Karnataka Banking Ombudsman resolves 3,533 complaints in FY 11

B D Narayankar

Press Trust Of India

Bangalore, Oct 24: Banking Ombudsman for Karnataka has resolved 3,533 complaints against various banks during 2010-11.

We resolved a total of 3,533 complaints this year out of the total of 3,694 complaints received," Banking Ombudsman for Karnataka M Palanisamy told reporters here.

He said the number of complaints received this year has declined compared to 3,854 complaints received last year, giving a clear indication of his office's attempts to improve customer service in the banking sector.

There were only 161 complaints pending at the year end and only one award was passed against a bank which was duly implemented, Palanisamy said.

Category-wise, the number of complaints received were relatively higher in debit and credit card segment (776 complaints) followed by loans and advances (462) and deposit accounts (268), he said.

Maximum customer complaints were received against State Bank of India and ICICI Bank during 2010-11, Palanisamy said. "Of the total 3,694 complaints received this year, as many as 1,521 complaints were received against SBI and its associated banks. We received 404 complaints against ICICI Bank," he said.

However, complaints against new-generation bankers have dwindled because of their tighetning of internal grievance redressal systems and improvement in customer services, Palanisamy said.

Palanisamy said he was not satisfied with the number of complaints received as compared to the bank branches. "We want to spread awareness among urban and rural customers," he said adding it had been planned to spread awareness through television and radio.