ICICI - Blatant cheating of customers & the (In)justice that is passed of as the law

balashome · 2nd January 2006, 17:54

RTech,

Sorry to hear about your ordeal. In business, ethics and rules, are just ornaments. They can be worn one day to impress certain entities and then taken off to unrestrictedly flex muscles the next.

I am pretty sure this is not the first time such things have happened. One of my friends too suffered at the hands of another bank - Standard Chartered - with assorted ruffians and goondas visiting him on account of an 'already closed' Credit Card.

I think we, in India, tend to give our population as the reason for every other thing. Why dont we have good roads - too much population, Why dont we have good public transport systems (or for that matter any public system!) - too much population, Why dont banks know what their right and left hands are doing - too much population.

Only God has the power to save our country from our politicians and the corporates. Rest assured that this thread is being sent to many of my friends, in India and abroad. There will be quite a few who will want to opt out of their 'NRI Accounts' after reading this. This is also going to a group of civic minded retired bank officials who dont mind writing letters to the people who matter, till they get some attention. Lets pray RTech and for that matter nobody else is stranded like this. And RTech, hats off for being thorough and collected throughout this affair. Your greatest advantage has to be that you have stuck to doing the 'right thing' at all stages. As somebody said, this has to be a 'water-tight' case - on paper at least! And i wish you better luck on road too!

vinu99@gmail.co · 3rd January 2006, 00:29

ICICI had the guts to charge me an interest of 6% on the outstanding amount. For those who do not calculate the percentage of interest charged by ICICI, this should be happeneing. The ICICI guys charge twice on the same outstanding, which is criminal. Spread the word and keep the thieves out of business.

soccer · 3rd January 2006, 22:52

Quote:

Take my word for it. Not one magazine or newspaper would print anything against ICICI, They just can't because they have a huge commercial interest. ICICI , gives them huge Ads and that brings them the dough, guys. It does'nt matter if guys like us suffer the indifferences of these MNCs.

[quote]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rtech

That thought did cross my mind. But it's worth a try anyway. I'm sure there is someone out there who thinks beyond the bottom line.

Do we all remember that a couple of Months earlier of a Full blown Case of a certain Sumo Victa belonging to Varun Roy ? This car was parked with all his trouble written on the car and parked outside an Auto Exhibition at Bangalore. The whole thing generated a lot of interest initially, became a sticky and then died down to the 10th page.

Tell me guys did anyone read about it in any of the Auto Magazines, Newspapers or any other Periodical. A lot of members wrote to Tata Official. None replied. Ultimately the fellow had to knock the doors or the court. It would probably take a few years for the outcome, let alone a fovourable one, but then thats the only and ultimate choice one has in this country.

We all feel sorry for Rtec, but this is not going to help him settle the issue. Only the courts will come to his help, but then the question is, will it & by when ?

The right path is the wrong one in my Mahan Bharat.

Soccer

GTO · 4th January 2006, 10:07

Quote:

Do we all remember that a couple of Months earlier of a Full blown Case of a certain Sumo Victa belonging to Varun Roy ? This car was parked with all his trouble written on the car and parked outside an Auto Exhibition at Bangalore. The whole thing generated a lot of interest initially, became a sticky and then died down to the 10th page.

Tell me guys did anyone read about it in any of the Auto Magazines, Newspapers or any other Periodical. A lot of members wrote to Tata Official. None replied. Ultimately the fellow had to knock the doors or the court. It would probably take a few years for the outcome, let alone a fovourable one, but then thats the only and ultimate choice one has in this country.

Do we all remember my Mercedes Benz case, which got full coverage on the Team-BHP and ended in a settlement that was more than sweet? Do we all remember the tremendous support shown by BHPians that, I am sure, had a hand in the final result?

Do we all remember my Ichibaan Honda case which was also publicised on Team-BHP? And that resulted in another sweet settlement?

How about the RNS motors case, where the senior management viewed this community and offered to make up to a fellow BHPian?

Also, consumer courts no longer take a couple of years to arrive at a verdict. The average duration is anywhere between 6 - 12 months. And they are extremely pro-consumer. I do agree that a combination of methods must be adopted to get the right results. But the fact is...every little one counts.

The point is to bring to light the shady dealings of ICICI. And even if this thread results in ONE customer saved from being cheated, Rtech would consider it worthwhile.

The point is : If you dont try, how will you ever know if you had a chance?

GTO

Samurai · 4th January 2006, 11:02

I used to be a big fan of ICICI when I was a NRI customer, sending money to India, etc. Then we returned to India. My wife returned few months earlier than me in mid 2003, and was shocked at their attitude towards resident customers. They are worse than government babus, only they work in better looking offices.

