GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

CONVENIENT SHOPPING CENTRE, FIRST FLOOR,

SAINI ENCLAVE, DELHI – 110092

C.C. No. 265/2020

Date of Institution: 25.11.2020

Judgment Reserved on: 03.07.2023

Judgment Passed on: 17.07.2023

QUORUM:

Sh. S.S. Malhotra (President)

Sh. Ravi Kumar (Member)

Ms.Rashmi Bansal (Member)

Judgment By: Sh. Ravi Kumar (Member)

JUDGMENT

1. The Complainant has filed complaint against OP alleging deficiency in service in issuing him a Life Insurance Policy connecting with his Home Loan for which he had never given his consent and then also for not refunding the amount of Rs.68,950/- unlawfully deducted from his account besides deducting Rs.4928/- towards Insurance Policy for Fire & Earthquake etc and also charging rate of interest more than agreed upon, thus totaling Rs.79,297/-.
2. Brief facts as stated by the Complainant are that he had applied for Home Loan of Rs.17,40,000/- in order to purchase 1421 sq ft 3 bedroom Flat in Himalaya Tanishq Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh which was sanctioned by OP on 07.12.2019 for a period of 130 months with interest @8.15% p.a and the EMI for the same was Rs. 20195/- p.m. On 18.12.2019 the said loan was disbursed in favour of the Builder by the OP.
3. For the above said purpose three accounts were opened viz. Saving Bank account no.41540100004642, Home Loan account no. 16520600002143 and another Loan account no. 16520600002148 in the name of Complainant.
4. While sanctioning the Home Loan to the Complainant, OP deducted Rs. 4928/- towards insurance policy from the saving account/bank account of the Complainant and Insurance Policy no. 1901536727 for covering the damages from Fire and Earthquake etc. was issued. This was done on 18.12.2019 itself. Further, on the same day i.e. 18.12.2019, the OP credited an amount of Rs.68,950/- as loan in the loan account no.16520600002148 in the name of Complainant and EMI of Rs. 810/- p.m. was fixed for this Loan and the said amount was taken from his Saving Bank Account and a Life Insurance Policy from ‘INDIA FIRST LIFE INSURANCE – MALEAS’ was issued to him which was never delivered to him. The Complainant has stated that he had never applied for this Life Insurance Policy and this was done by the OP on their own without his consent and in deceitful manner. Further interest calculated on this Loan was wrong and excessive interest to the extent of Rs. 558/- as charged by OP.  
5. The Complainant re-paid Rs.10,00,000/- (Rs. Ten Lacs) in July 2020 and also Rs.50,000/- in his Home Loan Account and in the Home Loan there was also excess interest charged by the OP to the extent of Rs.4462/-.
6. The Complainant has alleged deficiency in service on the part of OP and has made following prayers in his complaint:

• OP be directed to pay Rs.79,297/- alongwith @ 24% interest from November 2020.
• OP be directed not to charge any illegal money from the Complainant and in case they charged so then the same should be refunded with @24% interest.
• OP be directed to pay Rs. 2 lakh compensation towards harassment, mental agony and pain.
• OP  be  directed to pay Rs.55,000/- towards litigation cost.
• Any other order which this Forum deemed fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of the justice.

7. Notice was issued to OP and it has filed its Reply wherein it has denied the contentions raised by the Complainant and has stated that on 18.12.2019 a Home Loan of Rs.17,40,000/- was sanctioned and disbursed in the Loan account no.16520600002143 in the name of the Complainant.
8. The Complainant was issued with Insurance Policy no.1901536727 covering the damage from fire and earthquake etc. and Rs. 4928/- was deducted from the Saving Bank Account of the Complainant on 18.12.2019 towards one time premium of the said insurance policy. It is not a matter of choice for the Complainant but such policy is mandatory in Home Loan accounts and was issued as per the banking guidelines in accordance with the terms & conditions of the sanction which was duly accepted by the Complainant.
9. OP has denied that another Insurance Policy no.G0000874 covering period from 20.04.2020 to 19.04.2031 (Single Premium Life Insurance) was issued to the Complainant without his knowledge and his consent. For this Insurance Policy, premium of Rs.68,950/- was financed by the OP to the Complainant in terms of sanction letter dated 13.12.2019 with full consent and knowledge of the Complainant without any coercion or mis-representation.
10. Premium amount of Rs.68,950/- towards Life Insurance Policy was deducted from the account of the Complainant initially on 19.12.2019 and on account of some technical reasons the same was credited back and later on it was debited again and Insurance Policy was issued in the name of the Complainant on 20.04.2020 and EMIs were deducted from the account of the Complainant from 24.01.2020. The OP has stated that they have recovered the EMIs properly and there is no excess recovery done by them and it is denied that OP is liable to pay Rs. 79,279/- as prayed by the Complainant in his complaint.
11. Complainant has filed Rejoinder to the reply of the OP denying the same and has stated that OP is falsely claiming that buying Insurance Policy for recovering the damage from Fire and Earthquake etc is mandatory for availing the Home Loan and OP is liable to prove this fact by producing the said guidelines issued by RBI or IRDA etc.
12. The Complainant has stated that before granting the Home Loan, the OP got signature of the Complainant on various papers under one pretext or the other and at that time OP did not inform the Complainant that they will issue Life Insurance Policy apart from the one Insurance Policy for covering the damage from Fire and Earthquake etc. The OP also got signature of the Complainant on the documents placed at page no. 17 & 18 of their Reply however at that time the text written by hand was not there and only typed text was there which suggested issuance of Staff Housing Loan to the Complainant. After taking signature of the Complainant the OP filled some columns by hand and issued a Life Insurance Policy to the Complainant against the premium of Rs.68,950/- which was given to the Complainant by OP as another loan which he had never applied.
13. Neither copies/letter of Sanction to the borrower placed at page no. 17 & 18 of the Reply nor copies of certificate of insurance for life cover as placed at page no. 19-22 of their Reply, was provided to the Complainant. The certificate of Insurance is dated 20.04.2020 whereas the OP started deducting EMI of Rs. 810/- from 24.01.2020. Further this amount when paid regularly should get reduced every month however the same is decreasing and increasing which shows that the OP has not calculated the amount properly. 
14. The Complainant has filed his evidence by way of affidavit wherein he has exhibited following documents;

