Online Complaint process to Banking Ombudsman

Banking Ombudsman Scheme enable the people to file complain to resolve the banking issues.

It is a scheme for resolving customer grievances in relation to services provided by entities regulated by Reserve Bank of India in an expeditious and cost-effective manner under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949), Section 45L of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934) and Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (51 of 2007).

Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021

The Reserve Bank of India to make the alternate dispute redress mechanism simpler and more responsive to the customers of entities regulated by it, integrated the three Ombudsman schemes into the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021. 

• the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006, as amended up to July 01, 2017;
• the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018; and 
• the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019

The Scheme shall come into force from November 12, 2021.

Entities covered

The Scheme covers the following regulated entities:

• all Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Scheduled Primary (Urban) Cooperative Banks and Non-Scheduled Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks with
  deposits size of Rupees 50 crore and above as on the date of the audited balance sheet of the previous financial year;
• all Non-Banking Financial Companies (excluding Housing Finance Companies) which
  • are authorised to accept deposits; or
  • have customer interface, with an assets size of Rupees 100 crore and above as on the date of the audited balance sheet of the previous financial year;
• all System Participants as defined under the Scheme.

Grounds of complaints

The Banking Ombudsman can receive and consider any complaint relating to the following deficiency in banking services (including internet banking)

• non-payment or  inordinate delay in the payment or collection of cheques, drafts, bills etc.
• non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of small denomination notes tendered for any purpose, and for charging of commission in respect thereof
• non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of coins tendered and for charging of commission in respect thereof
• non-payment or delay in payment of inward remittances
• failure to issue or delay in issue of drafts,pay orders or bankers’ cheques
• non-adherence to prescribed working hours
• failure to provide or delay in providing a banking facility (other than loans and advances) promised in writing by a bank or its direct selling agents
• delays, non-credit of proceeds to parties accounts, non-payment of deposit or non-observance of the Reserve Bank directives, if any, applicable to rate of interest on deposits in any savings,current or other account maintained with a bank
• complaints from Non-Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation to their remittances from abroad, deposits and other bank-related matters;
• refusal to open deposit accounts without any valid reason for refusal
• levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the customer
• non-adherence by the bank or its subsidiaries to the instructions of Reserve Bank on ATM/Debit card operations or credit card operations
• non-disbursement or delay in disbursement of pension (to the extent the grievance can be attributed to the action on the part of the bank concerned, but not with regard to its employees)
• refusal to accept or delay in accepting payment towards taxes, as required by Reserve Bank/Government
• refusal to issue or delay in issuing, or failure to service or delay in servicing or redemption of Government securities
• forced closure of deposit accounts without due notice or without sufficient reason
• refusal to close or delay in closing the accounts
• non-adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by the bank or non-adherence to the provisions of the Code of Banks Commitments to Customers issued by Banking Codes and Standards Board of India and as adopted by the bank
• non-observance of Reserve Bank guidelines on engagement of recovery agents by banks and
• any other matter relating to the violation of the directives issued by the Reserve Bank in relation to banking or other services.
• A customer can also lodge a complaint on the following grounds of deficiency in service with respect to loans and advance
• non-observance of Reserve Bank Directives on interest rates
• delays in sanction, disbursement or non-observance of prescribed time schedule for disposal of loan applications
• non-acceptance of application for loans without furnishing valid reasons to the applicant and
• non-adherence to the provisions of the fair practices code for lenders as adopted by the bank or Code of Bank’s Commitment to Customers, as the case may be
• non-observance of any other direction or instruction of the Reserve Bank  as may be specified by the Reserve Bank for this purpose  from time to time.
• The Banking Ombudsman may also deal with such other matter as may be specified by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

To know more, click here.

How to file online complaint

You can approach the Banking Ombudsman IF

1. You have not received a reply from your bank within one month from the date of receipt of complaint by the bank OR
2. The bank has rejected your complaint OR
3. You are not satisfied with bank's reply

The following is the process for lodging an online complaint with the Banking Ombudsman.

• Visit ONLINE COMPLAINT
• Select BO office (Banking Ombudsman). Please visit here to know BO office jurisdiction.
• You will be asked to fill Bank name, branch name, Complaint name, Mobile no.
• Fill up the form with necessary details and Click “SAVE”
• After successfully submission of your application, user can upload supporting documents by clicking on upload option. Supporting document means copy of complaint, bank reply, evidence etc.

You will get acknowledgement of complaint once review is done by Ombudsman. Within 30 days from your complaint, Ombudsman will resolve the issue. They may contact you if any clarification require. For more detail click here

Track your complaint

To track the status of your complaint, click here

File a appeal 

To file an appeal, click here

Related resources

1. FAQs on the Banking Ombudsman Scheme
2. Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021