Court orders SBI to refund amount deducted from customer’s credit card

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-I, Jaipur (Rajasthan) bench, consisting of Shri Subesingh Yadav (President) and Shrimati Neelam Sharma (Member), recently ruled that the State Bank of India (SBI) was liable for deficiency in service. The commission found SBI guilty of wrongfully deducting money from the complainant’s account and failing to resolve the issue.

Brief Facts

The complainant held a credit card issued by SBI and made timely payments on it. However, on February 13, 2014, SBI debited Rs. 6,999/- from the complainant’s account without any legal basis. The complainant did not make any purchases, and there were no outstanding payments due. Despite the complainant’s attempts to rectify the error, SBI provided false assurances and failed to resolve the issue. Feeling aggrieved, the complainant filed a consumer complaint against SBI with the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, Jaipur (I).

In response, SBI claimed that it did not wrongfully deduct Rs. 6,999/- from the complainant’s account. SBI argued 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. SBI contended that since the OTP was exclusive to the complainant, it could not 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 failed to provide any evidence to support its claim that all transactions were secured through 3D Secure technology and required an OTP sent to the registered mobile. Based on this, the District Commission held SBI liable for deficiency in services.

Commission’s Decision

As a result of the ruling, the District Commission directed SBI to refund the complainant the amount of Rs. 6,999/- with 9% annual interest from the date of filing the complaint, starting from 02.06.2014. Additionally, SBI was ordered to pay a compensation of Rs. 2,000/- to the complainant and Rs. 1,000/- for the litigation costs incurred by the complainant.