till May 2020. The complainant decided to clear the said loan in the month of May, 2020 and accordingly, the office of OP No.2 on 08.05.2020 was contacted by him expressing his willingness to fore-close the said loan account. The official of OP No.2, after making verification of the loan account, informed him(the complainant) that a total sum of Rs.7,54,000/- was outstanding against him. The complainant was informed that a sum of Rs.3,23,000/- was outstanding against the credit card ending with XXXX1880 and Rs.4,31,000/- against the credit card ending with no.5459/-. The official of OP No.2 also asked the complainant to deposit Rs.500/- in excess in each loan account so as to avoid any complications. Accordingly, the complainant deposited a total amount of Rs.7,54,000/- against the said loan accounts vide two separate cheques amounting to Rs.3,23,500/- and Rs.4,31,500/- and the said cheques were duly encashed on 12.05.2020. It is stated that the complainant also sent emails to OPs No.1 & 2 and their higher officers on 08.05.2020 for closing his loan account. In response to the said emails, the complainant had received the revert whereas the OPs No.1 & 2 informed him that due to Covid-19 situation, there was shortage of staff and if he did not receive any positive response within 2 days, he could raise the matter with higher official of OPs No.1 & 2. Since no positive response was received from the OPs No.1 & 2 within 2 days, he(the complainant) on 13.05.2020, sent email to the higher officials, in response to which, he was assured for resolution of his grievance and Sh.Gaurav Khatri was asked to look into the concerns as raised by him. The mobile number was provided to said Gaurav Khatri with hope that he would contact the official of OPs No.1 & 2 in the matter. However, said Gaurav Khatri failed to give any positive response with regard to the fore closing of the loan accounts and this fact came into the notice of the complainant in the month of June 2020, when he received his account statement. The complainant contacted the OPs No.1 & 2 through Toll free no.0172-6160616 and 01166426000, wherein he was apprised that the facility on the said toll free number was only for card fraud cases during the Covid-19 period. The complainant visited the OP No.2 but he was not allowed to enter the office on the pretext of Covid-19, then he visited the OP No.3 but he was not found in the office as he was working from home during Covid-19 and thus, he sent emails to OP No.3 and even tried to contact him telephonically but no response was received. On 07.07.2020 and 16.07.2020, an email was received from OP No.1, wherein an amount of Rs.24,890/- and Rs.16,968/- were shown outstanding against him. It is averred that the complainant had already deposited the whole loan amount on 08.05.2020 and nothing was due towards him. It is averred that the control of credit card was under the OPs No.1 & 2, so the complainant could not close his credit card. The complainant is not liable to pay any amount as shown outstanding by the OPs after 08.05.2020. The complainant also lodged a complaint with the OPs no.4 & 5 but to no avail. It is stated that the complainant was informed by the OPs No.6 and 7 that the loan amount was deposited on 12.05.2020 but the loan account could only be closed through phone banking officer. It is stated that the phone banking facility was not available during Covid-19 and the said fact was duly brought into the notice of the OPs No.1 & 2 by the complainant. It is stated that the case of recovery of balance dues was forwarded to OPs No.8 & 9 and the complainant was receiving threatening calls from the muscleman and other recovery agencies. Due to act and conduct of the OPs, the complainant has suffered mental agony, physical harassment and financial loss; hence, the present complaint.

2.Upon notice, the OPs No.1 to 7 appeared through counsel and filed written statement by raising preliminary objection that the complainant has not approached with the clean hands as he has suppressed the relevant material facts; no cause of action has accrued in favour of the complainant. On merits, it is submitted that the complainant was granted the loan amounting to Rs.5,00,000/- and Rs.1,30,000/-vide loan account no.1019010005029257. The complainant was also provided the loan of Rs.3,30,000/-. It is submitted that the complainant has failed to place on record any document in support of his contention that he had requested the OP Bank for pre-closure of his loans against the Credit Card. It is submitted that the complainant never visited the office of the OPs with a request for foreclosure of the loans and that the complainant at his own level had decided and deposited cheques for INR 4,31,500/- and INR 3,23,500/-. The complainant has failed to place on record any evidence to substantiate that any request was made by him to the OP Bank for foreclosure of the loans. It is submitted that the complainant had deposited the amounts in May 2020 without any request and/or intimation to the OP Bank. It is submitted that the request for the closure of the loan account was received from the complainant in the month of July 2020 and the same was processed by OPs and the complainant was duly intimated qua the foreclosure amount. It is submitted that, as per the records of the OP Bank, no call was received from the registered number of the complainant and that the credit card account statement for month of June 2020 was duly sent by the OP Bank to him and that the loan accounts were not foreclosed by the bank as there was an outstanding amount of Rs.24,890/- towards the loan account bearing no.1019 0100 0502 9257 and an amount of Rs.16,968/- was outstanding towards the credit card loan 4854 98XX XXXX 1880. It is submitted that the complainant had failed to close the loan account by making the complete payment of outstanding amount against his credit card. It is categorically denied that the loan can only be closed through Phone Banking Officer. It is submitted that there were other ways for raising request for closure of loan accounts as well, such as Email and the customer care number of the OP Bank, where the request for closure of the loan could be made. The OPs had duly acceded to the request made by the complainant on 09.07.2020, wherein he (the complainant) had requested for the closure of the loan. It is submitted that the complainant was duly informed about the total liability qua the card account/loan accounts on the same date; however, the complainant never deposited the complete amount with the OP Bank to close the loan accounts. It is submitted that the OP Bank has legal right to sell, transfer, assign any or all outstanding on the credit card as per Card Member Agreement, which was delivered to the complainant along with credit card. It is denied that the complainant deposited all the outstanding loan amount qua the loan accounts and that he had informed the OP Bank to close the loan accounts. It is denied that the Phone Banking Unit of the OP Bank was not functional. It is submitted that the complaint’s request for closure of the loan facility was received through phone banking in the month of July as per the CBCI logs of the OP Bank. It is submitted that the complainant had deposited the amount at his own level in May 2020 and had approached the OP Bank in July 2020 with a request for foreclosure of loan accounts qua which, the OP’s had informed him about the dues to be paid for closure of loan accounts. Thus, there is no deficiency in service on the part of the OPs No.1 to 7; hence, the complaint deserves dismissal being baseless and meritless.

