Karnataka

Chitradurga

CC/13/2016

Shri.Hanumantha Rao R, S/o. Krishna Rao - Complainant(s)

Versus

The Bank Manager, Canara Bank - Opp.Party(s)

Shri.Shreepada Raja G

05 Oct 2016

ORDER

COMPLAINT FILED ON : 10/02/2016

     DISPOSED ON: 05/10/2016

 

BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, CHITRADURGA

 

CC. NO. 13/2016 DATED:  5th OCTOBER 2016

 

PRESENT :-     SRI. T.N. SREENIVASAIAH      PRESIDENT                                      B.A., LL.B.,

                        SRI.N. THIPPESWAMY             MEMBER

                                         B.A., LL.B.,                   MEMBER

COMPLAINANT

Sri. Hanumantha Rao. R, S/o Krishna Rao, Retired Head Master (Pension Holder), Age: 72 Years, 2nd Cross, Jogimatti Road, Chitradurga-577501, Karnataka.   (Rep by Sri. Shreepada Raja, Advocate)

OPPOSITE PARTIES

1. The Bank Manager,     Canara Bank, B.D. Road,    Chitradurga. Karnataka-577501. 2. M/s Amazon Seller Services Pvt.     Limited, 26/1, Dr. Raj Kumar        Road, Bangalore-560055,     Reptd. by its Manager. 3. The Manager,     eBay India Pvt. Limited,     14th Floor, North Block,     R-Tech Park, Western Express     Highway, Goregaon (East),     Mumbai-400063,     Maharashtra (India),     Reptd. by its Manager.   (Rep by Sri.P.Leeladhara Thakur, Advocate for OP No.1, Sri. P.S. Manjunath, Advocate for OP No.2)

SRI. T.N. SREENIVASAIAH. PRESIDENT.

ORDER

The complainant has filed a complaint U/s 12 of C.P. Act 1986 against the OPs for a direction to the OPs to refund Rs.85,041/- with interest at the rate of 18% p.a, Rs.20,000/- towards mental and physical strain and Rs.10,000/- towards costs and such other relief.

2.     The brief facts of the case of the complainant are that, he is having S.B A/c bearing No.0479101031948 with the OP No.1 Bank.  It is submitted that, he is a heart patient and admitted to Columbia Hospital, Yeshavanthpur, Bangalore.  As per the advice and instructions of Senior Doctors again admitted to Fortis Hospital, Cunningham Road, Bangalore in the month of October-2015.  As per the instructions of the complainant, his son Praveen Kumar. R.H went to Canara Bank Branch ATM, Chitradurga to withdraw the money and he shocked and surprised because of available balance showing only Rs.22.23.  He suddenly checked with Mini statement which reflects the transaction for the period from 06.12.2015 to 12.12.2015 as under:

Canara Bank

WSG-JOGIMATTI ROAD

DATE      TIME     TERM

12/1/2015  20:44  0479W002

CARD >>>>>>>>>>>>>>3492

ACCT-NO SAVINGS >>>>>1948

RECORD NO.   8267

MINI STATEMENT

12-12-15  AMAZON SEL 78.00D

11-12-15 AMAZON SEL 325.00D

09-12-15 EBAY INDIA        276.55D

08-12-15 EBAY INDIA        344.00D

07-12-15 EBAY INDIA        270.00D

06-12-15  AMAZON SEL 28112.00D

06-12-15 EBAY INDIA 27818.00D

06-12-15 EBAY INDIA 27818.00D

03-12-15 ATM CASH     3000.00D

02-12-15 ATM CASH   10000.00D

LEDGER AALANCE:      Rs.100.23

AVAIL BALNCE:              Rs.22.23

 

 