When it was time to pick a bank for our newly formed company, we were like anything but ICICI. Finally we went with HDFC and are very happy with it. After that too we have heard many horror stories regarding ICICI.

Check this old message: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/88867-post10.html

iamdstig · 4th January 2006, 14:47

HI guys. In this respect of the Insurance company as far as my personal experience, Bajaj Allianz is a really good one. I had met with an accident (no third party involved) in my bike and the bike repairs amounted to some 8k odd with the front fork cut and front rim bent to the max and stuff like that. But the insurance guys cleared my case within 4 working days. I even came to know that for the 3rd party claims, the insurance guys act on real quick.

soccer · 4th January 2006, 21:05

[quote]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Do we all remember my Mercedes Benz case, which got full coverage on the Team-BHP and ended in a settlement that was more than sweet? Do we all remember the tremendous support shown by BHPians that, I am sure, had a hand in the final result?

Do we all remember my Ichibaan Honda case which was also publicised on Team-BHP? And that resulted in another sweet settlement?

How about the RNS motors case, where the senior management viewed this community and offered to make up to a fellow BHPian?

I totally agree with you. Even if we can prevent one customer from going to ICICI, I would call it a success. I was highlighting the point that No magazine would publish this case, because by doing that, they have a lot to lose.

Quote:

Also, consumer courts no longer take a couple of years to arrive at a verdict. The average duration is anywhere between 6 - 12 months. And they are extremely pro-consumer. I do agree that a combination of methods must be adopted to get the right results. But the fact is...every little one counts.

Just read a case about a Ford Icon, in the Deccan Herald last week. This guy bought the car in April 2003, In may 2003 the car caught fire while travelling to Chennai. The State Consumer Forum passed the order in Dec 2005. If either party files objection at the National Consumer forum then the matter could drag on for atleast another year. Things in Karnataka are not as they are in Maharashtra/ Mumbai

Soccer

ambylimo · 5th January 2006, 02:04

[SIZE=2]this is one of those case where u feel being let dwn by your own ppl..sad to knw that a professional unit like ICICI employs unethical behavior such as this ...i know Rtech is hard done by n yh ICICI has been a subject of controversies in the past bt i guess they havent learned from 'em..they r technically the worse financial outfit in the nation today and deserve to be unheralded from their spot...good to hear tht this piece of infrm. has already created some spurr n would go a long way in ressurecting sanity at the top..[/SIZE]

ambylimo · 5th January 2006, 02:14

certainly our nation doesnt want these plucky financial institutions to be a part of public administration if this is what they give in return..shame to be an account owner of such a unit which fails to recognize CRM(customer relationship management) as a base of their operations..magnitude of task that they undertake, corporate clients they hold, responsible they ought to be..they have shattered promises

n i hpe that sme serious actions be taken with stern results demanded ...RTech ur safe n thts important ..alls well that ends well..

rkg · 5th January 2006, 11:14

[quote=soccer]

Quote:

Just read a case about a Ford Icon, in the Deccan Herald last week. This guy bought the car in April 2003, In may 2003 the car caught fire while travelling to Chennai. The State Consumer Forum passed the order in Dec 2005. If either party files objection at the National Consumer forum then the matter could drag on for atleast another year. Things in Karnataka are not as they are in Maharashtra/ Mumbai

Soccer

hi!
in this particular case FORD replaced the vehicle + paid 2.5 lakh as compensation for damaged baggage on their own( this shows the quality of the vehicles produced by ford. they suddenly catch fire and the entire car burns into ashes in few minutes. imagine the outcry if the car maker is indian not ford) . the customer went to court asking damages for mental agony ect. then the consumer court awarded him 1 lakh compensation.

RedOne · 5th January 2006, 17:54

Tough luck rtech. You go get them.

Usually, complaining to someone high up does work. Case in point is when I had just started my ICICI account, a cheque of 20K deposited did not appear as a credit though it was promptly debited from the other bank. After 2 months of fighting, I wrote (regular mail) a Sr VP in Mumbai. Within 3-4 days, he personally called me, apologized and assigned someone in the Chennai office to fix it and also gave her a deadline of 24 hours. And guess what, the 20K magically appeared the next day.

Of course, these incidents kept happening and my company finally shifted to Citibank.

