BANGALORE: Banks harassing people for not paying their dues is not uncommon, but here is a rare case wherein a customer was harassed by ICICI Bank to cough up Rs1,84,567 towards some transactions through a credit card, which he did not possess at all.The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the bank to pay a compensation of Rs 30,000 along with Rs 5,000 costs to a customer for harassing him by sending frequent reminders to repay his ‘credit card dues’ and freezing his account for that.Rajesh Kumar, an SB account holder in the Bommanahalli branch of ICICI Bank, started receiving emails, phone calls and constant reminders stating that he is liable to pay Rs 1,84,567 towards his credit card transactions.After Kumar complained to the bank authorities, the bank conducted an inquiry and apologised to Kumar, assuring him that he would not receive such reminders in future through a letter dated September 7, 2010.However, the bank froze his account without informing him and prevented him from withdrawing money from his account, stating that he had not paid his credit card dues. The bank once again apologised to Kumar for freezing the account through a letter dated November 8, 2010, after he lodged a complaint.The bank sent a statement to the Credit Information Bureau of India Limited (CIBIL) that Kumar had defaulted on his dues. Kumar approached the bank to get his name cleared. As usual, the bank regretted the inconvenience caused to him on January 20, 2011. Even as the bank apologised for its mistake thrice, recovery agents started harassing Kumar all over again, demanding his ‘credit card’ dues. Disgusted with the harassment, Kumar filed a petition in the Third Additional Consumer Disputed Redressal Forum seeking Rs 5 lakh compensation.The forum directed ICICI Bank to pay a compensation of Rs 30,000, along with Rs 5,000 costs, to Kumar for the harassment he underwent due the reckless attitude of the bank.
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