Hyderabad: The Telangana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (TGSCDRC) rejected an appeal by SBI Card, holding the company responsible for overcharging a customer.
The decision upheld a previous ruling by the District Consumer Commission, which ordered SBI Card to pay Rs 15,000 with 9 per cent annual interest and Rs 5,000 as costs.
The issue arose when the customer, Abdul Khader, from Medak, used his SBI credit card for transactions amounting to Rs 24,710.66. He claimed he had chosen to repay the amount in six monthly installments but said SBI changed this to 12 installments without his consent.
He also accused the bank of automatically debiting Rs 7,979 from his SBI savings account without a notice.
In January 2019, the district consumer commission ruled in favour of Khader, stating that SBI Card was deficient in its service. SBI Card later appealed, arguing that the changes to the EMI plan were communicated through e-statements and that the auto-debit was necessary to cover unpaid dues.
However, the TGSCDRC dismissed the appeal, citing SBI’s inability to provide evidence or calculations to justify the debited amount. The commission also noted that the partial refund of Rs 2,573 issued by SBI supported his claim of being overcharged. It criticized SBI for lacking clarity on how the interest was calculated.
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