The Ernakulam Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Kerala in an order has advised banks to publish forms, service conditions and guidelines in regional languages with an option for the customer to choose his/her preferred language for SMS alerts during the account opening stage itself.
The commission, comprising president D.B. Binu and members V. Ramachandran and Sreevidhia T.N., directed that the order be shared with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The order was passed while dismissing a petition filed by Ambika Gopi of North Paravur accusing the Cheriyappilly branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) of negligence, inefficiency and deficiency of service after she lost ₹45,000 in three fraudulent ATM transactions in Deogarh district of Odisha in February 2019.
The petitioner did not know how to check SMS alerts which were in English from the bank after each transaction and came to know about the loss of money only after her daughter noticed the alerts three months later, in May 2019. She alerted the bank branch and the police stating that she had not shared her ATM card or pin number with anyone and that none of her family members had ever been to Deogarh. However, she neither received a refund nor the police registered a case.
