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Mumbai, Feb. 5 Customers can now lodge complaints related to Internet banking and non-adherence to the provisions of the fair practices code for banks, with the Banking Ombudsman, the Reserve Bank of India said in a notice issued today.

The RBI has widened the scope of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006 to include these two areas.

As per the amended scheme, the Ombudsman can award compensation not exceeding Rs 1 lakh to the complainant in case of complaints arising out of credit card operations, taking into account the loss of the complainant’s time, expenses incurred by him, and also harassment and mental anguish suffered.

Flouting the RBI’s guidelines on recovery agents by banks has also been brought under the purview of the scheme, the RBI release said.

A customer can also lodge a complaint against a bank for not following the codes of the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BSCBI), the RBI release said. The BSCBI is an independent and autonomous watchdog set up by the RBI to monitor and ensure that the codes and standards adopted by banks for rendering banking services are adhered to in true spirit.

The RBI has also simplified the format for lodging complaint to the Ombudsman. Though the complainant need not lodge his complaint in a specific format, the Scheme now provides for an easy-to-fill format for lodging complaints, in case complainants prefer to use it.

The Scheme does not include certain banking transactions such as failure to honour bank guarantee or letter of credit. These kinds of complaints are insignificant in number, the release said.

More Stories on : Consumerism | RBI & Other Central Banks

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