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consumers
beware!
The Reserve Bank guidelines to banks clearly state that they have to issue the statement of accounts once a month and that they should not charge the customer for it. If you look at the Master Circular on Customer Service in Banks, issued by the regulator on July 2, 2012, you will see a detailed reference to it. So please quote from that to your bank and tell them that they have to comply with the regulator's directives. If they fail to do that, you can complain to the RBI and also to the Banking Ombudsman. If you prefer, you can also opt for a passbook instead of a statement sent by the bank. Can a customer insist on a bank issuing a passbook instead of the statement of accounts? I prefer the passbook for the simple reason that it is easy to preserve and I can get it updated as and when I want it. A printed statement, on the other hand, gets misplaced easily and worse, sometimes it does not reach me at all (thanks to the poor courier service). What can I do?
The banking regulator has clearly instructed all banks that in case of individual savings bank accounts, customers can opt for a passbook or a statement of accounts and their choice should be respected by the bank. And they should not charge for either facility. You will find this in the Master Circular on Customer Service, issued by the Reserve Bank of India on July 2, 2012. Let me quote the relevant portion for your benefit: "It has come to our notice that some banks are not issuing passbooks to their savings banks account holders (individuals) and only issuing a computer-generated account statement even when the customer desires the passbook facility. Banks are therefore advised to strictly adhere to the extant instructions". Again, in the Master Circular on Customer Service issued on July 1, 2013, the regulator says that "Banks should invariably offer passbook facility to all (individual ) savings bank account holders". If you want to find the master circular, go to the RBI website: www.rbi.org.in and on the right side, you will find an icon saying "For Common Person". Click on it and a new page opens. Here on the left top of the page, you will see the link to "useful Information". Click on that and you will see a link to RBI regulations and from there you will have to click on master circulars. (Considering how important this master circular is to consumers, RBI should in fact make it easier for consumers to access it) Please refer this to the bank and ask them to comply with the RBI instructions. If they fail to do that, you can complain to the Banking Ombudsman. Complaints pertaining to non-compliance of the regulator's instructions come under the purview of the Ombudsman. However, before doing that, write to the Nodal officer of the bank (that's a pre-requisite for filing a complaint before the Ombudsman) and if he fails to resolve the problem, go to the Ombudsman. You can complain online (www.bankingombudsman.rbi.org.in)
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I have a savings account in an Indian private bank. They send the statement of accounts only once in three months and as a result, I find it very difficult to know the transactions in my bank or the balance in my account. Several times I have found mistakes in the account and I have asked the manager to send the statement at least once a month, but he is not listening. I do not use electronic banking for fear of hacking. What do I do?
