Credit card user gets Rs 50,000 relief

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked SBI International Credit Card to refund the entire money (around Rs 97,000) spent by a complainant on his son's examinations for medical specialisation in the United States, besides Rs 50,000 for causing "mental agony, harassment and cost for having denied a bright future" to the aspirant whose application was turned down.

While awarding the money spent by one Amit Arya who aspired for a job in the US, Presiding Member K S Gupta and Member Rajyalakshmi said "we feel that these amounts should be awarded as all his efforts have gone waste."

The complainant was enrolled as an SBI International Credit Card holder and an additional credit card was issued to his son Amit. Amit had used the facility for paying his examination fees and other processing charges to the US-based Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), which conducts exams for medical specialisation.

After successful completion of stage I and stage II exams, Amit was required to pay $1220 (Rs 58,560) for his final exams and was ready to pay the over-limit fee as well as repay the amount for the transaction which was in excess of its credit limit as stipulated in the agreement.

However, even after assurance from the credit card company's "Helpline" that authorisation for Rs 58,560 would be made irrespective of the credit limit, the said transaction was declined by it on account of which Arya's application was rejected by ECFMG.

"Although we feel enough harm has been caused to his professional life and the fact that he could not go to the US and make a career which could have given him higher earnings, we are unable to award such amounts as claimed in prayer (around Rs 24 lakh)...," the commission said.

It held that there was a clear denial of "Right to information" on part of the credit card company and it had cleverly omitted important information in its terms and agreement. Censuring the unhelpful "Helpline" service, it said: "We find there is deficiency of service on the part of opposite parties withholding information from the complainant due to which credit limit has been denied in an inhuman manner and for wrongly relying on the computer mechanism without giving any credibility to the facility of 'helpline'."

The complainant had argued that there was neither mention of over limit nor pre-determined overdraft facility of 5 per cent in the terms and conditions. He had sought around Rs 24 lakh as compensation for harassment and mental agony to his son. The card company had contended that the complainant had misunderstood the "Helpline" directions.

According to the consumer court, it found some transactions missing in the monthly statements, which were only within the knowledge of the card company. "How can a bank withhold relevant information to their clients, especially when their computer programme is perfected to the last paise detail?" it wondered.