Page 98 - DMGT303_BANKING_AND_INSURANCE

Unit 5: Payment and Settlement System

Customer Confidentiality Notes

The card issuing bank/NBFC should not reveal any information relating to customers
obtained at the time of opening the account or issuing the credit card to any other person
or organization without obtaining their specific consent, as regards the purpose/s for
which the information would be used and the organizations with whom the information
would be shared.
Before reporting default status of a credit card holder to the Credit Information Bureau of
India Ltd (CIBL) or any other credit information company authorized by the Reserve
Bank, banks/NBFCs should ensure that they adhere to a procedure, duly approved by
their Board, including issuing of sufficient notice to such card holder about the intention
to report him/her as defaulter to the credit information company.
The disclosure to the DSAs/recovery agents should be limited to the extent that would
enable them to discharge their duties. Personal information provided by the card holder
but not required for recovery purposes should not be released.

Debt Collection

While recovering dues, banks/NBFCs should ensure that they, as also their agents, adhere
to the Reserve Bank’s instructions of May 2003 on Fair Practices Code for Lenders as well
as their own code for collection of dues.

While appointing third party agencies for debit collection, the card issuers should ensure
that such agents observe strict customer confidentiality and refrain from any action that
could damage their integrity and reputation. All letters issued by recovery agents must
contain the name and address of a responsible senior officer of the card issuing bank
whom the customer can contact at his location.

Banks/NBFCs and their agents should not resort to intimidation or harassment of any
kind, either verbal or physical, against any person in their debt collection efforts, including
acts intended to humiliate publicly or intrude upon the privacy of the credit card holders’
family members, referees and friends, making threatening and anonymous calls or making
false and misleading representations.

Grievance Redressal

Generally, a time limit of sixty days should be given to the customers for referring their
complaints/grievances.

The card issuing banks/NBFCs should constitute an internal grievance redressal machinery
and give wide publicity to it through electronic and print media. The grievance redressal
procedure and the time frame fixed for responding to complaints should be placed on
their website. The name, designation, address and contact number of important executives
as well as the grievance redressal officer should also be displayed on their website. A
system of acknowledging customers’ complaints for follow-up such as complaint
number/docket number, even if the complaints are received on phone, should also be
devised.
If a complainant does not get satisfactory response from the bank/NBFC within a maximum
period of thirty days from the date of his lodging the complaint, he would have the
option to approach the office of the concerned banking ombudsman for redressal of his
grievance/s.

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