Date of Filing:19-05-2016
Date of Order:05 -8-2019
BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM – I, HYDERABAD
P r e s e n t
HON’BLE Sri P.VIJENDER, B.Sc. L.L.B. PRESIDENT.
HON’BLE Smt. D.NIRMALA, B.Com., LLB., MEMBER
Monday, the 5th day of August, 2019
C.C.No.264 /2016
Between
Mr.Ameet Kumar Mishra,
Son of Sri C.M.Lal Mishra,
Aged 39 years, Occ: Business,
H.No.5-3-70, Gosha Mahal,
Near Culcutta sweet house,
Hyderabad - 500012. ……Complainant
And
- Standard Chartered Bank
Rep. by its Manager,
Having its Head office at
Customer Care Unit
19, Rajaji Salai, Chennai-600001
And also at
- Standard Chartered Bank
Rep. by its Manager
6-3-1090, TSR Towers,
Near HDFC Bank,
Raj Bhawan Road, Somajiguda,
Hyderabad, Telangana ….Opposite Parties
Counsel for the complainant : M/s. B.Mahesh Singh
Counsel for the opposite Parties : Lotus Law Associates
O R D E R
(By Sri P. Vijender, B.Sc., LL.B., President on behalf of the bench)
This complaint has been preferred under Section 12 of C.P. Act 1986 alleging that raising demand for additional charges to a tune of Rs.1,12,887.31 by the opposite parties and penalty there on at Rs.4,212.02 amounts to unfair trade practice and deficiency in service hence a direction not to collect the said amount and to award compensation of Rs.3,00,000/- for causing mental agony and hardship by raising demand and for cost of this complaint.
- Complaint averments in brief are that complainant is holder of the credit card bearing No.4622 7354 5039 1504 issued by opposite party with a credit limit of Rs.2,50,000/- per month issued in the month of April, 2013 valid till March, 2018. The agreement between the parties says as and when monthly bill is generated for the usage of the credit card the hard and soft copy bill/statement shall be sent to the complainant residential address and as well as to the mail ID. After the expiry of one month period from the date of activation of the card the complainant did not receive bill/statement either on the mail or to the residential address. Hence he made a request to the call centre of opposite party in the last week of May 2013 and intimated that he did not receive bill/statement copies from the date of issuance of the credit card and made a request to send the details of the same. Thereupon the bill for the month of April was generated on 25-4-2013 showing and due date for the payment of the amount shown as 17-5-2013 for outstanding amount at Rs.52,780/- . Immediately he clarified to the customer care of the opposite party that the statement was issued for the month of April and he was not aware of any such total outstanding amount at Rs.52,780/- and made a request to waive off the excess charges, interest and late payment charges which will be added in the next month statement. The customer care of the opposite party accepted the mistake apologized him and informed that penalty, interest and late payment charges will be reversed in the next month bill. Believing the same he made a payment of Rs.33,000/- on 29th May 2013 and Rs.19,780/- on 7th June 2013.
Subsequent to there of the complainant was making payment before the due date and maintained the statement by himself. He did not receive the statement from opposite party till August, 2013 in spite of his specific request on number of occasions. He received the bills in the email for the month’s of August 2013 and September 2013 and thereafter continuously started receiving the bills in the mail but hard copy of the bill was not received by him. For the first time in the month of January 2015 he received the hard copy of the bill. On 22-04-2014 on his request opposite party No.1 sent bills by mail for the period from April 2013 to March 2014 showing total amount at Rs.26,235/- which includes late payment charges, interest and penalty accumulating every month for not paying the amount for the month of April 2013 on time. Hence he once again called upon the customer care of opposite party and informed that no statement was received by him from opposite party bank for the month of April to August,2013 and enquired about the earlier promise to waive off the excess charges. But he did not get satisfactory reply and he was requested to wait for a few days for investigation in the matter.
