Chandigarh

DF-I

CC/764/2017

Parkash Singh - Complainant(s)

Versus

Standard Chartered Bank - Opp.Party(s)

Chanchal K. Singla

21 Jan 2019

ORDER

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM-I,

U.T. CHANDIGARH

 

                               

Consumer Complaint No.	:	CC/764/2017
Date of Institution	:	31/10/2017
Date of Decision	:	21/01/2019

 

Parkash Singh son of Sh.Gajju Singh, R/o H.No.123-A, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Sector 14, Ward No.10, Kharar, Mohali – 140301, Punjab.

… Complainant

V E R S U S

1.     Standard Chartered Bank, Crescenzo Building, C-38/39, G-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Opposite Mumbai Cricket Association Club, Bandra East, Mumbai – 400051, through its Managing Director.

2.     The Branch Manager, Standard Chartered Bank, SCO No. 137-138, Sector 9-C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh – 160017.

3.     Standard Chartered Bank, Post Box Number 1359, Customer Care Unit No.19, Rajaji Salai, Chennai-600001, through its Authorized Representative.

… Opposite Parties

CORAM :	SH.RATTAN SINGH THAKUR	PRESIDENT
	MRS. SURJEET KAUR	MEMBER
	DR.S.K. SARDANA	MEMBER

                                                      

PRESENT	:	Sh.Inderdeep Singh, Counsel for Complainant.
	:	Sh. Varn Bhardwaj, Counsel for Opposite Parties.

