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Tamil Nadu
By K.T. Sangameswaran
J.S.S.P.Kumar of T.Nagar, in his complaint to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai (south), said he had availed himself of four credit cards from the Citibank, N.A. In 1997, during a Europe visit, he purchased a commodity for $ 154 using his international gold card. On return, there was delay in submitting a relevant form. When the complainant's company went to its bankers to obtain a dollar demand draft for remittance to the Citibank, it was advised to produce Reserve Bank clearance on the nominated foreign exchange dealer. As the draft could not be purchased, he requested the bank to accept the amount in Indian rupees. But the bank insisted on the draft and kept adding penal charges for non-payment. Even as he was trying to find an acceptable solution, the bank hotlisted all his credit cards. Following his request, the bank urged him to pay Rs.95,000 in full and final settlement, for all the cards. Though he offered to pay the amount provided he was allowed to use all cards and settlement of the amount on the gold card in Indian rupees and even after his making a down payment, the bank did not act on the offer and delayed the renewal of the cards. A senior business executive, he was inconvenienced by the bank's act. The bank's manager, Billing Services, was cited as the opposite party. The bank submitted that use of the gold card was bound by the FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulation Act) and RBI guidelines. All credit cards were interlinked so far as the default clause was concerned. After utilising the gold card, the complainant failed to submit A 2 form and purchase the DDF to clear the outstanding. The bank accepting Indian currency would amount to a FERA violation. The complainant himself was responsible for the closure of his credit cards. In the order, the forum president, K. Ramasamy and the member, V. Sheeba, said a perusal of the documents showed that the bank had ``unlawfully and without any valid ground hotlisted'' all cards. It did not produce any evidence to show that the complainant had to pay only by DDF and not in Indian currency, that acceptance of Indian currency through an authorised dealer was violative of the FERA, that credit card use was bound by the terms and conditions of the Card Member Agreement and also that the agreement was an enforceable one. The reliance on the default clause to hotlist the cards was not done under any agreement or any other law. ``The opposite party is liable not only for service deficiency but also for indulging in unfair trade practice''. For no fault of his, the complainant's international credit card wad hotlisted. The bank did injustice to him and damaged his creditworthiness, the forum said. In most cases, where banks relied on credit cards, the CMA was not at all executed as a contract or agreement under the Contract Act. If it was executed as an agreement, at least, a Rs.10 adhesive stamp would have to be affixed on it. If the banks insisted on affixing the stamp for execution of an agreement, the exchequer would be richer by about Rs.100 crores, the forum observed.
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