In spite of the complainant’s request the opposite party did not deduct the late payment and penalties imposed and opposite party continuously calculating the interest on the said amount in the monthly bills and shown accumulated penalty at Rs.84,262/- till February, 2015. He made repeated calls to the customer care of opposite party and tried to reason out with the opposite party bank by visiting branch office several times and requested to look into the matter. But there was no proper response. He had sent several mails to customer care, card service centre, head office etc. He also had sent notice to one Mr.Siva Prasad Nodal officer requesting him to solve the issue but there was no use. In the meanwhile opposite party reduced the credit limit from Rs.2,50,000/- to Rs.1,14,000/- in the month of June, 2014 without a prior intimation and finally in the month of August, 2015 the opposite party blocked his credit card without notice stating that he is a defaulter and liable to pay outstanding amount of Rs.1,12,887.31 and this action of opposite party had caused immense mental agony and hardship.
The complainant having vexed with the attitude of the opposite party got issued a legal notice on 01-01-2016 asking the opposite party to waive off or additional charges amount of Rs.1,12,887.31 and the other charges under the head of the penalty, interest and late payment charges amounting to Rs.4,212.02 and to pay a sum of Rs.3,00,000/- towards compensation for causing mental agony and hardship to him. The opposite party instead of complying his request gave a reply on 13-1-2016 along with E- statement delivery report and this action of the opposite party amounts to deficiency of service, utter negligence and unprofessional. Hence the present complaint.
- Opposite party No.2 filed written version and same is adopted by opposite party No.1 admitting issuance of the credit card to the complainant in the month of March, 2013 on the request of the complainant by way of an application but denied the rest of the complainant’s allegation.
The defense set out in the written version is that the complainant submitted an application duly filled by him supported by documents for issuance of credit card. As per the records of the bank statement of accounts relating to the complainant’s card transactions were sent regularly on monthly basis. The statement sent via mail were not returned undelivered except E-statement for the period of May 2013 to July 2013 due to delivery error. Complainant is admitting receipt of soft copy hence he was to make payment as soft copy received by him is sufficient enough for it. The complainant himself made transactions using the card as such he is well aware of the amounts spent on card and he could have paid the used amounts without waiting for statement from the bank. The complainant at his convenience had opted for the E-statement facility in addition to the hard copy.
The complainant is unnecessarily trying to mislead the Forum by saying that he is not in receipt of the statements with an intention is to evade payment. Complainant is aware of the statement generation date being 25th of each month and due date is 22 days from the date of statement. As per the bank practice hard copy statement will be delivered on 5th or 6th of each month to the registered e-mail address. Even without receipt of hard copy statement the complainant being a customer is duty bound to make payment within due date on the basis of transaction slips which are in his possession. The complainant can as well contact to the bank on phone or he can write to customer care unit or even approach service desk of any branch of the opposite party bank for confirmation of outstanding amount and then make net payment before due date to avoid any levy and late charges or penal charges in the account. The complainant is expected to make payment as per the terms and conditions agreed with the bank. In the event of partial payment or nonpayment of outstanding before the scheduled due dates, the applicable late fee and late charges will be levied as per the schedule of service charges of the opposite party bank.
The complainant used to pay at times or effecting the payments after due dates. Hence late charges and interest charges were levied on his credit card account as his evident from the statement of account generated for his credit card account. Since the complainant used to pay the amount after due date and sometimes only partial payment the bank is entitled to claim penal charges, late payment charges with interest for relevant period of time. The credit terms and customer terms are sent to all the customers along with credit card. It is understood that the complainant received all the documents sent along with credit card. The credit terms and customer terms have also been uploaded in the bank website for the ready reference of the card holder. As per Clause No.9 (6) (7) if the bank did not receive the balance owing for the account for a credit card on or before due date the bank will charge and debit the amount from the account of the customer for the credit card finance charges as set out in the tariff sheet.
As per the statement for the month of April 2013 the outstanding amount was Rs.52,780.48 and the complainant was expected to affect payment of it by 17th May 2013 but he has not paid any payment hence late charges at Rs.700/- and interest at Rs.4,214.02 along with corresponding service charges were levied and total outstanding comes to Rs.1,30,415.92 and same was intimated to complainant to effect payment immediately on receipt of statement. In the statement the payment due date is mentioned as immediate . Despite that complainant paid only Rs.33,000/- on 29-5-2013 and Rs.39,000/- on June 19, 2013. The charges levied are in consonance with the terms and conditions agreed by the complainant. Due to partial payments the applicable late charges and interest had been levied to the credit account of the complainant whenever the complainant made query the same was responded by the bank with details. Complainant approached the bank in the month of September,2013 and made a request for reversal of the financial charges debited to his card account. Based on it as a service gesture the bank gave partial interest reversal of Rs.1500/- and same is reflecting in the statement dated 25-10-2013.
