Express press service
HYDERABAD: The Telangana State Consumer Dispute Resolution Commission (TSCDRC) has ordered State Bank of India (SBI) Koti to repay Rs 63,74,527 and compensation of Rs 3 lakh to a customer for tying the complaint account with an online banking service without any request from which led to online fraud.
The complainant, Biresh Chandra Gangopadhyay, a 92-year-old retired IAS officer, who worked as a secretary to the government of Andhra Pradesh, is partially blind. The second plaintiff, his 86-year-old wife Aarati Gangopadhyay, is totally blind.
The plaintiffs opened a joint savings account at SBI, Balkampet branch. They opened three fixed deposits for Rs 10 lakh, Rs 15 lakh and Rs 15 lakh in 2017 for a period of one year with an automatic renewal mandate for which FD receipts were issued in the name of Aarati Gangopadhyay.
In 2019, when Biresh Chandra went to the bank to update his wife’s passbook, he was informed that the printer was not working and was given an account statement for the period November 2018 November- March 2019. He was shocked to see that their account was showing a balance of only Rs 3 lakh instead of around Rs 28 lakh. He noticed that all unauthorized withdrawals were made through online banking, although said account does not have online banking and has a “View Only” service.
He brought the fact to the attention of the branch manager of the bank. He also filed a complaint with the police drawing attention to the unauthorized withdrawal of approximately Rs 63.75 lakh from his wife’s savings bank account, including the premature and unauthorized closing of three fixed deposits of an amount of Rs 40 lakh.
The 37 transactions were carried out for a total amount of Rs 63,74,536 on behalf of five companies. The bank’s claim is that Aarati Gangopadhyay’s internet credentials were compromised and that OTPs were sent on each of the occasions his internet banking services were hacked. The bank argued that the plaintiffs’ domestic helper through whom they conducted banking transactions was involved in the disputed transactions.
The TSCDRC said that although it knew the client was an elderly person who had consciously opted for “View Only” access, it was a willful neglect to leave the client vulnerable to her own resources without verification. The Commission ordered SBI to assume responsibility for facilitating the transfer.
“Deliberate negligence”
The consumer forum said that although it knew the customer was an elderly person who had consciously opted for “View Only” access, it was a deliberate negligence to leave the customer vulnerable to their own resources without proper verification.
HYDERABAD: The Telangana State Consumer Dispute Resolution Commission (TSCDRC) has ordered State Bank of India (SBI) Koti to repay Rs 63,74,527 and compensation of Rs 3 lakh to a customer for tying the complaint account with an online banking service without any request from which led to online fraud. The complainant, Biresh Chandra Gangopadhyay, a 92-year-old retired IAS officer, who worked as a secretary to the government of Andhra Pradesh, is partially blind. The second plaintiff, his 86-year-old wife Aarati Gangopadhyay, is totally blind. The plaintiffs opened a joint savings account at SBI, Balkampet branch. They opened three fixed deposits for Rs 10 lakh, Rs 15 lakh and Rs 15 lakh in 2017 for a period of one year with an automatic renewal mandate for which FD receipts were issued in the name of Aarati Gangopadhyay. In 2019, when Biresh Chandra went to the bank to update his wife’s passbook, he was informed that the printer was not working and was given an account statement for the period November 2018 November- March 2019. He was shocked to see that their account was showing a balance of only Rs 3 lakh instead of around Rs 28 lakh. He noticed that all unauthorized withdrawals were made through online banking, although said account does not have online banking and has a “View Only” service. He brought the fact to the attention of the branch manager of the bank. He also filed a complaint with the police drawing attention to the unauthorized withdrawal of approximately Rs 63.75 lakh from his wife’s savings bank account, including the premature and unauthorized closing of three fixed deposits of an amount of Rs 40 lakh. The 37 transactions were carried out for a total amount of Rs 63,74,536 on behalf of five companies. The bank’s claim is that Aarati Gangopadhyay’s internet credentials were compromised and that OTPs were sent on each of the occasions his internet banking services were hacked. The bank argued that the plaintiffs’ domestic helper through whom they conducted banking transactions was involved in the disputed transactions. The TSCDRC said that although it knew the client was an elderly person who had consciously opted for “View Only” access, it was a willful neglect to leave the client vulnerable to her own resources without verification. The Commission ordered SBI to assume responsibility for facilitating the transfer. ‘Deliberate negligence’ The consumer forum said that despite the fact that the customer was a senior citizen who had consciously opted into ‘View Only’ access, it was willful neglect to leave the customer vulnerable to its own resources without proper verification.
