NEW DELHI: HDFC Bank said it would refund the GPS device commission to all its auto loan customers who had “availed of” a bundled GPS device between financial years 2013-14 and 2019-20.
The move comes after RBI recently imposed a Rs 10 crore penalty on the bank. RBI said the decision was taken after examining documents pertaining to a whistleblower’s complaint of improper lending practices in vehicle-financing operations.
Car loan customers of HDFC Bank were allegedly forced to buy a vehicle tracking device in a possible breach of guidelines prohibiting banks from non-financial businesses.
“The refund will be credited to the customer’s repayment bank account as registered with the bank,” HDFC Bank said in a public notice issued in newspapers on June 17.
HDFC Bank had last year conducted an internal investigation into allegations.
Former Managing Director and CEO Aditya Puri at the annual general meeting on July 18 last year had confirmed the bank conducted an inquiry into vehicle loans and appropriate action has been taken against employees involved in the misconduct.
The incident also led to the exit of a number of executives.
Refund to be credited back
The refund will be credited to the customer’s repayment bank account as registered with the bank.