Maximum customer complaints against SBI, ICICI

Maximum customer complaints were received against State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank during 2010-11, said banking ombudsman of New Delhi region.

Of the total 10,508 complaints received in 2010-11, about 4,500 cases were against SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, RBI chief general manager and banking ombudsman (New Delhi) M Rajeshwar Rao said here on Tuesday.

"The reason for these many complaints against these banks is due to their large number of transactions because of their size," he said.

Pointing out the maximum customer complaints (32 per cent) are card related, Rao said 41 per cent are against the public sector banks in the New Delhi region, which includes Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana (excluding Panchkula, Ambala city and Yamunanagar) and Ghaziabad and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

As much as 36 per cent of the complaints were against private sector lenders, followed by foreign banks at 15 per cent, he added.

The number of complaints received during 2010-11 has come down by 13 per cent from 12,613 in the previous fiscal.

Most complaints are received from Delhi, followed by Haryana.

Banking Ombudsman Scheme, an alternate disputes resolution mechanism appointed by the RBI, deals  with deficiency in the services by the bank and 27 services are part of the scheme.