Complaints To Banking Ombudsman Rose 27% In FY17
ATM & debit card complaints comprised 12.5% of complaints received, while credit card complaints accounted for 6.4%.
The Banking Ombudsman, which is the nodal agency for consumer complaints related to banking services, saw grievances jump by more than a quarter in the financial year 2017.
The number of complaints received by the Banking Ombudsman jumped more than 27 percent compared to the previous year, showed the annual report of the Ombudsman released on Tuesday. 1,30,987 complaints were received by 20 Offices of the Banking Ombudsmen, the report said.
Complaints have been steadily rising due to increasing consumer awareness but also because banks are unable to resolve issues swiftly.
"The rising trend of complaints, while reflecting the increasing awareness about the Banking Ombudsman, also underlines the need for banks to strengthen their internal grievance redressal mechanism," said the report.
The largest proportion of complaints were related to the failure to meet commitments, the non-observance of fair practices code and Banking Codes and Standards Board of India Codes. Such complaints accounted for 34 percent of the total.
ATM and debit card complaints comprised 12.5 percent of complaints received, while credit card complaints accounted for 6.4 percent of the grievances.
Complaints were spread evenly across most bank groups. Nationalised banks accounted for the highest number of complaints, followed by private banks and the State Bank Group.
The Offices of Banking Ombudsmen maintained a disposal rate of 92 percent, said the report. It added that it cost an average of Rs 3,780 to handle each complaint.