• Copies of Aadhar Card of Sh. Raj Kumar Verma and Mrs. Suman Lata Verma as Exhibit CW1/1 & Ex. CW1/2 respectively.
• OP letter no. ADV/Retail-00000162476-LMS dated 07.12.2019 Exhibit CW1/3.
• Copy of the Insurance Policy no. 1901536727 as Exhibit  CW1/4.
• Copy of statement for the month of November 2019 of Saving A/c No. 41540100004642 as Exhibit CW1/ 5.
• Copies of statement of account from December 2019 to October 2020 as Exhibit CW1/6 (colly).

15. OP has filed its evidence by way of affidavit wherein following document has been exhibited;

• Evidence affidavit of OP as Exhibit OP-W1/1 with signatures at Point A & B.
• The true and correct copy of Power of Attorney dated 12.07.2022 executed by OP as Exhibit OP-W1/2.
• Copy of sanction letter dated 13.12.2019 for Home Suvidha Personal Loan in favour of the Complainants as Exhibit OP-W1/3.
• The copy of certificate of Insurance in the name of Complainant No.1 as Exhibit OP-W1/4.
• Statement of Saving Bank Account No.16520600002143 of the Complainant No.1 alongwith interest report as Exhibit OP-W1/5 (Colly).
• Statement of Loan Account No.16520600002148 of the Complainant No.1 alongwith interest report as Exhibit OP-W1/6 (Colly).
• The Certificate under Section 2A of Banker Books Evidence Act and Certificate U/s.65B of Evidence Act with regard to the saving and loan accounts of the Complainant no. 1 as Exhibit OP-W1/7 (Colly).

16. During the course of hearing the OP on 21.04.2023 filed additional documents as follows:

• Copy of Sanction letter dated 07.12.2019 of Home Loan sanctioned to the Complainant
• Copy of Insurance Certificate of personal accident Insurance of the Complainant
• Copies of Insurance Loan documents of the Complainant consisting of Attestation Memo, DP Note, Letter of Instalment with acceleration clause and composite undertaking cum declaration all dated 13.12.2019.

Copy of the said documents were given to the Complainant.