As per the records of the bank the complainant approached the bank and said that he did not statement but charges levied on his card account and requested for reversal of the amount in the month of January 2014 same was responded by the bank and statement was sent to mail address as well as postal address as available with bank records. Based on the complainant request the bank in the month of April, 2014 and again October, 2014 it reversed the charges as a service gesture though there was no commitment for it. The complainant was expected to affect payment towards outstanding dues but he choose not to effect complete payment . As a result of it late charges, interest charges had been levied on his credit card account.
The bank periodically reviewed the credit limit of its card holders taking in to consideration from the records. At the time of review various factors such as card usage, repayment pattern, total credit line being offered on the account etc., will be considered. Accordingly during the review of the complainant’s credit card account his credit limit has been revised to Rs.1,14,000.00 from the earlier limit of Rs.2,50,000.00 based on the opposite party bank credit policy and same was intimated to him by letter dated 17-6-2014. Later reviewed the complainant statement dated 25-02-2015 showing outstanding at Rs.84,723.34/- and payment of Rs. 460.00 by 18-3-2015 leaving a balance of Rs.84,263.34. The bank levied the financial charges as per the terms and conditions of the credit card on account of non-payment of outstanding for considerable period of time, and his credit card had been invalidated and moved to written off in the records on 26-08-2015.
The opposite party bank is governed by RBI and guidelines, regulations directives and instructions issued from time to time. On the foot note of the monthly statement furnished complainant was informed that non-payment of the dues in the card account the cancellation of the card account will be effected. Despite repeated requests from the bank side the complainant had not taken steps to make payment towards the outstanding dues. Hence the bank levied penal charges, interest and service charges over outstanding dues and there is no illegality and irregularity on the part of the bank. Collecting of the penal charges, penal interest and service charges in terms and conditions contained in the application submitted for issuance of the credit card does not amount to unfair trade practice or deficiency of service. Hence the complainant is not entitled for any reliefs.
The cause of action if any as alleged by the complainant arose in the month of August 2013 hence the complainant should have filed the complaint before August 2015. But the present complaint has been filed on 19-5-2016 as such it is barred by limitation and accordingly liable to be dismissed.
In the enquiry the complainant has got filed his evidence affidavit reiterating material facts set out in the complaint and to support the same he has exhibited thirty seven (37) documents. Similarly for the Opposite Party evidence affidavit of one Sri Mukunthan Raghavan stated to be Manager of opposite party No.2 branch is got filed and substance of the same in line with the defense set out in the written version. Through him six (6) documents are exhibited for the opposite parties . For complainant written arguments are also filed.
On a consideration of material brought on the record by both the parties the following points have emerged for consideration .
- Whether the complainant could make out the case of either deficiency of service or unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite parties ?
- Whether the complainant is entitled for the reliefs prayed for ?
- To what relief?
Point No.1: It is not in dispute that in response to the complainant filled in application form with requisite documents submitted by him on 30th March, 2013 the opposite party bank issued the credit card with a limit of Rs.2,50,000/-. The bank filled the copy of said application submitted by the complainant as Ex.B1. This application contains terms and conditions governing the credit card transactions under the caption of Important Information. The bank has specified how it will levy interest with examples. If the card holder pays the full amount of total outstanding is made every month on or before payment due date no interest will be charged. If partial payment is made every month before due date interest will be charged for all transactions incurred from the transaction date till the statement date. It is further specified that the closing balance in the previous statement will attract interest from day post statement date till day prior to the date of payment in the current statement. The balance after payment will attract interest from the date of payment till the statement date. The monthly interest rate is 3.1% per month annualized to arrive it and rate of interest works out with 37.20%. The cash transaction will attract an interest rate of 3.9% per month (APR 41.88). The APR at the time of credit card set up is fixed for a period of three months and will be reviewed every three months based on card holder risk behavior. It further says the rate of interest applicable will be vary between 1.99% per month (APR 23.88) and 3.49% per month (APR 41.88%).
