KOLLAM: The Kollam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed HDFC Bank to rectify a customer's erroneous credit information, and pay Rs 50,000 as compensation for mental agony and hardship caused by the bank's negligence.
The commission, comprising of president S K Sreela and member Stanly Harold, issued the order on August 6 based on a complaint filed by an Alummoodu resident.
The complainant had availed a two-wheeler loan from the erstwhile Centurion Bank, which was subsequently merged with HDFC Bank. He had furnished 19 post-dated cheques of Rs 1,725 each towards repayment. According to him, two cheque leaves were lost while in the bank's custody, following which the bank asked him to pay the corresponding instalments in cash. He made the payments, and the loan account was closed on November 11, 2009.
However, the loan was subsequently reported as a default account, adversely affecting his CIBIL record. The complainant came to know about this only in October 2023, when his application for a business loan from Punjab & Sind Bank was affected due to his poor CIBIL score.
The commission observed that HDFC Bank failed to provide any explanation for reporting the account as a default, despite the loan having been closed. It held that the bank's conduct amounted to "gross negligence and deficiency in service".
The commission, however, found no independent deficiency on the part of TransUnion CIBIL, observing that it merely compiles credit information furnished by member banks and cannot alter or delete such information without certification from the reporting institution.
The bank has been directed to correct the erroneous credit information and communicate the corrected status to CIBIL within 30 days. CIBIL has also been directed to update the complainant's credit records within 30 days of receiving the corrected information.
Besides Rs 50,000 as compensation, HDFC Bank has been directed to pay Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs. The amounts are to be paid within 30 days, failing which the compensation will carry interest at 9% per annum from the date of default until realisation.
