Case Study (HDFC Bank) - Salary on Hold

Customer Says:

I have my salary account with HDFC bank, and i also had a credit card from them. In the last year i had become irregular in repaying the credit card dues due to severe illness of my mother. This month the Bank has frozen my salary account and withdrew all the money that I got as my salary without my authorization. I also offered them for a settlement option and repaying the whole amount in monthly installments. However, the collection dept of the bank did not agree to that. I want to know if these banks have got the right to do something like this. And if this is not authorized by RBI what are the actions I can take.

AskPranav Says:

In the Credit Card applications form Terms & Conditions there is a condition whichs says that the Credit Card Bank has a "Right to Lien" on the Salary Account you have with them, which also effectively means that if you do not pay your Credit Card dues, they can deduct the amount from your Salary Account without informing you of the same.

This is a standard practise in most banks where they issue credit cards basis Salary Accounts. I do not think that there is much you / anybody can do as the bank is covered on this.
You can read the Terms & Conditions of HDFC Bank for clarifications. I am sure that the "Right to Lien" clause is included.

For interesting information on Banking and Credit Cards do read the following blog.http://www.simplybank.blogspot.com/

Warm Regards.
Pranav

Case Study (Barclays Credit Card) - No Statements Sent but Charges Levied

Customer Says

I was holding Barclays credit card 4339481234567890 which was given on some promotion. I commited a mistake of using this card on 18-11-2007 for purchase of Rs 2174.00. I did not recieve any statement for this.Instead i recieved a call for payment. I was shocked but I was assured that any late payment charges shall be reveresed.Subsequently I sent payment of RS.2200 which was duly credited to my a/c on 28-12-2007.

But the bank kept on calling & sending statements inspite of card being suspended. Finally on 28-06-2008 AARTI came on line to inform that late payment charges can not be waived. I asked for supervisor & Mr Ranjit (Supervisor as told to me ) THAT HE CANNOT TAKE ANY REQUEST OR COMPLAINT ON A SUSPENDED CARD. I IMMEDIATELY ASKED HIM IF THEY CANNOT TAKE ANY COMPLAINT THEN HOW THE BANK CAN CHARGE INTREST OR OTHER CHARGES ON SUSPENDED CARD.i ASKED FOR MY COMPLAINT NO WHICH WAS 1897164 DT 28-06-2009.

Mr Ranjit told me to check status after few days. On 10-07-2009 Rashmi told me that this is not a complaint no but a REF>NO> ONLY. IT WAS SUCH A SHOCKING EXPERIENCE. Looking forward for early redressal.

Ask.Pranav Says:

This is a standard complaint received from most users of Barclaycards. The Statement Process is poor and the charge reversal policy is also not implemented properly. You need to do the following.

(1) Write to the E-Mail ID provided on the website which is service@brclays.com
(2) If you do not get a response write to the Nodal Officer which is Mrs.Meera Rawat and her Contact ID is provided on the website
(3) If she does not respond, write to the Banking Ombudsman for help \

It is very important that you remember the dates on which you spoke to the bank and all the written communication and have copies of the same. It is important that you submit the same to the Ombudsman when you do not receive a satisfactory response from the Bank for 45 days.

I suggest you do not waste any time reasoning out with the Barclaycard Contact Centre folks. It is an absolute waste of time. Just patiently make your point, record your call and hang-up
Also do visit the following website on http://www.simplybank.blogspot.com There are several articles on Credit Cards posted here which may be of use to you

Case Study (SBI Credit Cards) - Rs.500 Late Patyment Fees on Outstanding Less than 50 Paise

Customer Says: SBI Credit Card

HARRASSMENT BY APPLYING UNJUSTIFIED CHARGES: I was using the SBI GOLD card no. 431751234567890 from 2006 to JULY-2007. In one of the payment i made payment of the amount excluding the fractional amount, e.g. Billed Amount was 884.23Rs. & made payment of only 884Rs. to make it round figure. But in the next months statement the bank charged me late fees for the remaining 23 paisa.

