Citibank had to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to Sanjeev Mehan, a resident of Sector 22. The district consumer disputes redressal forum directed Citibank as the bank had put the complainant name in the list of the defaulters in spite of clearing all dues. The forum has also directed to delete the name of the complainant from the list of defaulters of the Credit Rating Agencies and to not to charge any outstanding dues.
In his complaint Sanjeev stated that he availed of credit in January 2000. In spite of clearing all the monthly bills in time, in August 2000, Mehan received an account statement mentioning about the transaction for July, which he had never made.
He wrote a letter to the bank requesting for the removal of the said entries but the process continued for September.
Beleaguered, with the attitude of the bank he requested to reverse the wrong debit entries and to cancel his credit card. After this he said, he stopped using his card.
But in 2007, he started receiving calls from the bank asking him to pay Rs 55,000 against the dues of the credit card.
Mehan alleged in spite of his requesting for details the company did not send him a list instead he started receiving threatening calls from the bank and his name was put in the list of defaulters.
In its reply, Citibank said it had asked complainant to fill a Customer Declaration Form along with the reverse copy of his credit card and to send them for verification.
It maintained that the dues against the complainant still existed and no threatening calls were made to him.
The forum in its enquiry found that except the account statement, bank did not submit anything else as record by the company to prove that there was any outstanding amount against him.
The forum in its ruling said that the company’s demand of Rs 55,000 was “illegal and unjustified”.
