Complaints pertaining to cash withdrawal and exchange of old notes faced post demonetisation cannot be entertained under the Banking Ombudsman (BO) scheme, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
“Demonetisation is not one of the 27 grounds under which a customer can lodge a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman,” said RBI.
During the demonetisation period, people faced a lot of problems in form of restrictions on withdrawal of currency notes and exchanging of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that were withdrawn with immediate effect from midnight of November 8, 2016.
A” lot many complaints came to banks during the demonetisation period and the lenders tried to resolve them to the extent possible, barring a few,” said Harvinder Singh, Secretary General, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC).
“Many complaints came through emails, letters, phone calls and through personal visits. Even complaints were made directly to the Department of Financial Services,” Singh said.
The banking ombudsman scheme handles several complaints related to shortcomings in banking including Internet banking or other services, non-adherence to the instructions of the RBI on ATM/debit cards and prepaid card operations.
In addition to this it covers complaints pertaining to non-adherence by the bank or the subsidiaries of RBI guidelines on credit card operations, non-adherence of norms related to mobile banking or electronic banking, non-disbursement or delay in disbursement of pension among others.
