Loan rejected over wrong CIBIL entry, Ludhiana bank penalised ₹20,000
Ludhiana bank had failed to forward info needed to update complainant’s cibil score, which resulted in his loan being rejected
The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission ordered the Standard Chartered Bank to pay ₹20,000 as compensation to a city resident whose car loan application was rejected due to an error caused by the bank employees. The man was forced to avail a loan from a finance company on a higher interest rate.
The complainant Deep Preet Singh, 49, a resident of Model Town Extension, had sought ₹59,892 on account of loss caused to him along with compensation of ₹1 lakh and litigation expenses of ₹25,000.
In the complaint filed on November 26, 2021, Singh said he had availed a credit card from Standard Chartered Bank. In 2005, an amount of ₹6,991 was pending against him. Following a mutual discussion, he paid ₹5,000 to the bank as the final settlement on March 4, 2006.
The complainant added that on November 23, 2019, he purchased a car for which he applied for a loan from Oriental Bank of Commerce, Model Town. Meanwhile, he received a communication from the bank regarding the loan being rejected as his CIBIL report was showing an outstanding amount of more than ₹1 lakh against him reported by Standard Chartered Bank.
Having cleared the dues, he sent an email to the bank on December 13, 2019, and received a reply that they had reversed the entire outstanding amount. The bank further stated that the balance will be updated as zero in the CIBIL records soon. The complainant contested this as an admission of their mistake.
Further, he stated that the Oriental Bank of Commerce had offered him a ₹14 lakh car loan to be payable in 84 monthly instalments of ₹22,172 at interest rate 8.5% per annum. The final amount would be ₹18,62,448. The bank, however, refused to sanction the loan that constrained the complainant to take a car loan from Tata Motors on interest rate 9.48% per annum. He claimed to have suffered loss of ₹59,892 due to the act and conduct of Standard Chartered Bank, which he added amounted to deficiency in service.
Upon notice, no one appeared on the behalf of Standard Chartered Bank.
The consumer forum in its order noted it was evident that the complainant did not pay any amount to Standard Chartered Bank, which on mere representation of the complainant, the CIBIL score was rectified by the bank. It noted that it was strange that once the bank had settled the amount with the complainant, it was its duty to send the requisite information to Credit Information Bureau India Limited (CIBIL). Observing that there was a deficiency in services on the part of the bank, the court said the complainant was entitled to compensation. The orders were passed ex parte.
The bank has been directed to pay a composite cost of ₹.20,000 to the complainant within a period of 30 days from the date of the receipt of the order.