HDFC Bank threatening my life!

[gopz]

Hi guys,
I want to keep this brief so that everyone reads...I had closed an HDFC credit card thru settlement in May 2005. First installment was in cash, two more by cheques. The first cheque was presented and cleared. The second cheque (Rs.17,250) was presented one month late by HDFC and did not get cleared.

No one contacted me or took any action till June 2007. Thats more than 2 years. Suddenly some rowides came to my house and thereatened my aged parents in my absence and told them that they were from HDFC and wanted me to pay Rs.73,000!!!

I went to the bank's recovery office and spoke to a person and he agreed to close the card and zeroise the outstanding and remove my name from the negative listing if I pay the amt for which the cheque bounced (Rs.17,250). He agreed and I made a payment of Rs.17,250 cash.

He gave me a settlement letter but he said that he will give me another letter (NOC) the next day which would mention that there is no more due from me and my name would be removed from the negative listings. I trusted him and paid the money.

Since then, he is not picking up my calls and now when I contact his manager, I am told that I was made a false promise. I wrote to the banking ombudsman - now HDFC is threatening me with dire consequences and he abused me using bad language and they are telling me that they will file a police complaint against me and spoil my career and my life.

This is just a pint of the matter, I can go on and on writing what they have done but I want people to read and respond so I am keeping this short. I am planning to file a suit against them. Any BHPians had similar issues with HDFC bank please guide me.

regards
gopz

[zeeshan suleman]

No not that i know off, but these recovery guys are big rowdies and cannot be trusted one bit, you should have gone to the bank bracnh itself to clear this out, these guys are just come local goona hired to get cash out of people. U need to be Ruff with them as they will take you for granted otherwise.

[yogesh sarkar]

file an fir against the bank, its illegal to send recovery people or to threaten people.

[maxbhp]

Originally Posted by yogesh sarkar

file an fir against the bank, its illegal to send recovery people or to threaten people.

Yes, It is but sadly no one has objected strong enough to stop these guys from doing it again and again . Wish government had taken some serious initiatives against these guys !!!! I feel sorry for you Gopz

By the way does consumer court intervene in criminal offense committed by a firm ?

[rks]

Originally Posted by gopz

Hi guys,
I want to keep this brief so that everyone reads...I had closed an HDFC credit card thru settlement in May 2005. First installment was in cash, two more by cheques. The first cheque was presented and cleared. The second cheque (Rs.17,250) was presented one month late by HDFC and did not get cleared.

The point here is whether HDFC presented the cheque within its period of validity. Does not matter if the cheque was presented one month from the date of issue. I think the period of validity is either 3 months or 6 months, I am not sure which. It is your responsibility to ensure that the cheque does not bounce within that period. If HDFC attempted to encash a cheque whose validity has expired, you are not responsible.

I think you should contact a lawyer and take legal advice on what your liability is. My hunch is that if the cheque bounced due to insufficient balance within its period of validity, you are liable for the defaulted amount plus interest, or whatever conditions you may have agreed to while taking the loan. If the lawyer confirms that, then settle and move on.

As for HDFC issuing threats through goons, again consult the lawyer on what action can be taken. Maybe you could send a legal notice through your lawyer to HDFC that if this continues, you will resort to legal action and maybe also inform the police.

I am off to Mumbai now. Wish you all the best in getting this matter resolved quickly.

[gopz]

they want me to pay around Rs. 57,000 if my name has to be removed from negative listings!

[slipstream]

i do agree that threatening the customer with dire consequences is absolutely not the right thing to do but all this & more could certainly be avoided with just a little bit of financial discipline....i've been using credit cards for more than 6 years now and have never got into any kind of a mess at all...maybe these tips would help :

a) Hold only 1 or at the most 2 credit cards...one for regular usage and the other for backup in case the first one fails for any reason. Resist the temptation to go in for multiple credit cards even if they are offered "life time free" as it would be quite tough to keep track of your expenses on multiple cards.

b) Try and hold these 1 or 2 cards only of banks of repute (relative term, i hold hsbc and amex)

b) Try not to revolve on your cards. Cut out a cheque for the complete amount spent in a month. This way you dont pay the bank any interest / financial charges / service tax

b) Try and get as much spending on these cards as possible as this gives you an upper hand in negotiating for annual fee waiver

The Golden Rule is to treat a credit card as a sheer convenience tool instead of carrying around bundles of cash......and remember the saying "DONT BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW ?"

just spend only what you're capable of in cash and nothing more and you'll understand what a good friend a card can be

just my 2 cents...

[ad75]

Originally Posted by gopz

He gave me a settlement letter but he said that he will give me another letter (NOC) the next day which would mention that there is no more due from me and my name would be removed from the negative listings. I trusted him and paid the money.

hey gopz,

Did the letter say that its the payment towards full & final settlement of your card # ? or was it a receipt of 17k you paid?

keep all the receipts/letters with you safely.

one of my friend(he had an icici credit card) had made the payment in cash to the collection guy as full & final payment and after 4yrs they had put a lien mark on his bank account & debited 70k saying he had not paid.unfortunately he had lost the receipt of the payment & since he paid cash,he didnt have any proof of payment.

[Jaggu]

consult a lawyer and take it further, RBI is very strict about this and can take actions against ANY bank which violate the norms.

this is kind of very common issue, especially with pvt banks and a full fledged feature also came in magazines "The Week" was one i remember, a month back

[gopz]

yes, the letter says full & final but the issue is I was promised that I will get a letter saying that there are no more dues and my name will be removed from negative listing databases like satyam & CIBIL but later I came to know i was cheated. When I asked for it and wrote to Banking Ombudsman(RBI) I am being threatened now !

[maxbhp]

Originally Posted by rks

I think the period of validity is either 3 months or 6 months,

Its 6 months fom the date of Cheque

[dinar]

hey Gopz , does the letter say that it the final payment for the settlement or it just a receipt of 17,250/-. Do have the letter of settlement given to you by the bank initially[ when you settled this first in 2005]. I you have that than you can go to consumer forum with this letter and file a case against HDFC bank, also please file an FIR in the nearest police station, before any action is taken by the goons or the bank.

[hvkumar]

You cannot be responsible for the Bank's mistakes. When the cheque did not get cleared (for their own fault), they are expected to write to you and take a substitute cheque - this they failed to do so. Therefore, you cannot be expected to pay any overdue interest.

Please write also to the Banking Ombudsman.

In case you do not get any response take up the matter in the Consumer Court.

Simultaneously, write to SIBIL (the credit rating bureau), giving them the facts, and state out why you are not a defaulter (otherwise, your name will continue to be blacklisted, and you will get into trouble when you avail a fresh loan some other time anywhere in India).

Keep writing to HDFC asking them to confirm that all dues have been settled. Make sure that you copy this letter to all persons you write to on this issue.

[speedmiester]

Sorry to hear about this.
Never ever trust any of these banks and financial institutions.
You can go for the consumer forum against HDFC. Can't believe what these guys will do next. They are becoming a new mafia in India.

[moralfibre]

https://www.cibil.com - Check with them if you are listed!