Reserve Bank of India in New Delhi, while issuing new guidelines for all financial institutions (RBI Recovery Guidelines), has made it clear that the recovery agent Surat Will not be able to misbehave, threaten or inhumanely behave with customers.
These rules will apply equally to all institutions including banks, regional rural banks, NBFCs, housing finance companies and co-operative banks. The objective of RBI is to provide relief to those customers who are not able to repay the loan on time due to financial constraints or temporary crisis.
The Central Bank has directed that every bank and financial institution will have to make a clear policy related to recovery. This will include the qualification of the recovery agent, his background check, code of conduct and monitoring system. RBI also clarified that the recovery process should not only be legal but also humane.
Under the new rules, complete background check of the recovery agent (RBI Recovery Guidelines) will be mandatory before appointment. Also, the agent will be required to obtain a training certificate related to debt recovery from the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance or its affiliated institute. The bank will have to take written consent from the agent that he will follow all the rules and code of conduct. There is a provision for punitive action against the agent for breaking the rules, even termination of the contract.
For customer transparency, banks will have to display the updated list of recovery agents on their websites, mobile apps and branches. This will include information such as the agent’s name, contact details and duration of the contract. Before handing over any recovery case, it has been made mandatory to inform the customer about the agent through written notice, SMS or email.
RBI has also said that if the customer files a complaint regarding the recovery process, then the recovery process will have to be stopped till the complaint is resolved. However, if the complaint is found to be false, the process can be restarted. Banks have been instructed to exercise extra vigilance in court cases.
Contact allowed only from 8 am to 7 pm
According to the new guidelines, recovery agents or bank personnel will be able to contact the customer only between 8 am to 7 pm. If the customer requests not to call at a particular time, it must be respected. Instructions have also been given to avoid calls or visits on sensitive occasions like death, marriage or festival in the family.
Every call will be recorded, harsh language will be completely banned
In microfinance loan cases, collection will be at the fixed location, but the customer will be allowed to go to home or workplace only if he does not come twice. All calls will be recorded (RBI Recovery Guidelines) and it will be necessary to inform the customer about this. Abuse, threats, false information, threats of physical violence, sending abusive messages on internet media or harassing family and friends are strictly prohibited.
Complaints about illegal and inhumane behavior of recovery agents had increased continuously in the last few years. Such cases were reported from many states, where people suffered mental breakdown due to extreme pressure and some even took suicidal steps. In this background, these new instructions of RBI are being considered as a strict and decisive step towards protecting the rights of customers.
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