The Cuddalore District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to pay a senior citizen ₹2 lakh as compensation for deficiency in service.
In her petition, the complainant said she had a joint savings account with her husband at the SBI branch in Neyveli. On February 17, 2022, she attempted to use her debit card in an ATM when she received an error message. She immediately contacted bank officials who informed her that the savings account was frozen.
The bank officials informed the complainant that her husband undertook to be a guarantor for two persons who had availed themselves of a loan from the bank and defaulted on their payments. Hence, the account was frozen. The woman moved the Commission in Cuddalore.
The Commission, headed by president and Judge D. Gopinath, held that had the bank issued notice to the complainant before freezing the account, she would have been in a position to plan her course of action. However, the unilateral action taken by the bank had prevented her from accessing her portion of the funds in the savings account for no fault of her own.
The Commission said the complainant, a senior citizen, was made to undergo an ordeal and was unable to meet her emergency medical expenditure because of the “highhanded” approach of the bank. The Commission also awarded the complainant ₹10,000 in legal expenses.
