ATM woes top banking grievances

Hundreds of complainants aggrieved by shortcomings in banking services found their grievances redressed within a short period of two months, thanks to the Office of Banking Ombudsman (OBO), Chennai. About 96 per cent of the complaints from individuals ranged from non-dispensation of cash at ATM outlets despite their savings bank account getting debited, inordinate delay in returning the fixed deposit account of a deceased person to the guardian, failure to return title deeds, delay in sanctioning of loans or rejection of them without a valid reason and giving of wrong advice to bank customers, among other issues. Ten banks accounted for 75 per cent of the complaints. While cash transactions-related issues were resolved with the help of CCTV cameras installed at the ATM outlets, the other issues were resolved by inspecting the documents available with the respective banks. In a specific case, an individual had refused to file a complaint when he came to know his ATM card was misused by a relative. Sujatha Elizabeth Prasad, Chief General Manager, Banking Ombudsman Chennai, said: “Most of the problems arose due to lack of financial literacy among the customers. We are going to places where the awareness is low.”