Failure To Block Credit Card Leading To Unauthorized Transactions, Jodhpur District Commission Holds ICICI Bank Liable

Brief Facts:

Mr. Sumeer Singh (“Complainant”) had a bank account with ICICI Bank (“Bank”). On the evening of January 28, 2022, the Complainant received a fraudulent message on their mobile having a link. The message purported to be from the credit card issuer and fraudulently urged the Complainant to open the link to claim bonus points or rewards earned under the credit card within a stipulated time frame. The Complainant, not realizing the deception, downloaded and opened the link, subsequently entering his card details on the site it led to. Upon realizing the fraud, the Complainant did not submit the OTP, immediately called a friend and instructed him to block the credit card by contacting customer care of the bank.

Despite the Complainant's efforts to block the card, a payment of Rs 32,640 was made under his credit card. The bank's customer care was uncooperative and provided rude and faulty responses during the communication about blocking the credit card. The Complainant reported the incident to customer care but didn't receive any satisfactory response from them. Feeling aggrieved, the Complainant approached the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (II), Jodhpur (“District Commission”) and filed a consumer complaint against the bank.

The bank, in response, submitted a reply after the limitation period, which was not taken on record by the District Commission.

Observations by the District Commission:

The District Commission noted that despite the Complainant's immediate efforts to block the card and inform the bank's customer care, a payment of Rs 32,640 was made through the credit card. It held that this showed significant flaws in the service provided by the bank. Referring to the Circular dated 06 July 2017 issued by the Reserve Bank of India, the District Commission emphasized the responsibility of the bank to promptly address and prevent unauthorized transactions. The circular outlined that if the bank is informed within three working days, the account holder's liability for such transactions is zero. The District Commission emphasized the principle of zero liability for customers in cases of unauthorized withdrawals. Therefore, it held the bank liable for deficiency in services.

Consequently, the District Commission directed the bank to pay the unauthorized transaction amount of Rs 32,640/- to the Complainant. Additionally, the bank was directed to pay a compensation amount of Rs 5,000/- for the physical and mental distress suffered and litigation costs incurred by the Complainant.