3 schemes for complaint to Ombudsman integrated into one

Visakhapatnam: Deputy General Manager and Deputy Ombudsman of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana S Ananthi said there were three different schemes for lodging complaints with Ombudsman on deficiency of services in the banks' and different sites for various States till 2021.

Speaking at the townhall meeting for awareness on Reserve Bank of India - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-10S) 2021 held here on Monday, the DGM mentioned that all these have been integrated and brought under one umbrella now under one India one nation.

Banking Ombudsman is a body created by the RBI to take care of the banking complaints of the general public in India. Customers can either give a written or online complaint.

Explaining the scheme, Ananthi said if a problem remains unresolved for 30 days, customers can lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman. RBI appoints a senior official or Ombudsman who addresses and resolves all the complaints and grievances of the customers. The three erstwhile Ombudsman schemes of RBI the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006; the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018; and the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019 were integrated with RB-10S with effect from November 12, 2021, Ananthi mentioned.

All scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks and scheduled primary co-operative banks are covered under the scheme. The Ombudsman enquires and investigates complaints made by citizens against abuse of discretionary power, maladministration or administrative inefficiency and takes appropriate actions. Ombudsman service is free to consumers.

Chinmaya Kumar, CGM, Ombudsman, AP and Telangana, Sarma Vuppuluri, LDM Visakhapatnam, Sanjay Kumar Upadhyaya, regional manager, SBI, Region 1, bank officials and customers attended the meeting.