17. This Commission has heard the arguments of both sides and perused the record.
18. It is not in dispute that the Complainant applied for Home Loan for purchase of 1421 sq ft 3 bedroom Flat in Himalaya Tanishq Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh from OP and an amount of Rs.17,40,000/- was sanctioned vide ref. letter no. ADV/Retail-00000162476-LMS dated 07.12.2019 (Exhibit CW1/3) with the tenure of 130 months and interest @8.15% p.a. and EMI of the same was Rs.20195/- p.m. This loan was disbursed in favour of the Builder for purchase of flat on 18.12.2019. In order to cover the risk from Fire and Earthquake, one Insurance Policy no.1901536727 (Exhibit  CW1/4) was issued and Rs.4928/- was deducted from the savings account of the Complainant. Further another loan of Rs.69,850/- was granted to the Complainant by the OP and loan account no. 16520600002148 was opened through which the premium amount of Rs.68,950/- was paid to the Insurance Company towards life cover and Insurance Policy was issued towards life cover of the Complainant on 20.04.2020.   
19. The Complainant paid Rs.10,00,000/- (Rs.Ten Lacs)  and also Rs.50,000/- in his Home Loan account in July 2020 (Exhibit OP-W1/5). Thus the Home Loan liability was reduced to a great extent (60% approx.) of the Loan sanctioned to the Complainant within 7 months.
20. The grievance of the Complainant is that at the time of sanctioning of the loan various documents were got signed from him and his wife which were blank and the documents in dispute is annexed at page no. 17 & 18 of the Reply which is the sanction letter of loan of Rs.68,950/- towards (Baroda Home Suvidha Personal). As per Complainant though this document was signed by him but it was only typed one and was blank which was filled by hand later by the OP to create a loan of Rs.68,950/- in his name which he had never applied. The document refers as ‘Staff Housing Loan’ whereas he has never been staff of the OP Bank. Thus a wrong format was used by the OP for obtaining his signature on the blank format which were used by them to create a Loan of Rs.68,950/- for making the payment of premium amount towards Life Insurance Policy for which he had never given his consent. Complainant has also contended that for this Loan OP charged excess interest and EMI recovery is on the higher side.
21. Complainant had written letter dated 21.07.2020 to OP. Copy enclosed alongwith the Complaint. In the said letter he has mentioned that he had made visits to the OP office on 13.03.2020, 20.03.2020, 18.06.2020 & on 14.07.2020 when he deposited Rs.10,00,000/- (Rs.Ten lacs) and he demanded refund of Rs.68,950/- alongwith EMI deducted and excess interest charged. No reply has been filed by the OP to this letter.
22. The OP on the other hand is relying on letter dated 07.12.2019 which is the sanction letter for Home Loan of Rs.17,40,000/- wherein on page no.4 the following is mentioned:
23.  

23. According to the same for Home Loan, insurance cover for the property is to be obtained invariably at the cost of the borrower against the Fire and other perils for the full value of the property. Further it is also mentioned that the personal accidental insurance will be available to the borrower as per Master’s Group Personal Accidental Policy obtained by the Bank from United Insurance Company. This document bears the signatures of the Complainant. Thus insurance cover of property is mandatory however personal accidental insurance is not mandatory. Hence issuance of Fire & Earthquake Policy no. 1901536727  (Exhibit  CW1/4) to the Complainant is in order.
24. The documents filed by OP at page no. 17 & 18 of their Reply raises suspicion as the same is titled as ‘Staff Housing Loan’ and the Complainant is not the staff of the OP. Further certain columns of the said documents are typed whereas others are filled by hand.
25. It is commonly observed that at the time of disbursement of the loan so many documents/blank Bank formats are made to be signed by the borrower/co-borrower/guarantor which are voluminous and written in small font and there is no time available to go through its contents and these documents are later filled by them. Further OP has not produced any document as to on what basis and credited reports it has sanctioned Rs.68,950/- as loan to the Complainant and if there was no application then how straightway loan has been sanctioned and amount of Rs.68,950/- was credited in the Loan account no.16520600002148  by the OP. This amounts to ‘Unfair Trade Practice’ on the part of OP.
26. The Home Loan of Rs.17,40,000/- was sanctioned to the Complainant which was disbursed on 18.12.2019 and on 14.07.2020 Complainant re-paid Rs. 10,00,000/- in his Home Loan and got the liability reduced by more than half. There is force in the argument of the Complainant that if his intention was to close the loan account at the earliest then why he would pay premium of Rs. 68950/- for taking Life Insurance Policy for long run and more so he had never given his consent for it. Apparently OP had unilaterally sanctioned loan of Rs. 68950/- for buying Life Insurance Policy without the consent of the Complainant and started deducting EMI from 18.01.2020 which is also Unfair Trade Practice on the part of OP.
27. As regards, the contention of the Complainant that excess interest has been charged, this Commission is of the view that Home Loan has been sanctioned @8.15% p.a. by the OP and OP had reserved its right to reset the interest rate on monthly basis. For this also when the Bank is resetting the interest then it should have informed the Complainant by way of letter/notice about the change of rate of interest or change of EMI amount which has not been done whereas as per the sanction the EMI was fixed at Rs.20,195/- for per month. The OP is liable for charging rate of interest more than the sanctioned and amount calculated is  Rs.4462/- for the same and also similarly the rate of interest excess charged of Rs.558/- in the loan account of Rs.68,950/-.
28. In view of the reasons stated above this Commission holds OP liable for adopting Unfair Trade Practice and for deficiency in service and order as follows:

• OP to refund Rs.79,279/- to the Complainant along with interest @7% p.a. from the date of institution i.e. 25.11.2020 within 30 days from the date of receipt of the Order. Simultaneously Complainant will complete the formalities through OP for cancelling of the Life Insurance Policy no.G0000874  issued to him.

• OP to pay Rs.10,500/- towards mental agony & pain to the Complainant.
• OP to pay Rs.5000/- towards litigation cost to the Complainant.

This Order shall be complied by the OP within 30 days failing which OP shall pay interest @9% p.a. on all the above amounts till the date of realisation.

Copy of the Order be supplied/sent to the Parties free of cost as per Rules.

File be consigned to Record Room.

Announced on 17.07.2023.