STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, PUNJAB, CHANDIGARH.

Date of institution : 20.06.2024 Reserved on : 07.01.2025 Date of Decision : 29.01.2025

1. HDFC Bank Ltd., SCO 88, 9, Crystal Plaza, Urban Estate, Garha Road, Jalandhar, Punjab-144 001 now represented through duly Authorized Representative and Legal Manager Rajendra Prasad. 2. HDFC Bank Ltd., No. 35, Ground Floor, Grand Trunk Road, Near Narinder Cinema, Jalandhar, Punjab-144 001 now represented through duly Authorized Representative and Legal Manager Rajendra Prasad.

3. HDFC Bank Ltd., Bank House, Shiv Nagar Estate, Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai, Maharashtra-400018 now represented through duly Authorized Representative and Legal Manager Rajendra Prasad.

….Appellants/Opposite Parties Versus Saleem son of Jagan Nath, resident of H. No. 177, Sansarpur, Jalandhar .…Respondent/Complainant First Appeal under Section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 against the order dated 10.04.2024 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jalandhar in C.C. No. 106 of 2023.

Quorum:-

Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Daya Chaudhary, President Mr. Vishav Kant Garg, Member

1) Whether Reporters of the Newspapers may be allowed to see the Judgment? Yes/No

2) To be referred to the Reporters or not? Yes/No 3) Whether judgment should be reported in the Digest? Yes/No Present:-

For the appellants : Sh. Bhawan Deep Jindal, Advocate For the respondent : Sh. Saleem, in person VISHAV KANT GARG, MEMBER :

Appellants/Opposite Parties i.e. HDFC Bank Ltd., have filed the present Appeal through their Legal Manager to challenge the impugned order dated 10.04.2024 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jalandhar (in short, “the District Commission”), whereby the Complaint filed by the Respondent/Complainant-Saleem had been partly allowed.

2. It would be apposite to mention here that hereinafter the parties will be referred, as were arrayed before the District Commission.

3. Briefly, the facts of the case as made out by the Respondent/Complainant in the Complaint filed before the District Commission are that he was having Current Account No. 50200055808552 with the OP-Bank since 2019. Being its customer, OPs had issued him the Business Money Back Credit Card, upon which the Complainant had purchased one AC on 17.06.2022. The amount was to be paid in 9 installments and the interest was fixed as 13.5%. First two installments of his AC were bounced due to the mistake on the part of OPs, which they had admitted and later on they had refunded the bounced charges. Due to said mistake, CIBIL score of the Complainant was affected. Through this Credit Card, the Complainant had purchased the Medical Insurance for his family including his mother on 22.08.2022 but the OPs again had committed mistake and later refunded the Medical Insurance amount in his credit card. On 24.08.2022, the OPs on its own had closed his Credit Card and had pressurized him to pay the due 7 Installments of the AC in one go i.e. approximately an amount of Rs.28,500/-. The Complainant had contacted the OPs and informed them that he had not made any request in the form of application to close his credit card. On admitting this mistake, the OPs had obtained a number of documents from the Complainant but did not agree to continue the old credit card and agreed to issue him the new credit card. On issuing new credit card, they had refused to transfer his old outstanding amount on the same and lateron had agreed to transfer the same but pressurized him to pay with the new slab of rate of interest i.e. 28.5% instead of 13.5% payable on the AC amount. The Complainant had shown his disagreement with the said offer of the OPs and had informed them about the same.

4. Thereafter, in the month of January, due to some urgent need of money in Mumbai, the Complainant had used approx. Rs. 46,000/- and had requested the OPs to convert the refund of this amount into EMIs. This request of the Complainant was rejected by the OPs