Summary of this article
The total complaints with RBI Ombudsman grew 13.5 per cent to 13.34 lakh in 2024-25.
Banks topped complaints with 81.5 per cent contribution, followed by NBFCs.
RBI launches 2-month drive from January 1 to clear pending complaints over one month old.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Integrated Ombudsman scheme saw a significant increase in consumer grievances during the financial year (FY) 2024-25. According to the annual report of the Ombudsman Scheme, a total of 1.33 million complaints were received during 2024-25, which is 13.55 per cent higher than the complaints received in FY 2023-24 (1,175,075). In the December monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting, the RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra highlighted the increasing pendency with the RBI Ombudsman and urged all the regulated entities to focus on their policies and operations and improve customer service and reduce such grievances. In addition to it, the MPC also proposed a two-month campaign to resolve all the grievances pending with the Ombudsman for more than a month.
The regulated entities include banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) registered with RBI, credit information companies, payment system participants, and most primary urban cooperative banks.
RB-IOS And RBI Ombudsman And Complaints In 2024-25
RB-IOS is a scheme under which there are 24 offices of RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) and the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC). RBI Ombudsman is a person. These are the officials appointed by the RBI at ORBIOs.
Here are some of the details from the scheme.
The rise in complaints with the RBI Ombudsman shows escalating complaints across regulated entities. According to the annual report of the RB-IOS, ORBIOs received a total of 296,321 complaints in 2024-25, reflecting a 0.82 per cent increase from the previous year.
The highest complaints were against the banks, accounting for 81.53 per cent of the total grievances received by the ORBIOs, followed by 43,864 complaints against NBFCs.
Private sector banks are the largest contributor to the grievances which reach the RBI Ombudsman.
The report also presents the data about categories of complaints. The highest grievances are related to loans and advances, followed by credit cards.
In FY 2024-25:
CRPC received a total of 911,384 complaints, of which it disposed of 776,336 as non-maintainable complaints.
Of the remaining 135,048 complaints, 108,331 were sent to the RBI Ombudsman, 10,589 to the CEPC, and 16,128 were carried forward.
RBI Ombudsman received a total of 296,321 complaints in FY 2024-25. It comprised:
108,331 complaints received from CRPC
187,990 complaints received directly from CMS
How Does RBI Ombudsman Receive The Complaints?
The CRPC receives the complaints on its platform, rejects the complaints, which are not maintainable and sends the remaining complaints to the RBI Ombudsman. Some complaints which are not covered by the Ombudsman scheme are sent to the Consumer Education and Protection Cell (CEPC) at the RBI. CEPC is the educational wing of the RBI, which is part of the framework for customer awareness and grievance redressal.
When To Approach RBI Ombudsman
One can approach the RBI Ombudsman directly when the regulated entities do not provide a satisfactory response.
According to the RBI, “For redress of his grievance, the complainant must first approach the concerned regulated entities. If the regulated entity does not respond within a period of 30 days after lodgment of the complaint or rejects the complaint wholly/partly, or if the complainant is not satisfied with the response/resolution given by the regulated entity, the complainant can lodge a complaint under the RB-IOS, 2021. It may be noted that the complaint should be made to the RBI Ombudsman not later than one year after receiving the reply of the regulated entity or, in cases where no reply is received, not later than one year and 30 days after the date of the representation to the regulated entity.”
How Does RBI Ombudsman Resolve Complaints?
On receiving a complaint, the RBI Ombudsman offers resolution by agreement between parties (consumer and the regulated entity), but if it is not achieved, it examines the records, and as per the banking law and practices and guidelines, may reject the complaint or pass an award. However, in case a consumer is not satisfied with the award or rejection of the complaint can further file an appeal before the Appellate Authority in RBI. This should be filed within 30 days of the date of receipt of communication of the Award by the RBI Ombudsman.
Now, the two-month campaign is expected to provide faster and cost-free redressal of customer complaints and reduce the pendency with the RBI Ombudsman.
