RBI orders bank to give couple Rs 20,000 as compensation for mental harassment as well as Rs 187 interest on the FD
Senior couple Rama Gupta (left) and Deepak Gupta flash their bank passbook. Pic/Rajesh Gupta
The Vashi branch of Bandhan Bank had to pay Rs 20,000 in compensation to a local senior couple for refusing to credit a day’s interest on a fixed deposit they had opened. After the couple and their son relentlessly followed up with the bank and finally approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which passed an order in the couple’s favour.
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The couple, identified as Rama Gupta, 64, and her husband Deepak Gupta, residents of Kopar Khairane, has accounts with Bandhan Bank located in Vashi. The RBI’s order came following a complaint filed by the elderly couple’s son, Anuj Kumar Gupta. Anuj told mid-day that his parents had opened an FD account with the Vashi branch of the Bandhan Bank on January 15 this year through online banking, but the bank issued a receipt for January 16 instead. As per the RBI rules, banks are liable to provide interest from the date the FD is issued.
“We requested the bank multiple times to resolve the issue,” Anuj said. He added that after there was no positive response for days, on January 24, they filed an official complaint with the bank. Anuj said that the bank in its reply stated that as per internal rules, they have a time frame of 11.10 pm for the end of the day’s transactions, and since the process of FD was initiated on 11.12 pm, the couple was not eligible for interest for that particular day. Its reply further stated, “In case you are not satisfied with the resolution, you may approach the office of the Banking Ombudsman at RBI.” The family took the advice and approached the RBI office to raise their grievance.
Taking cognisance of the matter, the RBI verified all the documents and the complaint with the officers concerned of the Bandhan Bank and issued an order to provide the missing interest of Rs 187, which was credited on March 15, 2024, in addition to Rs 20,000—Rs 10,000 each—to the elderly couple as compensation for mental harassment. This amount was credited on September 19, 2024. Confirming the incident, Bandhan Bank branch manager Rikhab Chopra said, "There was a default in timing in the system for End of Day (EOD). Due to this reason, this issue was created, but now this is resolved, and the interest money was credited to the couple’s account."
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