National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has directed HSBC Bank to pay ₹15 lakh as compensation to a couple who faced mental agony and harassment when their cheques were dishonored, despite having enough funds in their account. The NCDRC found that the bank froze their account, alleging non-payment of a loan of ₹1,80,000 and claiming that their Know Your Customer (KYC) details were not updated.

However, the Commission observed that there was no evidence to suggest that the bank could classify the complainants as high-risk customers, requiring them to update their KYC every two years, as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines. Additionally, it was noted that the loan accounts had already been settled and closed in 2009 and 2010.

The complainants, Mr. Anil and Mrs. Neelam Goyel, stated that in November 2015, when they tried to withdraw money from an ATM, the transaction was declined. They were later informed by the bank that their KYC details were not updated according to norms, even though they had already done so in May 2015. The bank claimed that the account was frozen due to Neelam's missing KYC documents, but the complainants argued that this classification as high-risk customers was baseless and added insult to injury.

The NCDRC ruled that the bank's freezing of the joint savings account was unjustified and caused harm to the complainants, exposing them to potential criminal action for the dishonoring of cheques. The commission found HSBC negligent and concluded that the bank's actions constituted a deficiency in service, leading to unwarranted humiliation, embarrassment, and loss of reputation for the couple.

However, since the complainants did not provide evidence to determine the exact amount of loss suffered, the NCDRC declined to award the compensation amount requested. Nevertheless, HSBC was ordered to pay ₹15 lakh as compensation for the mental agony and harassment caused, along with ₹1 lakh in litigation expenses.

Furthermore, the bank was directed to unfreeze the complainants' account and refrain from demanding any further amounts related to the settled loan accounts.

The case was represented by Advocates Pulkit Deora, Vidit Gupta, and Prachi Gupta on behalf of the complainants, while HSBC was represented by Advocates Devmani Bansal and Shresth Sethi.

"Anil Milkhiram Goyel and Another vs. HSBC Limited"