A Delhi consumer forum has directed the SBI Cards & Payments Services Pvt. Ltd. to pay ₹2 lakh to a person for sending him bills even after his card’s expiry and blacklisting him for non-payment of the charges, according to the news agency PTI. The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum comprises its president Monika A Srivastava and members Kiran Kausal and Umesh Kumar Tyagi who directed the company to pay the amount to M J Anthony, a former journalist, for ‘deficiency in providing services’.
The forum noted that the company had blacklisted him in the CIBIL system of the wilful defaulters maintained by the Reserve Bank of India, which resulted in the rejection of his applications for credit cards from another bank where he had maintained regular accounts for nearly two decades.
“This Commission is of the view that the SBI Cards & Payments Services Pvt. Ltd. has been deficient in providing services to the complainant and though the damage/loss occasioned to the complainant in terms of credit rating cannot be measured in terms of money yet punitive damage ought to be awarded against OP (opposite party) therefore, OP is directed to compensate the complainant by paying a sum of ₹2 lakh as compensation within two months from the date of this order failing which the sum payable would be ₹3 lakh,” the forum said.
On May 20, the forum passed the order on Anthony’s complaint seeking compensation. He claimed that he had requested the company to cancel his card in April 2016 much before its expiry and not to renew it, PTI reported.
He said that he did not use the card for any transaction after April 9, 2016, and had destroyed the card according to the rules. “No payment was due at that time on the card.”
In September, the complainant received a letter from the company about the cancellation of his card, however, the company continued to send bills relating to the card ignoring his protest e-mails, he said.
He added that the bills were to the tune of ₹2,946 by May 18, 2017, inclusive of late payment charges and penalties, as per PTI reports.
In the same letter, he stated the company had warned him to pay the bill otherwise it would have an adverse impact on the credit history as maintained by the credit Bureau and may hamper future credit requirements.The company further blacklisted him in the CIBIL system of the wilful defaulters maintained by RBI and he had trouble getting loans or credit cards. The company denied the allegations during the argument.
Source By: livemint
