RBI clarifies ombudsman scheme, says no need to pay fees for early redressal

People must not fall prey to misinformation that they can get their complaints resolved early by paying money to third-party service providers, the RBI said in a statement.

 The clarification came against the backdrop of some misinformation spreading on social media, the RBI said.

“Instances of misinformation being spread through certain sections of the social media about the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2021 (RB-IOS) have come to the notice of the RBI," the central bank said in the statement.

 These messages tell people at large to lodge complaints they may have against entities regulated by the central bank through third parties for a charge/fee or otherwise for early redressal of their grievances, the RBI said.

 "It is clarified that RBI does not have any such arrangement with any entity for redress of grievances against the Regulated Entities (REs),” the central bank said.

The redressal system under RB-IOS does not involve payment of fees or charges in any form or manner, it said.

Customers with grievances against lenders for deficient services that are not addressed satisfactorily or in a timely manner can directly lodge their complaints on the Complaint Management System (CMS) portal of the RBI, and via e-mails and in the physical mode.

Complainants with queries on RB-IOS or seeking information relating to their complaints can reach the Contact Centre of RBI at toll-free #14448. The status of complaints can also be tracked on the CMS portal, the regulator said.

According to RBI’s Annual Report of Ombudsman Schemes, 2020-21, the volume of complaints received under all the three Ombudsman Schemes increased by 22.27 percent on an annualized basis and reached 303,107 between July 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

A majority of complaints relate to Automated Teller Machines, debit and credit card transactions, mobile and electronic banking, according to the RBI.

The overall complaint disposal rate improved to 96.59 percent from 92.52 percent in the previous year, despite a higher number of complaints, which can be attributed to the end-to-end digitization of complaint processing in CMS, the central bank said.