Man loses Rs 60,000 as card not blocked despite complaint, bank to pay Rs 90,000

Multiple unauthorised transactions

According to the complainant, he had received an ATM card from the bank on October 22, 2018, and went to an ATM outside the bank branch to activate it and generate a PIN. Two unidentified persons were present inside the ATM cabin and offered to help him when he faced difficulty operating the machine. The complainant alleged that the two persons came to know his PIN, exchanged his debit card with another card and handed the latter back to him.

The following day, the complainant allegedly received an SMS informing him that Rs 25,000 had been withdrawn from his account. He immediately contacted the bank’s card helpline and got the card deactivated.

A complaint number was issued to him and he was allegedly assured that the card had been blocked and could not be misused further. However, later that evening, he received two further alerts showing debits of Rs 50,000 and Rs 10,000 through a debit card.

The bank subsequently informed him that four different debit cards had been issued in connection with his account, although he claimed to have received only one. He deactivated the other cards and also reported the matter to the police.

The complainant moved consumer commission seeking refund and compensation. The bank, however, argued that the complainant himself had handed over his card and PIN information to unknown persons and had ignored repeated warnings not to disclose such details. It contended that the loss resulted from his own negligence and that the bank could not be held responsible for the subsequent misuse of the card.

The commission noted the complainant’s submission that he was not claiming Rs 25,000 which were debited by way of first transaction as there was negligence on his part by in sharing the details of his debit card however, the two subsequent transactions took place after the debit card was blocked.

Examining the evidence, the commission held that the complainant successfully proved that he immediately registered complaint and got his ATM card de-activated but the bank failed to act upon the said complaint which led to an unauthorised withdrawal of Rs 60,000.

The commission therefore directed the bank to refund Rs 60,000 debited as unauthorised transactions and pay compensation of Rs 30,000 to the complainant within 30 days.

Takeaway

Banks can be held liable for unauthorised transactions that occur after a customer has promptly reported fraud and the bank has assured them that the debit card has been blocked. In this case, although the consumer admitted negligence in initially sharing his card details with strangers, the commission held that the bank was responsible for the subsequent Rs 60,000 loss because it failed to act on the card-blocking request.

For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and union territories or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.

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