Customer did not receive subsidy for Education Loan, Forum orders SBI to pay Rs 1.15 lakh
The Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum – II directed the Nakrekal branch of State Bank of India (SBI) to reimburse Rs 1,15,923 and pay Rs 15,000 as compensation to a customer on the grounds of deficiency of service and unfair trade practice.
In addition, SBI will also have to pay Rs 5,000 towards the costs of the litigation.The complainant, Dara Kranthi Chandra, was pursuing his PhD when he approached the branch for an education loan of Rs 4,20,000. The bank granted a moratorium for a period of four years and a holiday period of one year.
The complainant had to repay the loan with interest in 60 EMIs and was entitled to the Central Sector Interest Subsidy scheme.
In 2019, the complainant was informed that he had not commenced the repayment of EMIs and that the dues amount to Rs 7,00,000 as against the sanctioned loan amount. He was also informed that he was not eligible for the subsidy.
When the complainant sent an email to Canara Bank, the nodal bank for the subsidy scheme, seeking clarification over his eligibility, he was informed that SBI got a CSIS subsidy to his loan account for the first year only and no subsidy was received thereafter.
The consumer forum found that this is a clear case of deficiency of service that led to the adoption of unfair trade practices.
Due to this, the complainant had to bear an expense of Rs 38, 641 per year for the financial years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. The forum informed the bank that the time for compliance is 45 days from the date of receipt of the order.