IGI Logo

Reserve Bank of India's ombudsmen should ensure that consumer complaints are resolved quickly and in a fair manner, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday.

Adressing the Annual Conference of RBI Ombudsmen in Jodhpur, he said that the RBI ombudsmen and regulated entities (REs) must identify the root causes of persisting customer complaints and take necessary systemic measures to correct them.

The central bank governor said he was concerned about rising customer grievances, despite the RBI's efforts to resolve them.

Some specific areas which have reported most complaints, include mis-selling, disproportionate service charges, and very high penal rates.

Das also raised the matter of intimidating tactics used by representatives of financial institutions, citing media reports.

He also expressed concern over various methods of payment frauds being used by undesirable entities like phishing, vishing, fake links and websites, and remote-access apps.

"What is of concern is that still a large number of complaints pertain to traditional banking," Das said.

"This calls for serious review of the working of the customer service and grievance redress mechanism in the regulated entities," he added.

The root cause of the persistence of such grievances should be analysed and corrective measures taken, Das emphasised.

At the same time though, he added that the ombudsman offices should be sensitive and judicious in their approach.