ICICI bank is the #1 bank in this country as far as credit card frauds and fake investigation and subsequent harassment of the customers is concerned. I am in a similar situation.

My previous credit card with bank expired on november 2009. I intimated the bank of my new address as I moved from bangalore to Noida. There was some clerical error due to which my address was marked for chennai instead of Noida. After this the bank tried several times to send my card to an address in chennai (which doesn't exist) and during these several attempts, a physical copy of my card was stolen or cloned by the courier company in connivance with some dishonest employees of the bank. My email id and phone number were also updated to bogus values so that I don't receive any alerts related to transactions committed on my card.

Later when I came to know of the error in my address and updated the bank with the correct address, a credit card was delivered to me. After this I never got a statement for my credit card. When I inquired about this, it came to light that my address as per bank's records still pointed to an address in chennai.

#1. If this was the case, it was extremely irresponsible of the bank to deliver my credit card at an address (my noida address) which did not match the address in their records.

However after correction of the address (the second time), I got the statement which contained several fraudulent transactions.

Initially I thought this to be another clerical error from the bank - such has the quality of service been.
But when they confirmed this to be my account statement, I immediately blocked my card and raised a dispute for the fraudulent transactions.

The bank did some investigation to rule few transactions in favour of the bank (remaining still under investigation). The transactions were done using a physical card and the transaction slip for these transactions did not bear my signatures.

The bank emailed saying that there are other parameters apart from transaction slip to determine that I have done the transaction which they will not disclose. duh!

Now clearly there is a lack of modus operandi for me to commit such a fraud and complicate my life.
Secondly I understand my responsibility as a card holder and am extremely careful with my credit card. The card after it was delivered to me was in my possession at all times.

The bank is trying to force the entire liability on me saying that I have done it or the transactions were done with my copy of the credit card.

Clearly its a case of my word against the bank's word.

I have read that in the past courier companies with connivance of dishonest employees of the bank have hatched similar conspiracies.

Now instead of clearing this dispute, I am harassed by all possible means... first through impolite calls from the collections department and now through repetitive threats of blacklisting my credit history through CIBIL.

I have concrete evidence that I have not done these transactions. I also have concrete evidence that the bank is responsible through its poor service in indirectly facilitating these frauds.

Please let me know if the bank can still spoil my credit history even if this application goes in a consumer forum and the matter is sub judice?

Please also let me know if RBI has some guidelines to penalize such banks based on the decision of consumer forums.

Appreciate your help.