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L Jayaram Haravu (Retired Information Professional)     21 November 2012

Credit card problems

I would like to share the bad experience that I had with both ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel, Karnataka. I am sharing this so that my bad experience may guide others in avoiding what I did. Some three years ago, I acquired a credit card from ICICI Bank since I have an account with the bank. I had asked the credit card department of ICICI Bank to pay my Airtel Landline bill only on presentation of my bill by Airtel. This was quite convenient since I was rid of keeping track of such payments. However, in Sep 2012, I suddenly found that my credit card was charged Rs. 1750.00 three times for a total of Rs. 5250. I protested to ICICI Bank. They exonorated themselves saying that I must have  authorized the payments because only with the card's CVV and 3D Secure PIN these transactions could have been made. I made it clear that I did not use the card to make these payments, but they would not believe me. I complained also to Airtel. They took their own time but now acknowledge that one payment was indeed taken from my credit card and they would give me credit for this amount. I am still fighting for the other two payments, and if necessary, I will go the full course of legal and/or quasi legal avenues to get back my money. I want to alert my friends that they SHOULD NEVER AUTHORIZE automatic debit of their cards from mercahants such as  Electricity boards, Telecom companies, Insurance payments, etc., etc. They should set up reminders for these payments and carry out these on their own. This way they can avoid the kind of problem that I am facing. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE BANK OR MERCHANTS DON'T REALLY CARE FOR CUSTOMERS. THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES TO STALL THINGS ENDLESSLY, NOR WILL THEY WILLINGLY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR MISTAKES.



Learning

 6 Replies

Kumar Doab (FIN)     26 November 2012

It appears that you had authorized Airtel for auto debit of your bills on your CC.

If you have provided mobile number to Airtel:

- it shall send SMS before presenting the bill to CC company for payment and advice you to keep balance to clear the bill. Did you receive such SMS 3 times?

If it has collected payment 3 times it shall show the payment in next bill 3 times.

Did it post 3 payments in next bill?

If you have provided mobile number to CC company:

-it shall send you SMS for each transaction. Did you receive 3 SMS?

It shall post 3 debit transactions in your CC bill/statement.

Did it post 3 debits in your CC bill?

If yes you may issue instructions in writing under acknowledgment to local BM and Nodal Officer of   Airtel supplying you the reason in writing for sending the same bill to CC Company for collection of payment of a single bill which should have been collected only once.

If it does not reply you may escalate Appellate authority and then to MD, Company Secretary whose contact details you shall find from web site of the company, and ask them to beg apology in writing and also supply you the full name, designation, dept, address of the erring employee of the company and punishment awarded to the employee.

You should also demand that the extra charges you had to bear for 3 transactions {as per CC statement} loss of interest on the extra payment, interest/finance charges/late payment charges if any levied by CC company, cost of representations in person/by email/phone {collect bills} parking/typing charges etc suffered by you to be disbursed to you bank DD with letter of the company thru redg. post only. You may mention that company may debit it from payout to the erring employee with a copy to you.

If the higher management does not respond or adhere to your instructions you may issue notice to revert in next 7 days ort you shall be constrained to approach the institutions of print and electronic media, police, lawyer/law firm, NGO’s, public-social-legal portals, govt. regulators, TRAI, courts of law, consumer forum, lok adalat etc at their cost and consequences.

Company may respond to your notice or legal notice by your lawyer or you may pull them to DCDRF.

Some of the consumer help organizations have been doing good job. You can approach them and tame and shame the company. If the company Airtel which is known to be adamant and recalcitrant remains unapologetic they deserve it.

 

https://www.mouthshut.com/

complaint@network18online.com

pehredar@moneycontrol.com

https://ashisha.com/consumer/

www.grahakseva.com/

 

L Jayaram Haravu (Retired Information Professional)     26 November 2012

I would like to withdraw my earlier mail. I had made a mistake in reporting the problem. I did indeed authorize the 3 payments for a relative who went abroad and I had forgotten about these transactions. I have already apologized to Airtel and ICICI bank. Haravu

Kumar Doab (FIN)     26 November 2012

Mr. Haravu,

You have conducted yourself very well.

icicibankcare (Bank)     28 November 2012

Hi Jayaram,


We are sorry to hear about your experience. Please send us your contact details at care@icicibank.com and our official will get back to you to address your concern. Kindly refer '3768787' in the subject line.


Regards,

ICICI Bank Customer Service Team

Prasun Chandra Das (Banker)     08 December 2012

Since when does ICICI Bank started to be a part of this forum? Request all to be very cicumspect before sending any mail/sms to any mail id/mobile no. There are many ways to register complaints given in the websites of all banks.

Kumar Doab (FIN)     08 December 2012

.Mr. Das is right.

In many of the other threads also this person who has created ID as:

icicibankcare

“Bank”

Has been writing posts, and LCI members who have initiated the threads posted that they responded to this person and nothing happened to resolve their concern.

It has been noted that many companies including this bank, insurance companies {owned by this bank also} have been poking at various portals and have been prompting the members/querists to contact them. The attempt is a corporate effort to pull out the   members/querists from the threads initiated by them and thus avoid the public exposure which the companies get. While the members/querists give actual and factual exposure of the bad deeds of the companies these companies feel it bad exposure to them and shall affect their business.

Hence the intrusion by these companies in almost all portals.

The company personnel who intrude in portals like LCI have no command, right, power to resolve the issues and harassment being faced by citizens { members/querists} and they sometime fall in the trap and stop posting updates. While companies succeed in pulling the  members/querists, out from threads initiated by them and dumping them again with same set of company personnel who again start chasing them.  

You shall find such companies planting tress/plants outside their buildings, painting their buildings…….but do not mend their ways even after reprimands/punishments/penalties by courts of law.

Time has come when once again citizens should form their communities in their locality/Mohalla/Village/society and thus build their bargaining power and thrash such companies with full might.

It has been tried and it has found to be extremely successful. This bank and other companies can not enter our locality. If any one wants he/she shall have to seek appointment in writing and can enter only at appointed date and time and has to carry ID Card, and shall have to write the minutes of discussion on the spot on the body of

Photocopy of his ID and witnesses from our locality shall sign. If cases of a recalcitrant company like this whole proceedings shall be recorded.

The nuisance such companies have been littering has virtually stopped.

Airtel in another company. All members of the locality thrashed the local BM in his office and he had to stop the collection calls on the spot and apologize in writing, and provided the full address of recovery agency. All connections of Airtel were transferred to another after proper bargaining and deal was good for all.


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