1. Preamble

In the present scenario of competitive banking, excellence in customer service is the most important tool for sustained business growth. Customer complaints are part of the business life of any corporate entity. This is more so for banks because banks are service organizations. As a service organization, customer service and customer satisfaction should be the prime concern of any bank. The bank believes that providing prompt and efficient service is essential not only to attract new customers, but also to retain existing ones & customer dissatisfaction would spoil bank's name and image.

This policy document aims at minimizing instances of customer complaints and grievances through proper service delivery and review mechanism and to ensure prompt redressal of customer complaints and grievances. The review mechanism envisages identifying shortcoming in product features and service delivery.

Our bank's policy on grievance redressal set out below is based upon the under noted basic principles.

a) Customers be treated fairly at all times.

b) Complaints raised by customers are dealt with courtesy and without any loss of time.

c) Customers are fully informed of avenues available for registering their complaints/grievances within the organization and their rights to alternative remedy, if they are not fully satisfied with the response of the bank to their complaints.

d) Bank would treat all complaints efficiently and fairly as they can damage the bank's reputation and business if not handled properly.

e) The bank employees must work in good faith and without prejudice to the interests of the customer.

f) Awareness of staff members in respect of the need to minimize customer grievances for securing the long term goals of the Bank/Institution should be ensured.

g) The Bank would not discriminate on the basis of age, race, gender, marital Status, religion or disability.

In order to make our bank's redressal mechanism more meaningful and effective, a structured system needs to be built up towards such end. Such system should ensure that the redressal sought is just and fair and is within the ambit of the frame-work of rules and regulation that the bank operates in. This policy document would be made available at all branches and all the employees of the Bank would be made aware about the complaint handling process.

The basic idea behind this policy is to deal with complaints quickly & sympathetically with things that usually go wrong which could mainly be as follows :

i) correcting mistakes promptly and canceling any bank charges that the bank had applied by mistake

ii) handling customer complaints promptly,

iii) letting the customer know to take his complaint forward in case he is not satisfied with the primary response from the bank and

iv) providing suitable alternative avenues to alleviate problems arising out of technological failures

1.1 From a study of the pattern of the complaints received by us, the customer complaints usually arises on account of the following factors;

a) The attitudinal aspects in dealing with customers

b) Inadequacy of the functions/arrangements made available to the customers or gaps in standards of services expected and actual services rendered.

The customer is entitled to register his complaint whenever he is not satisfied with the services provided by the Bank. He can submit his complaint in writing, orally or over telephone. If any customer's complaint is not resolved within the given time or if he is not satisfied with the solution provided by the Bank, he can approach Banking Ombudsman with his complaint or other legal avenues available for getting his grievances redressed.

2. Internal Machinery to handle Customer complaints/grievances

A customer can lodge a complaint in writing to a branch, Regional Office or Head Office under this policy. Complaints can also be lodged with the Help Line number of the Bank over telephone.

a) When a complaint is received in writing, we will send an acknowledgement of the complaint within three days from the date of receipt of complaint. If the complaint is made over telephone at Bank's designated Help Line number, the customer will be provided with a complaint reference number by the Help Line Desk.

b) Complaints received through Central/State Government, Ministries, Government Departments, Reserve Bank of India, Members of Parliament and Legislative Councils will be recorded separately and all-out efforts will be made to resolve these complaints within a time period of 30 days from the receipt of such complaints.

2.1 Time Frame

a) Complaints need to be seen in the right perspective because they indirectly reveal weak spots in the working of the bank. Complaints received will be analyzed from all possible angles. Specific time schedule set up for handling complaints will be adhered to towards disposing of such complaints at all levels including branches, Regional Office and Head Office. Branch Managers will arrange to resolve the complaints within specific time frames, as decided by the bank.

b) If a complaint received at the branch level is not resolved within 15 days from the date of receipt of complaint, the branch will escalate the complaint to the next higher authority, i.e. Regional Office. Regional Offices will endeavor to resolve the matter within next 15 days (i.e. total 30 days from the date of receipt of complaint), failing which the matter should be reported to the Head Office level for necessary guidance and action.

We will endeavor to redress all complaints within a period of 6 weeks from the date of receipt of the complaints.

c) In case a complaint cannot be resolved within the above-mentioned time frame, the customer will be informed about the reasons as to why more time is needed to redress the complaint. If the customer is not satisfied with the Bank's response, he may approach Banking Ombudsman appointed by Reserve Bank of India under The Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006. A copy of The Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 is displayed on Bank's website.

d) Communication of bank's stand on any issue to the customer is of vital importance. Even complaints which require more time for examination of issues involved will invariably be acknowledged promptly. Regional Offices will send action taken report on complaints received, to the Head Office at the end of every month on the basis of information received by them from the branches.

