HYDERABAD: Unhappy with the service rendered by your banker? You can register your complaint with the Banking Ombudsman set up under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and expect a speedy settlement, thanks to RBI’s online complaint tracking system.While the Banking Ombudsman has been in existence for a while, the central bank has recently adopted the online complaint registering mechanism. As a result, complaints that typically used to take more than two to three months can now be settled with in less than a month. “Customers can file their complaints online. This is more transparent and ensures speedy processing.We are able to settle nearly 60 to 65 per cent complaints in a year,” said Andhra Pradesh RBI chief general manager of Banking Ombudsman M Sebastian.He added that awareness levels among customers about the Ombudsman is low and hence the RBI has been gearing up to conduct workshops in rural areas.During 2010 to 2011, the number of complaints from metropolitan areas constituted 44.03 per cent of the total complaints from Andhra Pradesh followed by urban areas at 26.12 per cent, semi-urban areas at 18.06 per cent and rural areas at 11.79 per cent.During the year 2010-11 about 5,012 complaints have been received by the Banking Ombudsman in Andhra Pradesh as against 5,622 complaints registered in 2009-10.The regional office had dealt with 5,338 complaints including 326 complaints pending in 2010. Of these, 5,021 complaints have been closed. Interestingly, the State Bank of India and associates, including SBI Cards, accounted for the largest share of complaints at 41 per cent.The other significant inflow of complaints have been observed in respect of nationalized banks at 28.23 per cent.On the other hand complaints on private sector and foreign banks accounted for 18.6 per cent and 7.26 per cent respectively. “In our assessment, major banks have made significant enhancements in their internal grievance redressal and processes in response to more resolute regulatory and supervisory interventions and proactive engagement by the Banking Ombudsman,” said Sebastian.Meanwhile, ATM and credit cards related complaints formed a significant proportion followed by those relating to loans and advances at 15.22 per cent and delay in disbursement of railways and defence services pension at 11.41 per cent.
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