        It is further submitted that, he raised several complaints with regard to loss of money and gave a complaint on 14.12.2015 and also filed a complaint before the Police on the same day.  It is further submitted that, he has not enable net banking, mobile banking and also not shared PIN or ATM Card to any third person and did not give any purchase order through online till date or before he did not purchase any kind of materials on the above said transaction dates with regard to the loss of money nearly Rs.85,041/-.  It is further submitted that, he reported about the same to OP No.1 several times over phone and also in person but, OP No.1 did not repay the amount and postponed the issue on one or the other pretext.  It is further submitted that, he sent a registered legal notice on 26.12.2015 to OP demanding to pay Rs.85,041/- with interest at the rate of 18% p.a and to pay legal charges of Rs.10,000/- and also sent legal notices to OP No.2 and 3 on the same day to give entire details with regard to the above said transactions and OP No.1 sent a denial reply on 11.01.2016 but, it did not come forward to refund the amount, which is a deficiency of service on the part of OPs so, he sustained financial loss and mental agony and etc., and prayed for allow the complaint.

 

3. On service of notice OP No.1 before this Forum through Advocate Sri. P. Leeladhar Takur and filed version. OP No.2 appeared through Sri… P.S. Manjunath, Advocate and filed version.

OP No.1 filed version admitting about holding of the S.B Account bearing No.0479101031948 by the complainant and not disputed about the mini statement showing the transactions and balance in the account of the complainant for the period from 06.12.2015 to 12.12.2015.  It is denied that, complainant raised a complaint with regard to the loss of money several times.  It is true that, complainant gave a complaint, for which OP No.1 issued acknowledgement on 14.12.2015.  It is further submitted that, it has no knowledge about the net banking, mobile banking and purchase of materials through online with regard to the said amount of Rs.85,041/- and it is not responsible to make any payment.  It is true that, the complainant issued legal notice on 26.12.2015 demanding payment of Rs.85,041/- with interest and legal charges of Rs.10,000/- and the same was suitably replied.  It is further submitted that, the ATM Card issued to the customers to enable them for early banking and the data card issued to them is strictly personal and confidential and when once the ATM card is issued to the customer the bank will have no say on that matter.  It is further submitted that, the complainant has not properly made use the ATM Card which has resulted in the loss of money and OP No.1 is not responsible for the money which he lost and complainant himself is solely responsible for the said lost and there is no deficiency of service on the part of OP No.1 and prayed for dismissal of the complaint with exemplary cost. 

4.     OP No.2 filed version and denied the averments made in para 1 to 10 of the complaint.  It is stated that, the personal details of customers of the OP No.2 are confidential and cannot be traced out with the details of debit card and also unable to trace out the details of any transaction without the order ID number and the complainant is the victim of cyber crime wherein his bank account or debit card has been hacked.  It is further submitted that, complainant has been careless and has not safeguarded his confidential debit card details, so his card has been apparently misused.  It is further submitted that the complainant neither bought any product nor availed any services from OP No.2, the complainant is not a consumer, therefore, there is no deficiency of service on the part of OP No.2 and therefore, this OP No.2 cannot held liable for the cyber crime committed by some unknown person who shall be punished as per law after detailed investigation by the Police and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.                      

5. Complainant himself examined as PW-1 by filing affidavit evidence and documents are marked at Ex.A-1 to Ex.A-8. 

6.     On behalf of OP No.1 one Sri. P. Ramaswamy, the Senior Manager examined as DW-1 and On behalf of OP No.2 one Sri. Rashul Sundaram, Senior Corporate Counsel  (Litigation)  by filing affidavit evidence taken  as DW-2 by filing affidavit evidence and documents are marked at Ex.B-1 to Ex.B-3.     

        7. Arguments heard.

 

8. Now the Points that arise for our consideration for the decision of the complaint are that:

 

Point No.1:- Whether the complaint proves that, OPs hace committed deficiency of service and he is entitled for compensation as stated in his complaint?

 

Point No.2:- What order?

 

        9. Our findings on the above points are as follows:

 

        Point No.1:- Partly Affirmative.

        Point No.2:- As per the final order.

