Bengaluru Woman Loses Rs 3 Lakh From SBI Account as Fraudster Forges Her Signature, Consumer Court Orders Bank to Pay Refund With Interest
A Bengaluru woman has won a legal battle against the State bank of India (SBI), which has been directed by a consumer court to refund Rs 3 lakh of the woman with interest which was withdrawn by a fraudster using forged signature.
Bengaluru, October 6: A Bengaluru woman has won a legal battle against the State bank of India (SBI), which has been directed by a consumer court to refund Rs 3 lakh of the woman with interest which was withdrawn by a fraudster using forged signature. The public sector lender has also been told to pay compensation worth Rs 5000 to the complainant towards her court expenses.
According to a report in TOI, Lakshmi C, aged 59, of Hoskote in held a savings account with SBI’s KR Road Branch and had a balance of over Rs 3.3 lakh as on March 25, 2019. When she visited the branch to withdraw it in the third week of January 2021, she was shocked to know that Rs 3 lakh had been withdrawn from her account by a fraudster after forging her signature. Bengaluru: Consumer Court Orders Bank To Pay Rs 5,000 for Harassing Senior Citizen Over Closed Credit Card's Outstanding Due of 35 Paise, Issue No-Dues Certificate.
The woman was left to tears when the bank staff told her that they cannot help her since it was a legal over-the-counter withdrawal. The woman did not possess a debit card or cheque book. The staff had also skipped entry on her passbook for the period from March 26, 2019 to September 24, 2019. When questioned about this, they gave an elusive reply. Bengaluru Consumer Court Orders Zomato to Pay Rs 3000 As Compensation to Man For Not Delivering Food Worth Rs 256.
The bank promised her that they will carry out a thorough investigation following her complaint on January 21, 2021, but denied her the CCTV footage of the alleged legal withdrawal claiming that the bank keeps only 90 days of recordings as per RBI guidelines.
Feeling helpless after the bank did not solve her issue till the end of March, the woman once again lodged a complaint on April 1, 2021. The bank replied on August 7, 2021 that they cannot do anything since the withdrawal of Rs 3 lakh was legal and was made using Lakshmi’s registered phone number and passbook.
The woman approached the Hoskote police with the withdrawal slip given to her by the bank. The cops found the signature to be forged, however, the bank didn’t refund the money which ultimately drove Lakshmi to approach the Bangalore Urban 2nd Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Shantinagar with a complaint against SBI’s chairman and the manager of KR Road branch for unfair trade practices in November.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 06, 2023 09:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).