Senior citizen’s debit card not activated for 1.5 years, bank told to pay her Rs 15,000

The complainant claimed she maintained a savings account with the bank and received a new debit card in August 2022. However, she was unable to use it because she could not generate the Green PIN through the methods prescribed by the bank.

According to the complaint, the bank had closed all its ATMs and required customers to generate the PIN through internet banking, mobile banking, the bank’s mobile business correspondent or its Jyoti application. The complainant, citing security concerns, chose not to use the internet or mobile banking and repeatedly requested the bank to issue a system-generated physical PIN or provide an alternative method of activation.

It was alleged that over the next 18 months, she sent multiple emails and reminders, visited the branch several times, and even attempted biometric and facial authentication, but these efforts failed.

The bank, meanwhile, continued to respond that the matter had been forwarded to the concerned team or advised her to register for digital banking. In December 2023, the bank informed her that it followed a “digital and paperless policy” and therefore did not issue physical debit card PINs.

The complainant thereafter sought copies of various internal policies and clarifications relating to Aadhaar authentication, closure of ATMs and the bank’s refusal to issue physical PINs, but alleged that no substantive response was provided. Feeling aggrieved, she approached the consumer commission.

The bank denied all the allegations made by the complainant and stated that the complaint was not maintainable.

‘Pattern of assurances, no redressal’

• The commission found that while the bank was entitled to frame operational policies, those policies could not deprive a customer of the effective use of a banking facility already issued to her.
• It observed that the complainant had been relentlessly pursuing her grievance from September 2022 onwards, whereas the bank merely kept the matter pending without providing an effective resolution. A “pattern of assurances” was noted, rather than actual redressal.
• The issuance of a debit card necessarily carries with it a corresponding obligation to provide a practical and accessible mechanism enabling the customer to activate and operate the card, which the bank failed to discharge.
• A consumer cannot be expected to endlessly send reminders and representations merely to avail a usual service. Such prolonged inaction, administrative indifference and ineffective customer support clearly amount to deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Relief ordered

While declining the complainant’s request for production of the bank’s internal policies and other documents, the commission held that its jurisdiction was confined to adjudicating consumer disputes and awarding compensation for deficiency in service.

“This Commission cannot assume the role of an information-disclosure authority for production of internal policies and records unless such disclosure is indispensable for adjudication of the consumer dispute before it,” the order read.
The commission held the bank liable to compensate the complainant for the mental agony, physical hardships, and inconvenience. It directed the bank to provide a compensation Rs 10,000 along with Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs. The bank has been directed to comply with the order within 30 days, failing which the awarded amounts will carry interest at 6 per cent per annum until payment.

Takeaway

The ruling highlights that issuing a debit card carries a corresponding obligation to provide a practical and accessible means of activating and using it, particularly where customers are unable or unwilling to use digital channels. The decision also highlights that prolonged inaction, repetitive assurances and failure to offer an effective solution, especially in the case of a senior citizen, constitute deficiency in service.

For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and union territories (Puducherry: 180-0425-1082) or call the National Consumer Helpline on 1915 for assistance.