2.2 Standing Committee on Customer Service

The Standing Committee on Customer Service would be chaired by the Executive Director of the Bank. Besides two to three senior Executives of the Bank, the Committee would also have two to three eminent non-executives drawn from the public as members. The Committee would have the following functions:

a) Evaluate feed-back on quality of customer service received from various quarters. The committee would also review comments/feed-back on customer service and implementation of commitments in the Code of Bank's Commitments to Customers received from BCSBI.

b) The Committee would be responsible to ensure that all regulatory instructions regarding customer service are followed by the bank. Towards this, the committee would obtain necessary feed-back from the respective functional heads.

c) The committee would consider unresolved complaints/grievances referred to it by functional heads responsible for redressal and offer their advice.

d) The committee would submit report on its performance to the customer service committee of the board at quarterly intervals.

e) The Committee would also review the cases of non-compliance with the provisions of the code, including the complaints which are not redressed within the time-frame of 45 days stipulated in this policy.

2.3 Customer Service Committee of the Board

a) The Customer Service Committee of the Board would be responsible for review of policies in regard to improving customer services, the annual survey of depositor satisfaction and the tri-annual audit of such services. The Committee would also examine issues having a bearing on the quality of customer service rendered by the bank.

b) This Committee would also review the functioning of the Standing Committee on Customer Service.

c) The Customer Service Committee of the Board would be responsible for reviewing and providing guidance in respect of customer service to the customers, both as a depositor as well as a borrower.

2.4 Nodal Officer and other designated officials to handle complaints and grievances

We shall appoint a Nodal Officer of the rank of General Manager (or its equivalent) who will be responsible for the implementation of customer service and complaint handling for the entire bank. We shall also appoint Customer Relation Officer (Nodal Officer) at Regional Offices to handle complaint grievances in respect of branches falling under their control. Nodal officers at Regional Offices will also act as Customer Relation Officers and will handle the complaints of the branches falling under their control.

3. Mandatory display requirements

We shall arrange to display information on the following aspects;

a) Appropriate arrangement for receiving complaints and suggestions.

b) The name, address and contact number of Nodal Officer(s).

c) Contact details of Banking Ombudsman of the area.

d) The customers will have following specific rights under this policy.

i) To receive an acknowledgement of their complaint within three days/to receive a complaint reference number when the complaint is being made over telephone.

ii) Customer's complaint would be resolved within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of the complaint. In case resolution of complaint needs more time, we shall inform the reasons to the customer why more time is needed to resolve the complaint.

These provisions would be prominently displayed in all branches/ office premises.

4. Resolution of Grievance

The Branch Manager is responsible for the resolution of complaints/grievances in respect of customer's service by the branch. He would be responsible for ensuring closure of all complaints received at the branches. It would be his foremost duty to ensure that the complaint gets resolved completely to the customer's satisfaction. If the customer is not satisfied, then he should be provided with alternate avenues to escalate the complaint. If the branch manager feels that it is not possible at his level to solve the problem, he will refer the case to concerned Regional Office for guidance. If the Regional Office also finds that they are not able to solve the problem such cases will be referred to the Nodal Officer, Head Office forthwith.

5. Interaction with customers

The bank recognizes the fact that the customer's expectation/ requirement/ grievances can be better fulfilled/redressed through personal interaction with customers by bank's staff. We shall arrange structured customer meets, even once in a month, which would send a message to the customers that the bank cares for them and values their feed back/suggestions for improvement in customer service. Many of the complaints arise on account of lack of awareness among customers about bank services and such interactions would help the customers appreciate banking services better. The feed back from customers would be valuable input for revising its product and services to meet customer requirements/needs.

6. Sensitizing operating staff on handling complaints

Staff would be properly trained for handling complaints. The bank is dealing with people and hence difference of opinion and areas of friction can arise. With an open mind and a smile on the face the bank's staff should be able to win the customer's confidence. It would be the responsibility of the Nodal Officers to ensure that internal machinery for handling complaints/grievances operates smoothly and efficiently at all levels. They should give feed back on training needs of staff at various levels to the HR Deptt. of the bank.

7. Maintenance of Customer's Day every month at all level of the Bank.

A particular date and period of time, at least once a month would be kept aside at the level of the Branch Manager, Regional Manager and Senior executives at Head Office for interaction with the customers. This would provide enough room for the customers to ventilate their problems which would take care of many minor complaints against the bank at the grass root level.

8. Maintenance of Complaint Box/Register

All offices & branches of the Bank would maintain a complaint box/Register where customers can drop their complaints. The complaint box would be placed in a suitable position where it would be easily visible and identifiable.