 

                                        ::REASONS::

 

10. Point No. 1:- It is not in dispute that, complainant is having S.B A/c bearing No.0479101031948 with the OP No.1 Bank.  He is a heart patient and admitted to Fortis Hospital, Cunningham Road, Bangalore in the month of     October-2015.  As per his instructions, his son Praveen Kumar. R.H went to Canara Bank Branch ATM, Chitradurga to withdraw the money and shocked and surprised as the available balance showing only Rs.22.23.  He raised several complaints with regard to loss of money and gave a complaint on 14.12.2015 and also filed a complaint before the Police on the same day.  He has not enable net banking, mobile banking and also not shared PIN or ATM Card to any third person and did not give any purchase order through online till date or before he did not purchase any kind of materials with regard to the loss of money nearly Rs.85,041/-.  He informed about debiting of the above said amount to OP No.1 several times over phone and also in person but, OP No.1 did not repay the amount and postponed the issue on one or the other pretext.  He sent a registered legal notice on 26.12.2015 to OP No.1 demanding to pay Rs.85,041/- with interest at the rate of 18% p.a and to pay legal charges of Rs.10,000/- and also sent legal notices to OP No.2 and 3 on the same day to give entire details with regard to the transactions with them and OP No.1 sent a denial reply on 11.01.2016 but, it did not come forward to refund the amount, which is a deficiency of service on the part of OPs. and therefore, filed a complaint.

  

11.  In support of his contentions,  complainant has relied on his affidavit evidence in which he has reiterated the contents of complaint.  Complainant has also relied on documents like certified copy of Pass Book and statment marked as Ex.A-1, certified copy of FIR and complaint marked as Ex.A-2, certified copy of legal notice dated 16.12.2015 marked as Ex.A-3, certified copy of Hospital records marked as Ex.A-4, Reply notice dated 07.01.2016 marked as Ex.A-5, Postal acknowledgements marked as Ex.A-6 to 8 and they are not in dispute. 

 

12.   On the other hand OP No.1 filed version admitted about holding of S.B Account bearing No.0479101031948 by the complainant and not disputed about the mini statement showing the transactions and balance in the account of the complainant for the period from 06.12.2015 to 12.12.2015 but denied that, complainant raised a complaint with regard to the loss of money several times.  It is admitted that, complainant gave a complaint, for which OP No.1 issued acknowledgement on 14.12.2015 and it has no knowledge about the net banking, mobile banking and purchase of materials through online with regard to the amount of Rs.85,041/- and it is not responsible to make any payment.  It is also admitted by the OP No.1 that, the complainant issued legal notice on 26.12.2015 demanding payment of Rs.85,041/- with interest and legal charges of Rs.10,000/- and the same was suitably replied.  It is argued that the ATM Card issued to the customers to enable them for early banking and the data card issued to them is strictly personal and confidential and when once the ATM card is issued to the customer the bank will have no say on that matter.  The complainant has not properly made use the ATM Card which has resulted in the loss of money and OP No.1 is not responsible for the money which he lost and he himself is solely responsible for the said loss and there is no deficiency of service on the part of OP No.1.

13.  In support of its contentions,  OP No.1 has relied on the affidavit evidence of its Senior Manager in which he has reiterated the contents of version.  OP No.2 has relied on the affidavit evidence of its Senior Corporate Counsel (Litigation) Sri. Rahul Sundaram and the documents like Authority letter marked as Ex.B-1, Board Resolution Copy marked as Ex.B-2 and Terms and conditions of the company marked as Ex.B-3.

   

14.   We have carefully gone through the complaint, version and affidavits and the records submitted by both the parties.  According to the complainant, he is having an Account with Canara Bank, Chitradurga bearing No.0479101031948.  In the said account he was having an amount of Rs.85,041/-.  He was suffering from heart problem and admitted in the Columbia Hospital, Yashwanthpur, Bangalore and as per the advice of Senior Doctor, again he was admitted to Fortis Hospital, Cunningham Road, Bangalore for heart bypass surgery in the month of October 2015.  As he requires money, he informed his son Praveen Kumar. R to withdraw money from his account through ATM No.9, Canara Bank Branch, Chitradurga.  His son shocked and surprised by seeing the balance of Rs.22.23 only in the above said account.  Suddenly he obtained mini statement from the said ATM as shown above.

