Are recovery agents harassing you?

Has it occurred to you that we live in fear today? Fear of bomb blasts, fear of adulteration, fear of starting a banking transaction due to misuse of records and harassment by recovery agents.

You never know to whom your personal information is being passed on or which goon will show up at your doorstep demanding money!

The fact is, if you are a genuine customer, you need not worry. The Reserve Bank of India, Indian Banks' Association and Indian courts explicitly provide guidelines for banks and encourage customers to approach regulatory bodies for grievances.

And you, dear reader, must be informed about these guidelines so that you know what liberties a bank can or cannot take with you.

Misuse of information guidelines

• The bank (or Non-Banking Financial Company) should not reveal customer-related information to anyone without the customer's express consent.
• The bank/ NBFC is supposed to make a few things clear to you when obtaining information, such as: details of information to be shared, purpose for which information will be used and details of person/ organisation with whom the information will be shared.
• If a bank/ NBFC plans to report a default to the Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd, the central repository of customers' credit details, history and track record, it must ensure that a notice is issued to the customer.
• A bank/ NBFC is supposed to disclose to its agent only information necessary to discharge their duties. No agent should pass or misuse any information from an unauthorised source and without the express consent of the customer.

Illustration: Vaibav Shirke

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Debt collection guidelines

These guidelines are important since I know many people who have lost many nights of sleep thanks to threats from recovery agents.

• The RBI holds that all banks/ NBFCs are responsible not only for their own actions but also those of their agents, that is, Distributed Multi-Agent System/ franchisees/ agents.
• These agents must carry a letter/ identity card in their name or that of an agency authorising them to undertake debt collection. This helps you verify the authority of the person.
• All written communication sent by the agency should contain the name and contact details of the concerned officer.
• Agents must contact customers only between 7 am and 7 pm and interact civilly.
• Agents must avoid all calls and visits to collect debt if the customer meets with any tragedy.
• The bank or its agent must not resort to any kind of threat or harassment to anyone for debt collection. The word anyone includes the customer, his/ her family members, friends, colleagues or referee.
• The bank or its agent will not pass any false/ misleading information with the intention to humiliate anyone publicly.

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