A Kerala consumer commission has awarded Rs 70,000 to a customer after an ATM failed to dispense Rs 10,000 in 2014, ruling the bank could not provide proof of the transaction and highlighting the bank’s responsibility in safeguarding customer interests.
A Kerala consumer commission has ordered a bank to pay Rs 70,000 to a customer after an ATM withdrawal of Rs 10,000 failed to deliver cash in 2014, even though the amount was taken from his account. The Thrissur District Consumer Commission said the bank could not substantiate its claim that the transaction had succeeded, and noted that the ATM’s own electronic record did not support the disputed withdrawal, according to The Indian Express.
The complaint centred on a March 1, 2014 attempt to withdraw money from an ATM run by another bank. The customer said the machine did not release cash, yet Rs 10,000 disappeared from his account. After a legal notice sent in 2015 failed to settle the matter, he approached the commission, arguing that the bank had provided deficient service and caused him hardship, The Indian Express reported.
The bank said its records showed the withdrawal had gone through and that later checks indicated the cash had been dispensed. But the commission rejected that position, saying the bank had not produced convincing proof and had not properly investigated the grievance. It held that the customer should not be required to prove internal technical issues in an inter-bank ATM system and that the account-holding bank was responsible for resolving the dispute, according to the order quoted by The Indian Express.
The commission also drew a line between the bank that held the customer’s account and the bank that operated the ATM, dismissing the case against the latter for lack of independent negligence. Still, it said the customer was entitled to fair and efficient banking service and awarded the full Rs 10,000 disputed amount, plus Rs 50,000 for the distress and inconvenience caused and Rs 10,000 towards costs. The ruling follows a separate recent Kerala consumer decision reported by The Indian Express and others, in which a bank was also found liable after failing to prove that an ATM had actually dispensed cash when a customer’s account was debited.
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