Usman, a native of Kerala's Malappuram, received a fraudulent call requesting an OTP for a KYC update, resulting in a loss of Rs 4,07,053 from his account. The commission ordered the ESAF bank to reimburse the lost amount and pay Rs 50,000 as compensation, highlighting the bank's negligence in safeguarding customer funds.
Malappuram: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Malappuram bench comprising Mohandasan K. (President), Mohamed Ismayil CV (Member) and Preethi Sivaraman C (Member) has ruled against ESAF Bank, ordering them to reimburse Rs 4,07,053 lost from an account and pay Rs 50,000 as compensation. The commission found the bank negligent in safeguarding the account holder's money and failing to take action to recover the lost funds despite being informed. As per the commission's order, the bank bears the responsibility to prove that the complainant was involved in the loss of money, following the guidelines of the Reserve Bank.
The Consumer Commission's decision stems from a complaint filed by Elamkulavan Usman of Vettikkatiri. Usman received a call from someone claiming to be from the bank, requesting an OTP for updating KYC. Usman provided the OTP as requested. However, upon visiting the bank the next day, he discovered that the call was fraudulent. Furthermore, upon checking his account, Usman found that Rs 4,07,053 was missing.
The complainant approached the Consumer Commission stating that the bank authorities did not take action to recover the amount. The bank officials argued that the money was lost because the complainant had given the OTP and that they were not responsible for the loss of money.
However, the commission did not accept this argument of the bank. According to the Reserve Bank's guidelines, the commission has made it clear that the onus is on the bank to prove that the complainant was involved in the loss of money. In addition to the amount lost to the complainant, the commission ordered that Rs 50,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 as court costs be paid within one month and 9 percent interest in case of delay.