The Uttarakhand State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has given an important decision regarding online fraud.
The commission stated that if fraud in an online transaction is caused due to the customer’s own negligence, then the bank or digital payment platform cannot be held responsible.
The ruling was delivered in a case pertaining to Sachin Kumar, a resident of Haridwar. Sachin alleged that on November 26, he attempted to transfer Rs 25,000 from his Google Pay account, but the transaction failed. However, he claimed the amount was deducted from his bank account.
Sachin said he received some suspicious messages, and over the next two days, money was withdrawn from his account multiple times. This resulted in a total of Rs 1,06,500 being debited from his bank account. Sachin said he filed a complaint with his bank (Punjab National Bank), but when he didn’t receive a satisfactory response, he filed a case with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
The Commission held that the bank was at fault and ordered it to refund the amount to Sachin. However, the bank appealed the decision with the State Consumer Commission. During the hearing at the State Consumer Commission, it emerged that all the transactions were made using the customer’s own mobile phone.
The Commission stated in its order that “the security of the mobile phone, OTP, password, and UPI PIN is entirely the consumer’s responsibility. If someone fails to protect these details, the bank or digital app cannot be held responsible.”
The Commission also clarified that no transaction is possible on digital platforms like Google Pay without entering the correct UPI PIN. In such a case, the transaction will be deemed to have been made with the customer’s knowledge. The Commission, while setting aside the District Consumer Commission’s order, stated that the evidence and facts were not properly evaluated in the case.
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India has released a new guideline for digital frauds. RBI plans to provide compensation to victims upto Rs.25,000. This may prove to be a big relief for victims of Digital Frauds.
