ICICI Bank fined Rs 50 lakh for hiring 'goons'

[Nos007]

Now thats a very good judgement done..

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

If the bank could:
a. Upfront not figure how risky the customer is, then why did it give the loan - has it no business sense?
b. Gave loans despite knowing riskiness of customer, then what's the point!

Well, if they call and say you have a pre-approved cash loan, then how else do they go about it?! Its as if they want everyone to be debted to them.

The papers mentioned that ICICI tried to escape saying the collection agency had agreed to stick by the terms of the contract, but what happened later was not their doing. The court was smarter and said whatever it may be, the consumer should be be held for mistakes arising out of either party.

[rkg]

it is 55 lakh's 5 lakhs to customer and 50 lakhs to consumer help foundation or some thing like that
I feel ICICI/HDFC/CITI does not have right to be banks.
as i have said in another post earlier we should all keep on pestering RBI till it brings banks lending rates under check. banks should be allowed to change only PLR not special rates for few weeks.
this nothing but a 420 case. bank offers special rate for deewali/pongal etc under floating rate scheme and immediately with 2/3 months hikes it stating it is floating rate. but when it has to reduce it reduces as a special case stating they have not reduced PLR and hence it is not applicable to existing customers. floating means it should both go up and down but unfortunately in india all banks have made floating rate as only up with now down at all.
ICICI has increase it's floating rate on home loans by whooping 4.5% in 18 months ( from jan 2006 to july 2007)when RBI increase CRR/bank rate by less than 1.5 %. where is the justification for this hike. now it says the decrease in rates in applicable only for fresh loans

[eclectix 1st]

Ironic, even after the news came in papers today morning some "Recovery agents" were in action in one of my friends office making lot of noise.

I mean what were they thinking?

[nispatel]

Rs. 55 Lakh penalty is not enough for ICICI bank to deter from these tactics. I would appreciate Regulatory Authority (read RBI) and Judiciary only if following happens:

1. All goons involved in episodes like this are changes under various IPC of homicide not attempting to murder.
2. Serious charges should be framed against all Bank offices involved in recovery dept and all the way up till CEO. I wish to see them going to judicial custody and bagging for mercy.

[csentil]

Landmark Judgement.

Well, on one side as far as pure banking goes ICICI is very good. Believe me, I've been banking with them for 10 years now. Before the days of netbanking it was a pleasure banking with them. I used to go to the bank and within 5 minutes everything used to be addressed. When NetBanking was started it was really very good. I've never visited the bank in the last 7-8 yrs and I've done everything online without any hassles even though its not my salary account.

However their Loan section is pathetic. I've felt this twice as they had outsourced their loan section to someone. The loan agents will promise heaven & earth and then collect their commission. They will then promptly disappear. We'll then find out what was promised is not what's delivered. Thankfully I don't have a loan with them. But as far as banking goes, I still prefer them compared to HSBC or HDFC.

The cheapest trick ICICI has pulled was when it advertised that they were offering personal loans for 8%. When we read the fine print it was 8% flat and not 8% diminishing !!!

Their argument that the collecting agents are external and ICICI has no control over them is even more pathetic. As a customer I've taken loan from ICICI, not some collection agent company.

Do you'll know that ICICI has actually sold 45 of their outstanding bad Home loans to an external agency called ARCIL.

ICICI Bank sells 45% bad home loans to Arcil

This way ICICI recovers most of its losses. No Arcil is forced to collect the money and they can also use unlawful methods to get the money back.

[Technocrat]

The amount is Big for the first time but it isnt the first time such a judgement given for ICICI, last year or so ICICI was fined with the complete loan amount & some money as damages to a guy whose Scooter was 'hijacked' by such goons at a traffic signal in Mumbai.

ICICI is known for such tactics

[n_aditya]

Thats good news although the penalty might sound paltry compared to the agony and suffering that some customers went through.

Lets hope ICICI and the rest of the banks learn from this.

[kartikkumar]

Serves them right and about time too! Let it be a deterrent to other banks using similar tactics although ICICI probably set the benchmarks in this "industry". Let's hope the judgement is not reversed in appeal.

k.

[ac 427]

ICICI Bank is the worst bank i have ever experienced. All banks are here to make money but ICICI bank has a totally different agenda they purely want to look the ignorant, by portraying a image of an Indian bank they are fooling us. They deserve this. They are the real scum bags of the system.

[Nitin]

Padron my ignorance,but when did this whole system of 'recovering agents' start? I don't recollect anything of this sort until the time I was in India.The maximum I had heard about was a court notice,and then a probable seizure of all assets,in case a person failed to pay up the loan amount.

[eclectix 1st]

FYI NITIN

This started around 2000, when all this IT / ITES / BPO companies came of age in our country. Private MNC banks like Citibank, stanchart etc started issuing Credit Cards & Personal loans like there's no tomorrow. our young & new age crowd started using these facilities like crazy & when time came for repayments......these MNC banks had to resort to desi ways.

As early as 2001, one of my friend was pulled up by c***bank's goons for being late on her CC payment !!!

so began the great Indian Banking system's CANNON BALL RUN, where no one wants to be left behind.

By 2003 ICICI bank became #1, in terms of Credit Cards & Personal/Auto Loans.

one thing they realised late was the cunningness of our people in "how to dodge payments".

Now all these private banks, Desi & MNC banks alike are resorting to these illegal methods as the best way to recover their monies.

Legal or Illegal, one thing these banks've got it right......

Jab Seedhi ungli se ghee nahin nikaltha nahi tho.............ungli tedi karna padtha hai !!!

[Blue_V]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

If the bank could:
a. Upfront not figure how risky the customer is, then why did it give the loan - has it no business sense?
b. Gave loans despite knowing riskiness of customer, then what's the point!

Thats so very very true.

[eclectix 1st]

Giving loans to risky customers for High interest rates is how they make money.

Its called SUB-PRIME LENDING!!!

[WhiteKnight]

This thread should ideally be be in "TBHP review> Indian Car Loans and Insurance" section. Already few threads there with chronicles of ICICI Bank. Let this act as a pointer for future prospects