ICICI Bank has been in focus in recent years because of alleged harassment of customers by its recovery agents. Listed below are some of the related news links:
ICICI Bank was fined 55 lakh for hiring goons (known coloquially as "goondas") to recover a loan. Recovery agents had, allegedly, forcibly dragged out a youth (who was not even the borrower) from the car, beaten him up with iron rods and left him bleeding as they drove away with the vehicle. "We hold ICICI Bank guilty of the grossest kind of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice for breach of terms of contract of hire-purchase/loan agreement by seizing the vehicle illegally, ""No civilised society governed by the rule of law can brook such kind of conduct" said Justice Kaleem, who was born in Laddhawala, Muzaffarnagar is the president of the consumer commission.
Four ICICI loan employees arrested on theft charges in Punjab
ICICI Bank told to pay 1 lakh as compensation for using unlawful recovery methods.
RBI warns ICICI Bank for coercive methods to recover loans[23]
ICICI Bank drives customer to suicide - Four men including an employee of ICICI Bank booked under sections 452, 306, 506 (II) and 34 of IPC for abetting suicide.[24]
According to the suicide note they advised him, "If you cannot repay the bank loan, sell off your wife, your kids, yourself, sell everything at your home. Even then if you cannot not pay back the due amount, then it's better if you commit suicide."[25]
India biggest private bank has compensated the life by money [26]
ICICI Bank on huge car recovery scam in Goa - ICICI Bank invest in car-jackers to recover loans in Goa. A half an hour investigative report on CNN-IBN's 30 Minutes. The under cover report was executed by CNN-IBN's Special Investigations Team from Mumbai, led by Ruksh Chatterji [27]
Family of Y. Yadaiah alleged that he was beaten to death by ICICI Bank’s recovery agents, for failing to pay the dues. Four persons were arrested in this case.[28]
A father while talking to Times of India, alleged that "ICICI Bank recovery agents visited his house and threatened his family. And his son Nikhil consumed poison because of the tension". Oppressed by ICICI Bank's loan recovery agents, Shakuntala Joshi (38), committed suicide by hanging. The suicide note stated that she was upset with the ill-treatment meted out by ICICI Bank's recovery agents and had thus decided to end her life.
In another case of a suicide it is alleged that ‘goondas’ sent by ICICI Bank abused Himanshu and his wife in front of the entire residential colony before taking away his vehicle. Feeling frustrated and insulted, he reportedly committed suicide.
C.L.N Murthy, a scientist with the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, was allegedly tortured by recovery agents of ICICI Bank after he defaulted on his loan.“They humiliated me no end. They ripped my shirt, shaved my moustache, cut my hair and gave electric shocks on my chest and even spat on my face" adds Murthy.
A dozen recovery agents of ICICI Bank, riding on bikes, allegedly forced a prominent lawyer, Someshwari Prasad, to stop his car. They held Prasad at gunpoint and also slapped him to force him. A manager of the ICICI Bank branch, Rakesh Mehta, along with four other employees were arrested.
In a landmark case, Allahabad High Court had ordered registration of an FIR against ICICI Bank's branch manager, President, Chairman and Managing Director on a complaint of 75-year-old widow Prakash Kaur. She had complained that “goondas” were sent by the bank to harass her and forcibly took away her truck.
When the Supreme Court wanted to know about the procedure adopted by the Bank, ICICI Bank counsel said notice would be sent to a defaulter asking him either to pay the instalments or hand over the vehicle purchased on loan, failing which the agents would be asked to seize it. When the Bench pointed out that recovery or seizure could be done only legally, ICICI Bank counsel said, "If we have to go through the legal process it would be difficult to recover the instalments as there are millions of defaulters".
Taking strong exception to ICICI Bank's use of 'goondas' against a defaulter, the president of Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum said, "The fact leaves us aghast at the manner of functioning and goondaism in which the bank is involved for a petty amount of 1, 889... such attitude is deplorable and sends chills down the spine... The bank had the option to recover dues through legal means. They have no legal right to snatch the vehicle in such a manner which amounts to robbery, ". In this case recovery agents pointed a pistol at a defaulter when he tried to resist. ICICI bank argued that they had taken peaceful possession of the vehicle "after due intimation to the complainant as he was irregular in remitting the monthly instalments". But the court found out that the records proved otherwise.
Two senior ICICI Bank officials were booked for abducting one Vikas Porwal from his house and keeping him hostage in the Bank's premises.
The credit card division of the ICICI Bank allegedly threatened a senior citizen in Chandigarh with a fictitious arrest warrant on account of a default that never was.
A Consumer Commission has asked ICICI Bank MD K V Kamath to appear before it in respect a complaint. A borrower on protesting against the forceful dispossession of his car, as seen in the post-incident photographs, was roughed up and sustained injuries.
An 18-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped and detained at the Pune branch of ICICI Bank.
There have been several other minor legal cases accusing harassment by ICICI Bank [41][42][43][44][45]
A consumer court imposed a joint penalty of 25 lakh on ICICI Bank and American Express Bank for making unsolicited calls.
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
DEAR ICICI BANK CUSTOMERS CONSIDER ABOUT THIS SERIOUSLY DO YOU STILL WANT TO CONTINUE WITH ICICI BANK. BE CAREFUL AND TAKECARE.
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