SBI sends bill to customer despite expiry of credit card; details inside

A consumer forum in Delhi has instructed SBI Cards & Payments Services Pvt. Ltd. to compensate a person with Rs 2 lakh, as reported by news agency PTI. The forum came up with this decision because SBI Cards & Payments Services repeatedly sent the customer bills despite the expiry of his card and subsequently blacklisting him due to non-payment of charges. The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, consisting of President Monika A Srivastava and members Kiran Kausal and Umesh Kumar Tyagi, has ruled in favour of MJ Anthony, a former journalist, and directed the company to compensate him for deficiency in providing services. On 20 May, the forum issued the order in response to Anthony’s complaint seeking compensation. As reported by PTI, he asserted that he had made a request to the company in April 2016, prior to the card’s expiration, asking them not to renew it and to cancel it instead. He stated that he ceased using the card for any transactions after 9 April 2016, and followed the necessary procedures to destroy the card in accordance with the rules. In September, he received a letter from the company confirming the cancellation of his card. However, despite his protest emails, the company continued to send him bills associated with the card. He further mentioned that the accumulated bills amounted to Rs 2,946 by 18 May 2017, including late payment charges and penalties. He mentioned in the letter that the company had advised him to settle the bill, or else it would negatively affect his credit history recorded by the credit bureau and could hinder his ability to obtain credit in the future. The company added his name to the CIBIL system, which keeps track of wilful defaulters as per Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) records, resulting in difficulties for him in obtaining loans or credit cards. The company, however, refuted the accusations during the dispute. The consumer forum observed that the company had placed Anthony’s name on the wilful defaulters list in the CIBIL system. This action led to the denial of his credit card applications at another bank, despite maintaining regular accounts there for almost 20 years. The forum said that SBI Cards & Payments Services Pvt. Ltd. has exhibited a deficiency in providing services to the complainant. It added that although the monetary value of the damage caused to the complainant’s credit rating cannot be accurately assessed, the imposition of punitive damages against the opposite party is warranted. Therefore, the forum stated that the opposite party is instructed to compensate the complainant by paying a sum of Rs 2 lakh as compensation within two months from the date of this order. Failure to comply with this directive will result in an increased amount of Rs 3 lakh payable, as clarified by the forum. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.