Notices were issued to the OPs No.8 & 9 through registered post, which were not received back either served or unserved despite the expiry of 30 days from the issuance of notices to OPs No.8 & 9; hence, it was deemed to be served and thus, due to non appearance of OPs No.8 & 9, they were proceeded ex-parte by the Commission vide order dated 26.10.2021.

3.To prove the case, the learned counsel for the complainant has tendered affidavit as Annexure C-A along with documents Annexure C-1 to C-6 in evidence and closed the evidence by making a separate statement. On the other hand, the ld. counsel for the OPs No.1 to 7 has tendered affidavit Annexure R-A along with documents Annexure R-1 to R-5 and closed the evidence.

4.We have heard the learned counsels for the complainant as well as the learned counsel for the OPs No.1 to 7 and gone through the entire record including the written synopsis/arguments filed by the learned counsel for the complainant, carefully and minutely.

5.The learned counsel for the complainant, during arguments, reiterating the averments as made in the complaint as also in the affidavit(Annexure C-A) of the complainant, contended that the complainant was told on 08.05.2020 by the officials of OP No.2 that a sum of Rs.3,23,000/- against the credit card ending with No.1880 and a sum of Rs.4,31,000/ against the credit card ending with No.5459 was outstanding against him and accordingly, he made the payment of the said amount by adding an excess amount of Rs.500+Rs.500/- vide two separate cheques amounting to Rs.3,23,500/- and Rs.4,31,500/-. It is contended that the said cheques were duly encashed on 12.05.2020. The learned counsel argued that the emails were duly sent by the complainant to OPs No.1 & 2 on 08.05.2020 and 13.05.2020 qua the closure of the loan account. The learned counsel further argued that the OPs had wrongly stated that the request from the complainant qua the closure of the loan account was received by them on 09.07.2020. It is argued that the complainant had sent various emails to Ops seeking their assistance qua the closure of the loan account but the Ops had wrongly shown the outstanding amount against the complainant treating the loan closure request on 09.07.2020. Concluding the arguments, the learned counsel has prayed for acceptance the complaint by granting the relief as claimed for in the complaint.

6.On the other hand, the learned counsel for the OPs No.1 to 7 reiterated the averments as made in the written statement as also in the affidavit(Annexure R-A) and contended that the request from the complainant qua closure of the loan account was received on 09.07.2020 and thus, the outstanding amount i.e. Rs.24,890/- +Rs.16,968/- was validly and rightly shown against the complainant. The learned counsel vehemently argued that no request qua fore-closure of the loan account was received by them from the complainant on 08.05.2020 as alleged and thus, the complaint is liable to be dismissed being frivolous, baseless and meritless.

7.The OP No.8 & 9 have preferred not to contest the present complaint by remaining absent despite services of notice and accordingly, they were proceeded ex-parte vide order dated 26.10.2021 and thus, the assertions made by the complainant go unrebutted and uncontroverted.

8.As per the rival contentions raised by the learned counsels for the parties, the question that arises for consideration before the Commission, is, whether the request qua foreclosure of the loan account pertaining to card ending with no.1880 and 5459 was made by the complainant on 08.05.2020 as alleged.

9.As per complainant, the request for fore-closure of the loan account was made by him on 08.05.2020 and accordingly, he had deposited a sum of Rs.3,23,500/- & Rs.4,31,500/- by two separate cheques on 08.05.2020 itself.

10.As per version of Ops No.1 to 7, the request from the complainant qua fore-closure of the loan account pertaining to credit card ending with no.1880 and 5459 was received on 09.07.2020.

11.We have perused the email communications between the complainant and the official of OPs No.1 & 2. On 08.05.2020, the complainant has been found to have sent an email to OPs seeking permission qua fore-close of the loan account. The said email reads as under:

From: hsghanghas[hsghanghas@yahoo.com]

Sent: Friday, May 8 2020 7:14PM

To: Cc:

Subject: permission to fore-close of personal loan account

I am the regular customer of HDFC Bank. I took personal loan of Rs.500000, 750000, 366000 and 130000 from HDFC Bank at different time. I took these loans to take a flat but it could be taken. I want to pay the loan amount and want fore-closing the loan. I request you to permit me to close the loan account.

My accounts are:- 14131000000517 and 50100017203228

Thank you

12.In response to the said email, the complainant received the email from OPs on 08.05.2020 itself, wherein it was mentioned that the customer service executive would respond within a maximum period of 12 to 14 working days. It was also mentioned that due to prescribed protocol to curb the spread of Covid-19, the bank was operating with limited staff. It was further mentioned that phone banking agent services would be available for reporting of fraud or unauthorized transactions. On 13.05.2020, the complainant again made the request to close the loan account, which reads as under:

From: hsghanghas Dated : 13/05/2020

Subject: help needed to close the loan accounts

I mailed to Relation Manager Gourav Arya on 08^th May about the same issue but no response was given by him. I request you to do the needful.

I have given the whole information about this topic to both RM Gourav Arya and the Loan Support. And I didn’t get any reply from them and from card service also.