“Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.”- Aaron Levenstein
The Banking Ombudsman Scheme enables an expeditious and inexpensive forum to bank customers for resolution of complaints relating to certain services rendered by banks. This is the official definition of Banking Ombudsman appearing the RBI website.
The dictionary meaning of Ombudsman “ is a man who investigates complaints and mediates fair settlements, especially between aggrieved parties such as consumers or students and an institution or organization.
From the viewpoint of a bank customer, this is available at absolutely no cost and hassle-free. He gets time-bound relief for his unanswered grievances by the Bank officials.
However for the RBI, it is quite expensive. Let us take a look at the following table taken from the Annual Report of Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006 for the year 2008-2009.
| Period | Total Cost (Rs.Cr.) | No. of complaints dealt | Cost per complaint (Rs.) |
| 2004-05 | 7.60 | 12034 | 6315 |
| 2005-06 | 10.16 | 33363 | 3045 |
| 2006-07 | 9.81 | 38638 | 2538 |
| 2007-08 | 12.50 | 47887 | 2611 |
| 2008-09 | 15.29 | 69117 | 2212 |
It is good that the cost for handling a complaint has come down from Rs.6315 to Rs.2212. The increase in number of complaints is cited as the reason for gradual downsizing of cost per complaint. The cost may still go further down , probably with “Financial Deepening”, a new term aiming at total banking coverage of our population by providing a minimum bouquet of essential banking products through the medium of Financial Inclusion, aided of course, by technology .
The increase in number of complaints also refleclts the increasing confidence levels of the banking public in RBI . The banking public have also benefited by the suo moto “Class Action” taken by RBI in a pro-active manner in settling their grievances. This can be loosely compared to the “judicial activism” of yester years through a large population were benefited.
From the above data, 15 offices of Banking Ombudsman have handled 69117 complaints and an equal number rejected being outside the purview of the Ombudsman Scheme, is only a tip of the iceberg.
RBI, rated as best banking regulator globally, have also come out with an additional mechanism to empower individual customers and make banking a complaint-free zone.. This is called BCSBI (Banking Codes and Standards Boards of India) , based on a Western Model, under which each bank make public their commitment to offer which a customer can reasonably expect from his Bank. Any breach of such commitment will not be looked kindly by the Regulator.
To quote from an article by a retired Chief General Manager of RBI
Customers “seldom take the pain to escalate the complaints to the appropriate forum, as the effort and time required are often unaffordable, though the results are generally favourable. That competition will improve services has all along been the expectation. But service is no way better in private sector banks, particularly the so called new generation banks, compared to public sector banks.”
Information on unreported complaints – which is many times than those reported – have to be obtained through surveys, incognito visits and personal interviews of all types of customers.”
He has further suggested the recently constituted Damodaran Committee to look into customer service issues in banks, to “identify innovative measures to forcefully change the attitude of human resources who provide the service. Introduction of incentives and disincentives in promotion, transfer, emoluments and bonuses linked to customer service will go a long way in improving the mindset of such people
However the Indian psyche largely depends on Power-Point ground realities which form the two pans of the balance. Unlike the class room power point which throws light on a chosen subject, the Indian Power-Point equation has led to an agonizing indifference among the majority of the population. People who have and enjoy power, even though they are in a minority in this country, do need any point to have their needs fulfilled and their requirements are adequately and automatically addressed. However, for the silent majority which has a lot of valuable and genuine points to make, they cannot get remedy from the officials, who master the art of making zalebis in the form of queries which make them run from pillar to post.
There are still a lot of individual customers who feel aggrieved in not getting the expected service from the banks – be it opening a savings bank account for them or educational loan for their children. These people, unable to counter the official though process, just murmur and simply walk away. They do so since they still feel they are too small in the scheme of things to voice their complaints.
This voiceless majority has so much to tell but could not due to the fear of a possible backlash. But not addressing their issues would in the long run undermine their confidence in the entire banking system itself with disastrous consequences.
We always look to Technology for support since the issues to be addressed are very large. But technology also need to be administered only through individual intervention . The man behind the machine will continue to matter for Indian banking public, say at least for another 2 decades.
I am giving a few such voiceless complaints I recently came across along with the possible solution.
| Voiceless complaint No.1 | How it could have been avoided |
| One customer approaches the branch with copies of his account statements downloaded from internet ; he wants the officer to authenticate the statements as he is submitting them to U K High Commission for applying to Visa to visit his daughter there. The bank officer refused to sign the statements saying that he can sign account statements relating to his branch and he cannot sign for accounts kept at other branches of the same bank. | CBS not only means Core Bankign Solutions. It is also Centralised Banking Solutions as well. Gone are the days of narrow branch banking. Now any customer can access any of his account in any branch of the bank in any place. The officer has conveniently forgotten one of the earliest definition of Banking, which says that, Banking is nothing but common sense. Random verification of other branch statement is possible at any branch. The officer should come out of his blinkers and have a wider “ bank only” vision than the “branch only” perspective. This could have saved an agonizing trip to another branch for the same purpose and having to explain once again everything there also. If the officer is really busy at that point of time, he could have asked for sometime to verify the statement. Sometimes simple solutions than fabricated interpretations leads to better customer confidence. After all 99% of Indian customers are simple and they are satisfied with simple solutions. |
| Voiceless complaint No.2 | How it could have been avoided |
| One customer who availed home loan approached the bank for return of title deeds after settling all dues. Even after a lapse of 6 months, the Bank did not return the title deeds. What the customer was hearing from the bank was stories / excuses all the way. | The branch manager is blissfully unaware of the commitment the Bank has made to its customers under BCSBI Code that the title deeds should be returned by branch pro-actively within 15 days of loan closure failing which penalty can be claimed by the customer. Ignorance cannot be a one-sided bliss |
Koi Hai? Anybody willing to listen?
