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FIRSTADDITIONAL BENCH
STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION,
PUNJAB, CHANDIGARH.
First Appeal No.524 of 2019
Date of Institution : 13.08.2019
Date of Reserve : 08.02.2021
Date of Decision : 08.03.2021
Ashok Kumar Grover S/o Late Ram Parkash, Resident of Flat
No.23, GF, Saraswati Vihar, Jalandhar.
...….Appellant/Complainant
Versus
Branch Manager, HDFC Ltd., Milk Bar Chowk, Model Town,
Jalandhar.
……Respondent/OP
First Appeal against order dated
09.07.2019 passed by District
Forum
(now
Commission),
Jalandhar.
Quorum:-
Mr. Rajinder Kumar Goyal, Presiding Member.
Ms. Kiran Sibal, Member.
Present:-
For the appellant : Sh. A.K. Grover, in person
For the respondent
:
Ms. R.S. Verma, Advocate
……………………………………………………………………….
KIRAN SIBAL, MEMBER:-
This appeal has been preferred by the appellant
against order dated 09.07.2019 passed by District Consumer
Disputes Redressal Forum, Jalandhar (in short, “the District
F.A. No.524 of 2019 2
Commission”),
whereby
the
complaint
filed
by
respondent/complainant was dismissed.
It would be apposite to mention that hereinafter the
parties will be referred, as have been arrayed before the District
Commission.
Facts of the Complaint
2.
Brief facts, as averred in the complaint, are that the
daughter of the complainant namely Deepti had availed a loan
facility i.e. Housing Loan for Plot No.534-B, situated at Surya
Enclave, Jalandhar measuring 500 Sq. Yard and complainant is
the co-borrower of the said loan. A sum of Rs.14,00,000/- was
sanctioned as loan by the OP @ interest 7.75% per annum and
the term of the loan was 10 years and installment was to be
paid on monthly basis. Total 120 installments were to be paid
and monthly installment was Rs.16,802/- and the total 120
installments were paid in time. Complainant went to branch of
OP for demanding the account statement, but the OP had been
putting off the matter on one pretext or the other. Neither they
refused nor supplied the copy of the account statement. On
22.04.2017, complainant visited the branch of OP and strongly
demanded the account statement and other details of the
account and they issued six certificates of different years
showing the interest charge by them and it had come to the
notice to the complainant and OP was charging higher rate of
F.A. No.524 of 2019 3
interest i.e. @ 9.75%, 10.75%, 11%, 12.25%, 12.50%, 13%,
13.50%, 13.65% and 13.75%. The complainant was shocked to
know that OP was charging such a higher rate of interest and
complainant sent letters to the OP i.e. letter dated 03.06.2017,
26.06.2017, 25.07.2017 and 26.09.2017, but a vague reply was
given by the OP and they have not mentioned the reason of
higher rate of interest nor they have mentioned that account
would be reviewed after correcting the rate of interest. The
complainant also sent a letter to National Housing Bank, Delhi
RBI to check the illegality of loan companies on 18.09.2017
mentioning that higher rate of interest was being charged by the
OP, but no positive action was taken against the OP. As per the
knowledge of the complainant and as per guidelines of the RBI,
the rate of interest for housing loan never remained more than
9.5%. The RBI on different intervals use to issue credit policy
and use to announce repo-rate at the time of the present loan it
was 6.25% and at the time of last installment, it was 6%. It was
further pleaded that the guidelines of RBI that interest on loan
should be charged on the basis of repo reports, but in the
present case, it was not so. Without serving any notice by the
OP to the complainant,
