The 'sweep-in' facility on fixed deposits offered by HDFC Bank seemed perfect to 66-year-old Rajan Alimchandani to entrust his lifetime savings of over Rs7 lakh.
The 'sweep-in' facility on fixed deposits offered by HDFC Bank seemed perfect to 66-year-old Rajan Alimchandani to entrust his lifetime savings of over Rs7 lakh.
The most advantageous feature was the freedom to withdraw money anytime without breaking the fixed deposit and retaining the same rate of interest on the balance amount.
However, exactly a year ago, in August 2010, Alimchandani fell victim to a money-eating ATM machine, the kind many ATM beneficiaries often complain about. On August 14, 2010, Alimchandani needed money for a medical emergency for his wife.
His request for withdrawal was declined by the ATM citing insufficient funds. The balance in his account went from being Rs7,08,989 to Rs8 and10 paise.
Not getting a satisfactory response from the bank, Alimchandani approached the District Consumer Forum which dismissed his complaint. The forum dismissed his complaint citing the bank's claim that he had not tried to withdraw money after checking the balance and the ATM or the regular statements don't reflect the FD amount.
However, Alimchandani claimed that he has documentary proof that the earlier ATM receipts reflected the FD amount. He was sure of his claims and made an appeal in the state council.
"The whole idea of the 'sweep-in' facility was to facilitate withdrawal in times of emergency. But when my wife developed a bronchial problem and doctors indicated that she may have to be hospitalised, the ATM betrayed me. Moreover, being a diabetic senior citizen, I could have suffered from a stroke after seeing my lifetime's savings vanish," said Alimchandani.
In his application to the state council, Alimchandani explained how the bank delayed responding to his complaints. Anticipating an error in the ATM's mini statement, he even issued a bearer cheque of Rs24,000.
But even the cheque was not processed due to ‘low balance'. The bank's reply on August 26, 2010, was that their bank was in maintenance mode during which sweep-in of funds from the fixed deposit into savings account was not taking place.
Alimchandani's demand to show documentary evidence that none of the bank's customers anywhere could withdraw money during the said duration also remains unanswered.
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