The complainant being a signatory of this application form cannot allege that the calculation of interest on the outstanding amount as stipulated in the form is either excessive or unfair trade practice.
The one of the reason mentioned by the complainant for nonpayment of amount on due date for the transaction made by him is he did not receive the statement either in hard copy or on his mail. As rightly pleaded by the opposite party the complainant as a card holder and having made the transactions by himself using the card is well aware of the amount spent on the card and can pay used amount without waiting for his statement. For this statement of the opposite party in the written version there is no answer from the complainant in the evidence affidavit. It is not the case of the complainant that he delivered the card to a 3rd party for use and he was not informed of the transaction effected by said 3rd party so as to say that he was waiting for the statement from the bank to affect payments as per the transactions made. Hence it is for the complainant to make affective payments well within the due date without waiting for the monthly bill or statement from the bank side. According to the complainant the card was activated after lapse of one month from the date of issue but he did not receive monthly bill or statement either on mail or to his residential address and in the last week of May 2017 he approached the bank and informed that he did not receive statement from the date of issue of the card. Thereafter statement was generated on 25-4-2013 with due date on 17th May 2013 showing outstanding amount of Rs.52,780/- which includes penal interest, late payment charges and excess charges etc. It is also stand of the complainant that when he made a representation that he did not receive the statement, the opposite party stated to have admitted mistake and apologized him and promised to waive off excess charges, interest and late payment charges and it will reflect in the next month statement. Had it been so the complainant would have insisted the bank to give in writing agreeing to waive of excess charges, penal charges and other payment charges for not making payment in time on account of non-sending of monthly statement to him. In the absence of such an endorsement the self serving statement of complainant on this aspect cannot be countenanced.
The opposite party has filed copies of statements which were sent to the complainant via mail for the period from April 2013 to August 2015 and other correspondence and on a close examination of this record it is crystal clear that complainant never paid the outstanding amount within due date. Hence outstanding amount attracted penal charges, service charges and late payment charges. At time’s the penal charges and interest are to a tune of 41.1%.
It is not the case of the complainant that the calculation of interest under the caption of penal charges, late payment charges is not in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the application filled and signed by him. In the absence of said allegation the calculation of interest and outstanding amount and imposition of penal charges and late payment charges by the bank can be said unfair trade practice. Totality of facts brought on the record by opposite parties which includes copies of the statement generated for the transaction affected by the complainant on his credit card shows the complainant right from the beginning, not paid the due amount in time and it resulted imposing penal charges etc. Hence neither there is unfair trade practice nor deficiency of service on the part of the opposite party bank. Accordingly point is answered against the complainant.
Point No.2: Since the complainant could not make out a case of either unfair trade practice or deficiency of service on the part of the opposite parties hence he is not entitled for any reliefs prayed for.
Point No.3: In the result, the complaint is dismissed. No order as to costs.
Dictated to steno, transcribed and typed by her, pronounced by us on this the 5th day of August , 2019
MEMBER PRESIDENT
APPENDIX OF EVIDENCE
Exs. filed on behalf of the Complainant:
Ex.A1- office copy of the ledger statement from April 2013 to August 2015
Ex.A2 to A22 - email copies of the credit card bill/statements in monthly wise
Ex.A23 to A30 - original credit card bill/statements
Ex.A31- copies of the emails send to opposite party
Ex.A32-office copy of the legal notice dated 01-01-2016
Ex.A33 & 34 postal receipts
Ex.A35 & 36 -postal acknowledgment
Ex.A37-reply notice 13-01-2016 along with E-statement delivery report
Exs. filed on behalf of the Opposite parties
Ex.B1-copy of the application form
Ex.B2- delivery report of the statements
Ex.B3- statements for the period (i.e, April 2013 to August 2015)
Ex.B4- credit terms and the customer terms
Ex.B5-copies of the correspondence
Ex.B6- letter issued by the Bank to the complainant regarding decrease of credit limit
MEMBER PRESIDENT
