By IANS,
New Delhi : A consumer who was penalised by the ICICI bank despite cancelling her loan was awarded compensation by the consumer commission Monday which found the bank guilty of deficiency of service in the case.
Kiran Sikri had applied for a car loan from the ICICI bank but due to the ongoing recession she requested the bank to cancel the loan.
Sikri had given post dated cheques to the bank which were not returned to her. She then approached the consumer commission which came to her rescue Monday and asked the bank to compensate Rs.25,000 to her along with Rs.5,000 as cost of litigation.
According to Sikri, she applied to the bank for a car loan of Rs.300,000 and it was sanctioned to her and was repayable in 35 monthly instalments. She submitted 35 post dated cheques in lieu.
But later she requested the bank to cancel the loan. The bank accepted her request and the loan was never disbursed into her account.
Sikri also requested the bank to return her cheques but instead her cheques were presented by the bank. She immediately informed the bank about this and bank admitted that it had happened by mistake.
A few days later Sikri received a notice from the bank to pay a sum of Rs.9,029 due to the dishonour of the cheque. She received another notice which asked her to pay Rs.18,085, failing which the bank threatened to sue her under Negotiable Instruments Act.
She claimed that the bank also sent a recovery agent to intimidate and harass her.
The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission headed by Justice J.D. Kapoor found the bank guilty of deficiency of service and was directed to compensate the consumer.
“Nowadays legal remedy is becoming costlier day by day. Rich and powerful business and other service providers drag the poor consumer to the last forum and a poor consumer gets a final decision after ten years or so.”