When I requested their customer care executive for reversal of the same he refused to do so. I stopped making payment of that late fee, and repeatedly requested customer care to consider it, but all in vain. The same is going on and the latest amount due against the card in the month of June -09 is of 2476.90 Rs. Now I am fed up of talking with customer care department, as they are not at all ready to understand my issue. Sir, I want to bring it to your notice that if really I wanted to cheat the bank, I would have used the card further also as the credit limit over my card was of Rs 52,000, but I never did that. You can even verify my track record before this incidence. I hereby request you to please look into this matter kindly and give me the reversal of the amount whatever you charged me. Otherwise it will be a big injustice with me.

Ask.Pranav Says:

Hi, I faced a similar problem with my Barclaycard. The issue is that most Credi Cad issuers allow a short Payment of Rs.100 on the Total Amount Due. If you pay Rs.100 less than your Total Amount Due, you will still not be charged any Interest.

However Banks likeSBI Card and Barclays do not follow this practise. Hence all customers have to be very careful and ensure that the full amount de is paid to the nearest Paisa. I suggest you do the following.

(1) Register a Case with the Banking Ombudsman stating that you had not paid a few paise and the Late Payment Fee Charged has been Rs.500+ for a short Payment of 23 paisa.Word the letter saying that the Late payment Fee cannot be 1000% of the Payment Outstanding
(2) My bigger worry for you is that by now, they would have reported your name to the Credit Beureau completely ruining your Credit Card. Fo more details on what this means you can visit the following article which explains what a Credit Beureau is.
http://simplybank.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-is-cibil-credit-bureau-and-why-is.html

I suggest you pay off the amount and close the matter as it is very important to have a good Credit Record these days. For any further clarifications you can write to me at Ask.Pranav@Gmail.com or visit my Blogsite on http://www.simplybank.blogspot.com I am sure you will find some articles of use out here.

Case Study (Kotak Credit Cards) - Cheque Encashed but Payment not Received

Customer Says:

I have issued a cheque # 123456 (SBI, HPS Branch) for Rs 297.90 as payment towards my credit card dt 06/10/2009 & dropped it in Kotak ATM located at Begumpet, Hyderabad on 06/10/2009. However, I received a call from Kotak Cards call centre that the payment is outstanding. The debit of the referred cheque from my SBI account updated. I request you to kindly sort out the issue at the earliest

Ask.Pranav Says:

This is a very simple issue for resolution. You need to proceed as follows.

(1) Call the Kotak Contact Centre and fax them a copy of your Bank Statement which clear reflects the Charge Debit and Chequ Number. Also check that you had written the Card Number correctly
(2) They will have to reverse out all charges (Late payment as well as Interest)
(3) If they refuse write to Nodal Officer and then to Banking Ombudsman and keep all the documentation.

If what you are saying is correct, you have a very strong case and you cannot lose. Do let me know if you need any further clarifications. Feel free to write to me at Ask.Pranav@Gmail.Com
You can find very useful information on Credit Cards on the following Blogsite. Do go through and let me know your comments.

http://www.simplybank.blogspot.com/

Introducing Customer Case Studies

The objective of this blog was to empower and educate customers on the issues that they experience on their Credit Cards. However basis the mails I receive from readers, I have found out that I need to start helping customers resolve the specific problems that they face with their Banks.

As a result, I am starting a Case Study series where I will publish sample customer complaints that I receive and the resolution as proposed by me, hoping that readers can read these case studies and take up the issues with the banks.

So do continue to write to me with the specific issues you face (and how you feel your bank is cheating you :) ) and if the complaint is representative, I will publish the same with the resolution so that other customers can benefit from it as well.

Having worked closely with 2 Credit Card Issuers in the last 4 years especially from a Customer Service perspective, I think this is an area where the customers need help

Feel free to write in to Ask.Pranav@Gmail.Com with comments / issues if any