I also had a home loan with them, which I changed the interest rates from 12% to 7.5%. A year later, I noticed the statement still said 12%. When contacted, they said they do not have any records for an interest rate change. Luckily I had a account statement which said "Cheque no xxxx paid to ICICI home finance towards interest rate change". Faxed it to them and suddenly they "found" my request and issued the corrected statement!

ICICI is definitely avoidable.

Gears,
Red-One.

Rtech · 5th January 2006, 18:04

Well well...it seems we have a breakthrough. Can't disclose more as yet though.

Stay Tuned.

haryan · 5th January 2006, 18:28

Dear Robin ...
I do not know what to say but i sympathise with you on your ordeal ...
Whatever happened is really horrible .. you should take help of Bruno Govias and use his connections in media and spread your story through Newspapers
.. you should really not let the Morons at ICICI make you a scapegoat of their business policy .. FIGHT ON , MATE ...
what i am telling you all might sound crazy but its the truth ..
I have a friend who used to work with an private insurance company ( I do not want to take the name ) he used to tell me about their training sessions.. these guys were all taught that a customers claim should always be okayed with whatever estimate customer asks for when the car is inspected at he time of repair and keep the customer happy .. and then they should start querying later on and drag the matter of settlement for a minimum of 6 months .. and then customer should be called and another lesser figure is to be bargained for .. they think that, since customer is harried for about 6 months by then , the customer will agree for a lesser amount of compensation... this is the attitude of all major pvt insurance company ..
Agree to everyting in the begining and then deny everything at the time of payment ..

Rtech · 5th January 2006, 18:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by haryan

I have a friend who used to work with an private insurance company ( I do not want to take the name ) he used to tell me about their training sessions.. these guys were all taught that a customers claim should always be okayed with whatever estimate customer asks for when the car is inspected at he time of repair and keep the customer happy .. and then they should start querying later on and drag the matter of settlement for a minimum of 6 months .. and then customer should be called and another lesser figure is to be bargained for .. they think that, since customer is harried for about 6 months by then , the customer will agree for a lesser amount of compensation... this is the attitude of all major pvt insurance company ..
Agree to everyting in the begining and then deny everything at the time of payment ..

Yes Haryan. This is exactly what I was told by a very senior member of the IRDA yesterday. Each and every private company follows this tactic for large claims.

I have a strong feeling that this is what they are going to try and pull on me as well. However, incase they don't know already, I ain't gonna be suckered into their ploy. The game is going to be played on my turf this time.

It is truly PATHETIC the way they take customers for a royal ride. You can bet the house that my complete ordeal with ICICI is going to the press.

ajmat · 5th January 2006, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rtech

It is truly PATHETIC the way they take customers for a royal ride. You can bet the house that my complete ordeal with ICICI is going to the press.

Even if the matter is solved amicably - go to the press, insurance ombudsman and consumer forum - people should not be fooled

2nd January 2006, 17:54	#91
balashome BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 46 Thanked: 2 Times	RTech, Sorry to hear about your ordeal. In business, ethics and rules, are just ornaments. They can be worn one day to impress certain entities and then taken off to unrestrictedly flex muscles the next. I am pretty sure this is not the first time such things have happened. One of my friends too suffered at the hands of another bank - Standard Chartered - with assorted ruffians and goondas visiting him on account of an 'already closed' Credit Card. I think we, in India, tend to give our population as the reason for every other thing. Why dont we have good roads - too much population, Why dont we have good public transport systems (or for that matter any public system!) - too much population, Why dont banks know what their right and left hands are doing - too much population. Only God has the power to save our country from our politicians and the corporates. Rest assured that this thread is being sent to many of my friends, in India and abroad. There will be quite a few who will want to opt out of their 'NRI Accounts' after reading this. This is also going to a group of civic minded retired bank officials who dont mind writing letters to the people who matter, till they get some attention. Lets pray RTech and for that matter nobody else is stranded like this. And RTech, hats off for being thorough and collected throughout this affair. Your greatest advantage has to be that you have stuck to doing the 'right thing' at all stages. As somebody said, this has to be a 'water-tight' case - on paper at least! And i wish you better luck on road too!
	() Thanks

3rd January 2006, 00:29	#92
vinu99@gmail.co BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 109 Thanked: 39 Times	ICICI had the guts to charge me an interest of 6% on the outstanding amount. For those who do not calculate the percentage of interest charged by ICICI, this should be happeneing. The ICICI guys charge twice on the same outstanding, which is criminal. Spread the word and keep the thieves out of business.
	() Thanks

