Man Wins Rs 7,000 Compensation After Axis Bank Deactivates Credit Card Without Notice

A retired banker from Bengaluru’s BTM Layout – Mohan, has received Rs 7,000 compensation from Axis Bank after facing serious issues with his credit card. The case came to light after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) ombudsman office reviewed his complaint and found service lapses on the part of the bank.

Case Background

Mohan had been using his Axis Bank credit card regularly to pay for monthly bills, streaming subscriptions, and other services. However, in December 2024, his payments suddenly started failing. At first, he thought it was a network issue. On contacting customer care, he was informed that the problem was temporary and would be resolved soon. But despite repeated attempts, his card did not work, and the issue continued.

Later, Mohan discovered that Axis Bank had deactivated his old credit card before the new one was delivered and activated. To make matters worse, the replacement card was mistakenly sent to his former workplace, Canara Bank, where he had not worked for the past five years.

When he tried to update his address with Axis Bank, he was asked to complete fresh Know Your Customer (KYC) formalities, even though his residential address had not changed. Customer care responses were confusing and inconsistent, and no proper solution was offered.

Escalation to RBI Ombudsman

Frustrated with the lack of help, Mohan filed a complaint on February 3, 2025, with the RBI’s ombudsman office on Nrupathunga Road in Bengaluru. He alleged deficiency of service by Axis Bank.

The RBI Ombudsman is a grievance redressal system set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to resolve complaints of customers against banks, NBFCs, and payment service providers. Customers first complain to the bank/NBFC. If not resolved within 30 days, they can approach the Ombudsman.

During the investigation, Axis Bank admitted its mistake. The bank said that due to a “technology gap”, the old card was cancelled before the new one reached Mohan. The bank also accepted that insisting on KYC in this case was unnecessary, since his address was already updated.

The ombudsman found that Mohan had faced avoidable inconvenience and financial stress because of Axis Bank’s internal failure. On August 12, 2025, the ombudsman ordered Axis Bank to pay him Rs 7,000 as compensation.