1) Are you the harried customer of a nationalized/public sector/private bank operating in India? 2) Have you been made to run around in circles by your bank in order to get service which is rightfully due to you? 3) Can you substantiate that your bank has taken longer than thirty days and still failed to resolve your problem?

If you answered yes to all of the above questions,  don't fret.  Help is at hand.

After fifty six days of total agony with Bank of India over a problem with internet banking access,  I turned to the internet for help.  What I found left me very pleasantly surprised, and I came away determined that I'll not only take on my bank which has been treating me with complete disdain and apathy, but also help others like me, who are at a loss for any other alternatives.

So, who is this entity who can help us harried souls? The Reserve Bank of India, that's who. The RBI brought out a scheme called the 'Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006' and it has been updated in February 2009.  This is a wonderful scheme which makes it possible for the common man to get his/her dues without having to beg and plead with the insensitive banks.  You can find the document here: http://www.rbi.org.in/commonman/Upload/English/Content/PDFs/67933.pdf.

The document is clear, unambiguous and very well organized.  Clause 8 of the document refers to Grounds for Complaint, and I reproduce it here verbatim:

GROUNDS OF COMPLAINT <div>(1) Any person may file a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman having jurisdiction on any one of the following grounds alleging deficiency in banking including internet banking or other services. </div><div>(a) non-payment or inordinate delay in the payment or collection of cheques, drafts, bills etc.; </div><div>(b) non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of small denomination notes tendered for any purpose, and for charging of commission in respect thereof; </div><div>(c) non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of coins tendered and for charging of commission in respect thereof; </div><div>(d) non-payment or delay in payment of inward remittances ; </div><div>(e) failure to issue or delay in issue of drafts, pay orders or bankers’ cheques; </div><div>(f) non-adherence to prescribed working hours ; </div><div>(g) failure to provide or delay in providing a banking facility (other than loans and advances) promised in writing by a bank or its direct selling agents; </div><div>(h) delays, non-credit of proceeds to parties' accounts, non-payment of deposit or non-observance of the Reserve Bank directives, if any, </div><div>(i) complaints from Non-Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation to their remittances from abroad, deposits and other bankrelated matters; </div><div>(j) refusal to open deposit accounts without any valid reason for refusal; </div><div>(k) levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the customer; </div><div>(l) non-adherence by the bank or its subsidiaries to the instructions of Reserve Bank on ATM/Debit card operations or credit card operations; </div><div>(m) non-disbursement or delay in disbursement of pension (to the extent the grievance can be attributed to the action on the part of the bank concerned, but not with regard to its employees); </div><div>(n) refusal to accept or delay in accepting payment towards taxes, as required by Reserve Bank/Government; </div><div>(o) refusal to issue or delay in issuing, or failure to service or delay in servicing or redemption of Government securities; </div><div>(p) forced closure of deposit accounts without due notice or without sufficient reason; </div><div>(q) refusal to close or delay in closing the accounts; </div><div>(r) non-adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by the bank; </div><div>(s)non-adherence to the provisions of the Code of Bank's Commitments to Customers issued by Banking Codes and Standards Board of India and as adopted by the bank ; </div><div>(t) non-observance of Reserve Bank guidelines on engagement of recovery agents by banks; and </div><div>(u) any other matter relating to the violation of the directives issued by the Reserve Bank in relation to banking or other services.

If you believe your issue with your bank falls under one of these categories, you CAN lodge a complaint with the RBI.  Oh, it must be a very cumbersome process, right? Wrong. It's as easy as 1-2-3!

1) Prepare a pdf with details of your complaint and evidence to show that you have contacted your bank (email-trails, postal mail scans etc) 2) Visit https://secweb.rbi.org.in/BO/ComplaintCheck.html and fill in your particulars.  It's very intuitively laid out and takes less than five minutes to fill out. 3) Upon submitting your complaint, you will be allowed to upload your file with proof.  Upload the document you prepared in step 1.

That's all there is to it! You will get a complaint number and other particulars in a print-friendly page.  Unfortunately, there is no way to check the status of the complaint, once submitted, but maybe we'll have that facility too, soon.  I really hope my problem will be resolved soon. I knew what it felt like, to be a victim.  I now know what it's like, to feel empowered.  If you are a victim of your bank's apathy, or know somebody who is,  spread the word.  There is hope!</span>

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