In a win for consumer rights, a Chartered Accountant managed to get a refund of foreclosure charges from HDFC Bank after taking the issue to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Ombudsman.

In a social media post shared on X, formerly Twitter, Atul Modani, a Chartered Accountant wrote, “#HDFCBank refunded foreclosure charges of ₹59,000 on a home loan when a complaint was raised with the RBI Ombudsman. It also awarded ₹10,000 as compensation to the complainant, who is a Chartered Accountant.”

The post referenced the case of Nikhilesh Kataria also a Chartered Accountant, took to platform LinkedIn to share his frustrating experience with HDFC Bank.

Kataria had approached the bank to foreclose two home loan accounts. To his surprise, the bank demanded foreclosure charges, even though he argued that it violated the terms of the contract.

In his LinkedIn post, Kataria wrote, "Don’t accept injustice. My entire banking is with hdfc bank and last year I went to them to foreclose two home loan accounts. They told me that I have to pay foreclosure charges but I oppose the same stating that it violates the contract but bank didn’t accept."

"But finally I had to pay as they refuse to close the account in absence of foreclosure charges. I paid charges and after completing the formality, very next day I made an official complaint with bank and as expected bank didn’t change the stand," he added.

Approaching the RBI Ombudsman Not one to back down, Kataria immediately lodged a formal complaint with HDFC Bank, though the bank refused to reverse its stance. He further added to his post, "Later I made a complaint with RBI ombudsman and submitted all the relevant documents including the copies of contract."

"I specifically made a request to ombudsman TO MAKE AN ENQUIRY AND FIND OUT SIMILAR ILLEGAL CHARGES RECOVERED BY THE BANK in case of other customers," he wrote.

Within weeks, the RBI Ombudsman intervened, leading HDFC Bank to refund the foreclosure charges and grant him Rs 10,000 as compensation for the ordeal.

Netizens Reaction

An X user responding to the post wrote, "10000 is very small compensation for such a big bank. 100000 at least should be awarded."

Another user added, "Standing up for what's right! RBI Ombudsman ensures justice by refunding Rs 59k + Rs 10k compensation."