 

15.   Again the son of the complainant intimated the same to the Manager, Canara Bank, Chitradurga but, the Manager has not taken any steps to set right the same and he has not tried to refund the amount.  After discharge from the Hospital, the complainant lodged a complaint before the concerned Police and  the investigation was going on but, the OP No.1 never take any steps to settle the problem of the complainant.  Again, the complainant issued legal notice to OP No.1 but, OP No.1 never take any steps to settle the matter or tried to refund the amount of the complainant.  Therefore, the complainant lodged this complaint before this Forum for redressal. 

 

16.   OP No.1 taken a contention that, the complainant lodged a complaint before the concerned Police and the same is pending for investigation and this complaint is pre-mature one.  It is the contention of the OP No.1 that, the customer will have no right to give ATM Card to anybody.  But, herein the complainant has given the ATM Card to his own son only not to others and also he has not purchased any kind of materials through online or withdraw any amount nearly for Rs.85,041/- as shown in the mini statement. The OP No.1 never come forward to solve the problem of the complainant, which shows the deficiency of service, for which the complainant should not be suffered even though he has not purchased any kind of materials through online or withdraw the money from the ATM.   Therefore, we come to the conclusion that, OP No.1 has played an unfair trade practice and committed deficiency of service towards the complainant.  Hence, the complainant is entitled for compensation as claimed.  As per the memo filed by the complainant dated 03.08.2016, the complaint as against OP No.2 and 3 is dispensed with and complainant against OP Nos.2 and 3 is liable to be dismissed.  Accordingly, this Point No.1 is held as partly Affirmative to the complainant.

 

14.   Point No.2:- For the foregoing reasons, we pass the following.

ORDER

The complaint filed by the complainant U/s 12 of CP Act 1986 is partly allowed.

It is ordered that, the OP No.1 is hereby directed to pay a sum of Rs.85,041/- along with interest at the rate of 9% p.a from the date of complaint till realization. 

 It is further ordered that, the OP No.1 is hereby directed to pay Rs.5,000/- towards mental agony and Rs.5,000/- towards costs of this proceeding to the complainant.

In view of the memo filed by the complainant on 03.08.2016 complaint as against OP No.2 and 3 is dismissed.

It is further ordered that, the OP No.1 is hereby  directed to comply the above said order within two months. 

 

        (This order is made with the consent of Member after the correction of the draft on 05/10/2016 and it is pronounced in the open Court after our signatures)

 

 

 

MEMBER                                                 PRESIDENT

 

-:ANNEXURES:-

Witness examined on behalf of Complainant:

Complainant by filing affidavit evidence taken as PW-1

Witness examined on behalf of OPs:

DW-1:- Sri. P. Ramaswamy, the Senior Manager.

DW-2:-Sri. Rashul Sundaram, Senior Corporate Counsel (Litigation)

Documents marked on behalf of Complainant:

01	Ex-A-1:-	Certified copy of Pass Book and statement
02	Ex-A-2:-	Certified copy of FIR and complaint
03	Ex-A-3:-	Copy of the legal notice dated 16.12.2015
04	Ex-A-4:-	Certified copy of Hospital records
05	Ex-A-5:-	Reply notice dated 07.01.2016
06	Ex.A-6 to 8:-	Postal acknowledgements

Documents marked on behalf of Opponent:

01	Ex-B-1:-	Authority letter to one Rahul Sundaram
02	Ex-B-2:-	Board Resolution Copy
03	Ex-B-3:-	Terms and conditions of the company

 

 

MEMBER                                                 PRESIDENT

Rhr.