Per Surjeet Kaur, Member

1.         Adumbrated in brief, the facts necessary for the disposal of the instant Consumer Complaint are that in order to fulfill their loan target, the Complainant was sanctioned loan credit facility on his credit card by the Opposite Parties on 07.08.2015 amounting to Rs.2,80,000/- in Loan/Instabuy Account No. 9356500807899422. The Complainant was regularly paying the loan installments and in Oct.2016 desired to settle the above mentioned loan account in full & final. Accordingly, on 28.10.2016, as per asking of the Opposite Parties, the Complainant deposited a sum of Rs.1,68,000/- as full & final payment in the above mentioned loan account. However, the said account was not adjusted as full & final and the Complainant vide e-mail dated 07.01.2017 was asked to deposit Rs.32,000/- if he wants to pre-close the above loan account. Since the demand of pre-payment charges is an illegal practice according to RBI Guidelines, the Complainant got served a legal notice dated 10.07.2017 upon the Opposite Parties calling upon them to adjust Rs.1,68,000/- as full & final payment in the above loan account and to issue no due certificate, but to no success. With the cup of woes brimming, the Complainant has filed the instant Consumer Complaint, alleging that the aforesaid acts amount to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the Opposite Parties.
2.         Notice of the complaint was sent to Opposite Parties seeking their version of the case.
3.         Opposite Parties contested the complaint and filed their joint written statement, inter alia, admitting the basic facts of the case. It has been pleaded that the Complainant has availed two loans based on his credit card i.e. Dial Multiplier Loan of Rs.2,80,000/- and Kuch-Bhi on EMI of Rs.56,000/-. The Complainant never contacted the Bank for pre-closure of his loan account in Oct. 2016 and OP-Bank did receive payment of Rs.1,68,000/- but it was neither intimated by the Complainant nor the Opposite Party No.1 ever agreed for adjusting amounting of Rs.1,68,000/- towards pre-closure of the loan amount of Rs.2,80,000/- as the loan principal amount was Rs.1,77,367.38/-. The e-mail sent by the Complainant requiring reasons as to why his loan amount of Rs.2,80,000/- has not been pre-closed has been responded by the OP-Bank on 07.01.2017 with an advice to pay the amount of Rs.32,000/- to close the loan account which includes the outstanding dues reflecting in the another Instabuy account not paid by the Complainant. Pleading that there is no deficiency in service or unfair trade practice on their part, Opposite Parties have prayed for dismissal of the complaint.
4.         The complainant has filed a rejoinder, wherein he has reiterated all the averments, contained in the complaint, and repudiated those, contained in the written version of Opposite Parties.
5.         The parties led evidence in support of their contentions.
6.         We have gone through the entire record along with the written arguments advanced by both the sides and heard the arguments addressed by the Ld. Counsel for the Parties.
7.         In the present case, the Complainant has alleged that the Opposite Parties are raising illegal demand of Rs.32000/- despite the fact that he has deposited a sum of Rs.1,68,000/- as full & final payment in his loan account. It has been further alleged that the loan account of the Complainant was not adjusted as full and final despite receiving the full payment.
8.         The stand taken by the Opposite Parties is that the Complainant never intimated them that he is paying Rs.1,68,000/- for adjusting the final payment towards foreclosure of the loan amount of Rs.2,80,000/-. Hence, they are not deficient in asking for deposit of Rs.32,000/- to close the loan account.
9.         This is an admitted fact that the Complainant deposited an amount of Rs.1,68,000/- on 28.10.2016. However, perusal of the record reveals that Opposite Parties never intimated the Complainant regarding receiving of the aforesaid amount as full and final payment rather the Complainant after waiting for the response of the Opposite Parties for a reasonable time finally sent an e-mail dated 04.01.2017 (Annexure C-4) seeking the Bank Statement with adjustment of the deposited amount as full and final payment. After this query, the Opposite Parties responded on 07.01.2017 (Annexure C-5) that still an amount of Rs.32,000/- is pending to preclose the loan account of the Complainant.  
10.         It is out of our understanding that what for the Opposite Parties were waiting to intimate the Complainant that he has to further submit an amount of Rs.32,000/- for preclosing his loan account despite accepting the huge amount of Rs.1,68,000/- in one go in the month of October. The Complainant on 11.02.2017 (Annexure C-8) sought the details of the correct calculations, but Opposite Parties failed to send the same to the Complainant. In written statement of the Opposite Parties it is clearly mentioned in Para No.3 that Opposite Parties themselves have shown their inability to share the letter sent to the Complainant during August 2015 with the loan details due to technical constraint which was sent along with the pay order for the loan amount of Rs.2,80,000/-. On the other hand, sample letter format sent to some another customer has been annexed as Annexure 2 which is not relevant at all with the present Complaint. Mere this fact is sufficient to prove that the Opposite Parties themselves have not done proper paper formality with the Complainant. Adding to the same, Opposite Parties have taken the Complainant again for granted as despite deposit of a huge amount of Rs.1,68,000/- they did not highlight the same in his bank account statement timely. Hence, the act of the Opposite Parties in demanding Rs.32,000/- illegally without mentioning the proper details and reasons to the Complainant as well as to this Forum during the pendency of the present Complaint, proves deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on their part, which certainly has caused immense, mental and physical harassment to the complainant and forced him to get indulged in the present unwarranted, uncalled for litigation.
11.         In view of the above discussion, the present consumer complaint deserves to succeed and the same is accordingly partly allowed qua Opposite Parties. Opposite Parties are, jointly & severally, directed as under:-

1. To immediately adjust Rs.1,68,000/- as full & final payment in the loan account and to issue No Due Certificate to the Complainant;
2. To pay an amount of Rs.7,000/- to the complainant as compensation for deficiency in service, unfair trade practice and for causing mental agony & harassment to him;
3. To pay to the complainant Rs.5,000/- as costs of litigation.

12.         This order be complied with by Opposite Parties within thirty days from the date of receipt of its certified copy, failing which, they shall make the payment of the amounts mentioned at Sr.No.(ii) & (iii) above, with interest @12% per annum from the date of this order, till realization, apart from compliance of direction at Sr.No.(i) above.
13.         The certified copies of this order be sent to the parties free of charge. The file be consigned.

	Sd/-	Sd/-	Sd/-
21/01/2019	[Dr.S.K. Sardana]	[Surjeet Kaur]	[Rattan Singh Thakur]
	Member	Member	President
“Dutt”