The central bank has also suggested a common industry-supported portal to provide access to similar products or to enable the customer compare products and prices.

To curb mis-selling of financial products at the field level, the draft charter has also proposed that the service provider should have a board-approved policy on assessing suitability of products for clients prior to a sale.

The FSPs should examine the structure of its fees/service charges/penalties to ensure that they are reasonable. To resolve customer complaints, the draft charter has proposed that the FSPs set up grievance redressal mechanisms with timelines for resolving issues.

The name of the nodal officer for redressing customer grievance should be properly displayed and also place in the public domain the compensation policy for delays/ lapses in conducting /settling customer transactions within the stipulated time and in accordance with the agreed terms of contract.

 The RBI, on the protection of customer privacy, has proposed that customer’s personal information should be treated as confidential and not shared with others unless it is authorised by the customer or compelled by law.

According to CAG’s Saroja, a proper regulation specifying the penalties for defective service is the need of the hour as banks generally resort to delaying tactics or pass off their responsibility.

She cited a case where a customer’s cheque was passed by a public sector bank despite him giving a stop payment letter in advance and getting an acknowledgement. The bank is not refunding the money as per its own rules, she added.

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