Complaint Procedure
Solution Assignment No.1 Fall 2019
Consumer Banking (BNK603)
The law provides authority to the Banking Mohtasib alone. Hence the complaints handling process is centralized at the Karachi Secretariat. Filing complaints is easy. Mr. Azeem will follow three simple steps:
Mr. Azeem will approach his bank in writing to resolve your complaint stating in the letter that you intend to refer the grievance to the Banking Mohtasib if matter is not resolved to your satisfaction. The bank is allowed a maximum of 45 days to resolve your complaint.
If you do not receive a reply from the bank within 45 days, or find the reply unsatisfactory, you may file a complaint with the Banking Mohtasib on the prescribed complaint form.
Thecomplaintformdulycompleted,signedandattestedbyanOathCommissionershould be attached to your letter of complaint addressed to the Banking Mohtasib and sent to:
Banking Mohtasib Pakistan
Shaheen Complex
5th floor, M R Kiyani Road Karachi.
Mr. Azeem will be required to make sure that all related correspondence with the bank and copies of all relevant documents are also sent to the Banking Mohtasib with an attested Photostat copy of your CNIC duly marked for submission to Banking Mohtasib Pakistan. He is not required to send any original documents.
When a complaint is lodged to the Banking Ombudsman, first of all procedural requirements are confirmed and both parties may be required to provide additional information, if necessary. Informal complaints (i.e. walk in, e-mail, copies of letters or via telephone) are resolved by providing procedural guidance to complainant. In case of formal complaints, the banks are formally informed where necessary. Regarding informal complaints, the law allows to entertain only those complaints, which have been filed directly to Banking Ombudsman and made under oath.
After confirming that all procedural requirements have been met, we may call for additional information from both parties, if necessary, to better understand the issue. If needed, we will visit banks to examine their books, procedures and processes relating to a complaint. The outcome of this will be either:
a) Complaint is found to be unjustified - in such cases we will inform the complainant accordingly and close the case.
b) Complaint is found to be genuine - in such cases we will institute a process of mediation to achieve an amicable resolution between both parties. If the matter cannot be resolved amicably, we will pass a suitable order asking the bank to rectify the situation or make good the complainant’s loss.
Banking Mohtasib will endeavor to resolve most complaints within 2 months. However, depending on complexity, and the state of information and copies of documents provided by the complainant, some complaints could take longer to resolve. Therefore it is all the more important that the Complainant completes the Complaint Form with clarity and attaches copies of all the related documents in the first instance.
The Right to Appeal
The law provides the right to appeal to parties, the complainant and the bank. A complainant, dissatisfied with the decision of Banking Ombudsman, has the right to appeal to the Governor SBP within 30 days from the date of order of the Ombudsman. Moreover, a complainant, dissatisfied with the decision of SBP, has also been given the right to go to a court of law. However, the Ombudsman’s decision would be final, operative and binding upon the bank, if no appeal is filed or SBP does not uphold the appeal.
Guidelines for Standardization of ATM Operations
ATM is among the most important e-banking delivery channels in Pakistan. It is becoming increasingly popular, as it facilitates accountholders to withdraw fast cash anytime, inquire balance, and transfer funds throughout the year. The SBP has issued separate guidelines for all the commercial banks and switch operators in order to curtail any inconvenience to the users of ATM services. The guidelines require the banks having ATMs to:
Carry out cash balancing and reconciliation on every working day at the time fixed by their Head Office, other than the peak hours.
According to the guidelines, a process of “automatic credit” is to be carried out on the basis of verified individual transactions in which a customer’s account has been debited without any cash disbursement.
Moreover, the process of “automatic credit” is to be completed within the timeframe ranging from one to seven business days, depending on the manner of execution of transaction by a cardholder of a bank.
In order to facilitate the customers and meet the objectives of the ATM, banks are also required to develop a detailed documented procedure for automatic credit and carry out training of relevant staff members.
The guidelines necessitate Card Facilitation Centre (CFC) in every bank. CFC is a unit responsible for managing e-banking channels and maintaining database of cases (resolved/unresolved) of its own customers and balance in suspense account. In this regard, every branch ought to report to CFC the details of claims settled, outstanding claims andbalancesuspenseaccountondailybasis,to enablequickresponseofqueries.
It is mandatory for all the banks to identify at least two key personnel of CFC, who would be responsible for responding to the queries of customers, and their contact details are to be made available on website of the bank.
Furthermore, customer must be informed in writing about the amount credited to his/her account by the issuing bank. Besides, the customers are not to be charged for minimum balance when their account has been debited without cash disbursement and time for which the amount remains payable.
For providing secondary evidence to satisfy the customer against cash claims, banks are required to install external camera in ATM cabins in a way that PIN may not be captured.
Moreover, the guidelines obligate all banks to report details regarding the nature of transactions (automatic credit, claims processed or outstanding balance (suspense ATM cash), and total number and amount of actual transactions to the SBP’s Payment Systems Department (PSD).
In addition, every bank is required to develop a numbering sequence for complaints and every complainant is to be issued a reference number.
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