Wrong ATM debits can be rewarding

Compensation for banks' delay in attending to complaints.

Complaintspertaining to ATMs top all others in banks (file picture).  

Source:BL,ChennaiG. Naga Sridhar,Hyderabad, April 6

Got a wrong debit in an ATM transaction? Don't sweat. It might actually turn into a reward, though delayed, for the trouble that you have been put through.
Many banks are acting slowly in rectifying the mistakes in ATM transactions. This despite an April 2009 directive from the Reserve Bank of India that a compensation of Rs 100 a day should be paid from the 12th day after the wrong transaction till the date it is corrected.
Advantage for many
As a result, notwithstanding a temporary inconvenience to a customer, a wrong debit could finally end up as an advantage for many.
“We recently awarded a compensation of Rs 20,000 for a wrong debit of Rs 8,000. There are other similar cases as well,'' Mr M. Sebastian, Banking Ombudsman in Hyderabad, told Business Line here. There was a ‘concentration' of complaints pertaining to ATMs, he observed.
The complaints pertaining to ATMs top all other complaints in banks. “A majority of complaints we receive are on ATM transactions,'' Mr Shiv Kumar, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, said. He added that special efforts were being taken to dispose them off.
While banks are tight-lipped about actual number of complaints, officials say that enclosures are created to tackle ATM complaints and there is also long pendency.
“When I complained to Andhra Bank on an ATM wrong-debit, I have been told to wait as complaints have been pending for the last two years,'' said Mr R Gopal, a customer of Andhra Bank.
Mr R.S. Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director Andhra Bank, however, said there was no such long pendency.
“As people are using other banks' ATMs, there are procedures to follow in establishing the authenticity of a complaint. As multiple agencies are involved, it takes time,'' he said.
Mr Asit Pal, Executive Director of Corporation Bank, and Ms Renu Challu, Managing Director, State Bank of India, also share a similar view.
‘poor awareness'
There are also allegations that banks are not prompt in payment of compensation according to RBI norms unless it is asked for as there is still ‘poor awareness' among the general public on the norm.
“Given the circumstances, it is not fair to ask us for compensation which will run into huge amount. The RBI should not have kept 12-day limit,'' said a top official of a public sector bank.