4th January 2006, 11:02	#95
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,826 Thanked: 45,514 Times View My Garage	I used to be a big fan of ICICI when I was a NRI customer, sending money to India, etc. Then we returned to India. My wife returned few months earlier than me in mid 2003, and was shocked at their attitude towards resident customers. They are worse than government babus, only they work in better looking offices. When it was time to pick a bank for our newly formed company, we were like anything but ICICI. Finally we went with HDFC and are very happy with it. After that too we have heard many horror stories regarding ICICI. Check this old message: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/88867-post10.html
	() Thanks

4th January 2006, 14:47	#96
iamdstig Newbie Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 12 Thanked: 0 Times	HI guys. In this respect of the Insurance company as far as my personal experience, Bajaj Allianz is a really good one. I had met with an accident (no third party involved) in my bike and the bike repairs amounted to some 8k odd with the front fork cut and front rim bent to the max and stuff like that. But the insurance guys cleared my case within 4 working days. I even came to know that for the 3rd party claims, the insurance guys act on real quick. Last edited by iamdstig : 4th January 2006 at 14:52.
	() Thanks

5th January 2006, 02:04	#98
ambylimo BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: (Toronto) Ahmedabad Posts: 149 Thanked: 0 Times	[SIZE=2]this is one of those case where u feel being let dwn by your own ppl..sad to knw that a professional unit like ICICI employs unethical behavior such as this ...i know Rtech is hard done by n yh ICICI has been a subject of controversies in the past bt i guess they havent learned from 'em..they r technically the worse financial outfit in the nation today and deserve to be unheralded from their spot...good to hear tht this piece of infrm. has already created some spurr n would go a long way in ressurecting sanity at the top..[/SIZE] Last edited by ambylimo : 5th January 2006 at 02:05.
	() Thanks

5th January 2006, 02:14	#99
ambylimo BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: (Toronto) Ahmedabad Posts: 149 Thanked: 0 Times	ICICI in shambles .. certainly our nation doesnt want these plucky financial institutions to be a part of public administration if this is what they give in return..shame to be an account owner of such a unit which fails to recognize CRM(customer relationship management) as a base of their operations..magnitude of task that they undertake, corporate clients they hold, responsible they ought to be..they have shattered promises n i hpe that sme serious actions be taken with stern results demanded ...RTech ur safe n thts important ..alls well that ends well..
	() Thanks

5th January 2006, 17:54	#101
RedOne BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 338 Thanked: 91 Times View My Garage	Tough luck rtech. You go get them. Usually, complaining to someone high up does work. Case in point is when I had just started my ICICI account, a cheque of 20K deposited did not appear as a credit though it was promptly debited from the other bank. After 2 months of fighting, I wrote (regular mail) a Sr VP in Mumbai. Within 3-4 days, he personally called me, apologized and assigned someone in the Chennai office to fix it and also gave her a deadline of 24 hours. And guess what, the 20K magically appeared the next day. Of course, these incidents kept happening and my company finally shifted to Citibank. I also had a home loan with them, which I changed the interest rates from 12% to 7.5%. A year later, I noticed the statement still said 12%. When contacted, they said they do not have any records for an interest rate change. Luckily I had a account statement which said "Cheque no xxxx paid to ICICI home finance towards interest rate change". Faxed it to them and suddenly they "found" my request and issued the corrected statement! ICICI is definitely avoidable. Gears, Red-One.
	() Thanks

5th January 2006, 18:04	#102
Rtech Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 5,770 Thanked: 359 Times View My Garage	Well well...it seems we have a breakthrough. Can't disclose more as yet though. Stay Tuned.
	() Thanks

5th January 2006, 18:28	#103
haryan BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: HYDERABAD INDIA Posts: 345 Thanked: 5 Times	Dear Robin ... I do not know what to say but i sympathise with you on your ordeal ... Whatever happened is really horrible .. you should take help of Bruno Govias and use his connections in media and spread your story through Newspapers .. you should really not let the Morons at ICICI make you a scapegoat of their business policy .. FIGHT ON , MATE ... what i am telling you all might sound crazy but its the truth .. I have a friend who used to work with an private insurance company ( I do not want to take the name ) he used to tell me about their training sessions.. these guys were all taught that a customers claim should always be okayed with whatever estimate customer asks for when the car is inspected at he time of repair and keep the customer happy .. and then they should start querying later on and drag the matter of settlement for a minimum of 6 months .. and then customer should be called and another lesser figure is to be bargained for .. they think that, since customer is harried for about 6 months by then , the customer will agree for a lesser amount of compensation... this is the attitude of all major pvt insurance company .. Agree to everyting in the begining and then deny everything at the time of payment ..
	() Thanks