Wrongful Deduction Of Money From Credit Account, Jaipur District Commission Holds SBI Liable For Deficiency In Service

Brief Facts:

The Complainant had a credit card issued by the State Bank of India (“SBI”). The Complainant made timely payments to SBI on this card. On February 13, 2014, SBI debited Rs. 6,999/- from the Complainant's account without any legal basis, even though he did not make any purchases, and there was no outstanding payment which was due. Upon inquiry, SBI informed the Complainant that the amount of Rs. 6,999/- was wrongly deducted and assured correction without a recurrence. Despite repeated attempts by the Complainant, no action was taken by SBI. Feeling aggrieved, the Complainant approached the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, Jaipur (I) (“District Commission”) and filed a consumer complaint against SBI.

In response, SBI asserted that it did not debit Rs. 6,999/- from the Complainant's account without legal justification. SBI claimed that all transactions with the Complainant were secured with three-dimensional secure (3D Secure) technology, and a one-time password (OTP) was sent to the registered mobile before any transaction. It argued that since the OTP was exclusive to the Complainant, it cannot be held responsible for any transaction on the Complainant's account.

Observations by the District Commission:

The District Commission noted that despite the Complainant's attempts to rectify the error, SBI provided false assurances to resolve the issue. It held that SBI didn't provide any evidence to support its claim that all transactions were secured through 3D Secure technology and required a one-time password (OTP) sent to the registered mobile before completion. Therefore, the District Commission held SBI liable for deficiency in services.

Consequently, the District Commission directed SBI to Complainant the amount of Rs.6,999/- with 9% annual interest from the date of filing the complaint, starting from 02.06.2014. SBI was also directed to pay a compensation of Rs.2,000/- to the Complainant along with Rs.1,000/- for the litigation costs incurred by him.