SBI asked to pay elderly couple

The State Bank of India will reportedly have to pay ₹63.74 lakh to a customer as a refund, according to an order from the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).
The bank has been instructed to pay ₹97,06,491, which includes 9 per cent annual interest and an additional ₹3.20 lakh as compensation and legal expenses, according to a report by Business Standard.
The NCDRC has upheld an order by the Telangana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
 
The case concerns an elderly couple who opened a joint fixed account and three fixed deposits (FDs) totalling ₹40 lakh as of August 9, 2017.
On April 4, 2019, when trying to update the passbook, they realised that only ₹3 lakh was left in their account, and the rest of the amount was withdrawn. The total amount was ₹63 lakh.
The fraudulent transactions were done through a different phone, from a number which was not linked to the couple’s registered number. The couple in fact did not have a smartphone, the report said citing the confession of the fraudster.
 
The police filed an FIR on April 9, 2019.
The bank blamed the couple for their negligence.
“It is the customer’s obligation to prevent unauthorised use of their mobile device and to avoid sharing the mobile banking password/PIN with unauthorised persons. They shared their mobile, PIN number and other details with their associates, and that all disputed transactions were conducted by these associates either in connivance with them or due to their negligence,” the report said quoting lawyers representing SBI.
 
They added that 37 transactions were made through couple’s bank account. The couple however, claimed that the transactions were ‘unauthorised’.
The NCDRC said that SBI failed to secure the bank account which led to the fraud. NCDRC also stated that the incident could have been avoided if the bank had updated security protocols, the report said.
After this incident, SBI reformed its Internet banking system. Now, it mandates the physical presence of customers to activate Internet banking services to save customers from potential fraud, especially the ones who are not technologically advanced.