Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Drop box facility at banks draws flak from consumers

Staff Reporter

In case of dispute banks ask for counterfoils

Coimbatore: The Coimbatore Consumer Cause (CCC) has criticised the practice of banks keeping drop boxes for customers to deposit their cheques and demand drafts.

Many banks, including those in the public sector, are setting up drop boxes.

In a memorandum to the Reserve Bank of India, the CCC president, C.R. Rajkanth, has said that the banks instruct customers to deposit the instruments into these boxes for making entries in their account.

Some banks were forcing even those visiting the banks during the working hours to deposit their cheques/demand drafts in drop box.

Such a practice was against the objective of providing customer friendly service, he said.

Customers who deposited their cheques/demand drafts go without a counterfoil. In the event of the instrument getting misplaced at the bank's end, the customers were left without a proof.

The customers needed counterfoils for fighting cases legally in the event of dishonour of a cheque and when there was a delay or failure in making an entry in the account. If the customer disputed the same, banks asked for counterfoil as a proof for having deposited the instrument. The CCC requested the RBI to direct banks to withdraw the concept of drop boxes on branch premises and ensure that all instruments were accepted across the counter and counterfoils issued with seal and signature.

Many consumer forums had clearly ruled that refusal to accept a cheque across the counter at a branch during the working hour was a deficiency in service.

The RBI too had instructed banks to make both the facilities (drop box and acceptance across the counter) available so that the customer can choose his option. Customers could send in their complaints to RBI, if any of the banks failed to comply with this.

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