NEW DELHI: A consumer court in Delhi has ordered a private bank to refund Rs 70,084 to a woman who had lost the amount in an online fraud in July 2016.
The court held that, as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, the customer bears no liability for a third-party breach once she has notified the bank within three working days.
A bench of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (south district) comprising president Monika Aggarwal Srivastava and member Ritu Garodia also ordered the bank to pay an additional compensation of Rs 25,000 and cover the litigation costs.
“The RBI circular is unequivocal in stating that in cases of third-party breaches, where neither the bank nor the customer is at fault, and if the customer provides intimation within three working days, the liability rests with the bank,” the commission observed, adding,
“In this case, the complainant had duly informed the bank on July 10, 2016, about the unauthorised transactions. The opposite party bank failed to reverse the transaction.”
The commission held that the bank failed to establish any negligence on the part of the complainant and did not reverse the fraudulent debits despite receiving timely notification.