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In continuation to P&D Circular No. 2578 dated. 29.06.2011 regarding Customer Grievance Redressal Policy of the Bank, in an endeavour to provide excellent Customer Service, Customer Service Committee of the Board in its meeting dated 26.09.2011 has approved the Procedure & Time Frame for handling Complaints. A satisfied customer always helps in business growth. In the present scenario of stiff competition in the banking industry, Customer Complaints are a part of any entity engaged in service industry. Hence, the need for timely and satisfactory redressal of complaints cannot be over emphasized. To enable the customers to voice their grievances, our Bank has put in place Procedure & Time Frame for handling Complaints received from the customers through various channels e.g. Ministry of Finance, RBI, Banking Ombudsman, Branches, Zonal Offices & Website etc. This document with regard to procedure & time frame for handling complaints is aimed at laying down the system and procedure for redressing the Customers' complaints in a given time frame and also for minimizing the instances of Customer complaints and grievances:
Measures taken by the Bank to minimize the complaints: The Bank has taken following measures from time to time for minimizing instances of Customer Complaints and Grievances through proper service delivery, Review Mechanism and for their prompt redressal.
- Ensuring delivery of prompt, courteous and proper service to its customers.
- Giving fair and just treatment to the customers at all times.
- Bringing transparency in interest rates and service charges
- Observing the 'Customer Day'. As per extant guidelines, on 15th of every Month (next working day, if 15th is a holiday or a half day) 'Customer Day' is observed at all the offices of the Bank across the organization covering Branches, Zonal Offices and Head Office. On this day any customer can meet Branch Managers, Zonal Managers and Top Executives of the Bank, including the Chairman & Managing Director without prior appointment
- Branches / Zonal Offices compile the nature wise data of complaints of their area and take suitable measures to avoid their recurrence so that effective service is provided in future
- Holding Branch Level Customer Service Committee Meetings. In order to encourage a formal channel of communication between the customers and the Bank at branch level, the meetings of Branch Level Customer Service Committee
- Meetings are held in the branches. This Committee includes the Customers of the Branch in which at least one senior citizen is also taken as member, as senior citizens are an important constituent of the Bank. These meetings are held at least once a month to study complaints / suggestions, cases of delay, difficulties faced / reported by customers / members of the committee and evolve ways & means for improving customer service. The date and time of holding this meeting is displayed by the branches at some prominent place in the branch.
- The minutes of these meetings are sent by the Branches to the respective Zonal Offices. The Zonal Offices after studying and analyzing these minutes send a list of the important points / suggestions emerged from such meetings to Head Office for putting up these points / suggestions in the Standing Committee on Customer Service which is held on quarterly basis. The Standing Committee on Customer Service examines them and provides feedback to the Customer Service Committee of the Board for necessary policy / procedural action.
Broad Principles for Grievance Redressal: The Bank will follow the under-mentioned broad principles for redressal of Customer Complaints / Grievances.
- To give just and fair treatment to customers always so as to minimize the instances of Complaints / Grievances.
- To deal with customer complaints with courtesy and politeness
- To resolve customer grievances at the earliest.
- To apprise the customers of all the avenues available to them in the Bank to redress their complaints / grievances.
- To apprise the Complainants of all the alternate avenues available to them in case they are not satisfied with the response of the Bank.
- To take the complaints to their logical end.
- While handling the complaint Bank employees would work in good faith and without prejudice to Customers' interest.
- Bank would redress the complaints within broad framework of Rules & Regulation / extant RBI / MOF guidelines received from time to time.
How to lodge the Complaint:
Bank understands the Customer's right to register his / her complaint if he / she is not satisfied with the services provided by the Bank We have opened various channels for the customers to lodge his / her complaint. He / She can lodge his / her complaint in writing, orally, through website (psbindia.com), e-mail ho[dot]insp[at]psb[dot]org[dot]in or over telephone (Phone No. 23716646 and 23716647 and 23718685) or on the Toll Free number of the Bank (to be notified). To enable a Customer to register his / her complaint the Names, addresses and direct telephone
Nos. of Branch Managers, Zonal Managers and Nodal officer of the Bank designated for Complaints have been duly displayed on the notice board of the branches. The contact details of Banking Ombudsman of the area are also displayed prominently on the notice board of the branches. The names and addresses of Nodal Officer of Complaints and Zonal Offices are also displayed on the website of the Bank.
Language in which complaint can be lodged:
The complainant can lodge his / her complaint in English, Hindi or in any vernacular language read, written and spoken in the area from where the complaint has originated / arisen.
Where to lodge the Complaint
In case of any deficiency in Customer Service, a customer can lodge Complaint to the following officials:
- In case of any complaint, the matter may be first brought to the notice of concerned Branch Manager for immediate redressal.
- If the complaint is not redressed to the satisfaction of the customer, the matter may be taken up with Zonal Manager under whose jurisdiction the branch concerned falls. The address of the concerned Zonal Manager is displayed on the Notice Board of the each branch.
- If the complainant still feels unsatisfied with the solution provided by the Bank, he / she can address his / her complaint to the Bank's Nodal Officer, (whose address is given at para 5 hereunder & who is designated to deal with Customer Complaints) giving full details of the case.
- After exhausting all the above machinery / channels, if the Customer is still not satisfied, he may write to Chairman & Managing Director of the Bank, whose address is available on Bank's website.
Nodal Officers for Complaints:
Bank has appointed General Manager (Inspection) as Nodal Officer for complaints, who will be responsible for the implementation of Customer Service guideline of the Bank issued from time to time and Complaint handling for the entire Bank. All the Zonal Managers will act as Designated Officers to implement Customer Service guidelines of the Bank issued from time to time and to handle Complaint Grievances in respect of Branches falling under their jurisdiction. The Name, Address, Telephone Nos. & E-mail ID etc. of Bank's Nodal Officer are given below
General Manager (Inspection) Punjab & Sind Bank,
Bank House, 21, Rajendra Place, New Delhi -110008.
Phone No. 011-25862308, 25812931,
Fax No.011-25723793, Mobile No. 9711338895
E-mail ID: gminsp[at]psb[dot]org[dot]in
In case complaint relates to Corruption / Bribe etc., same can be sent to
The Chief Vigilance Officer
Punjab & Sind Bank,
3rd Floor, Plate-B, Office Block-III
NBCC Complex, East Kidwai Nagar,
New Delhi-110023.
Contact Nos. 011-40175106
Email: cvo[at]psb[dot]co[dot]in
Procedure for handling complaints:
- Bank would make appropriate arrangements in the Branches / Zonal Offices / Head Offices for receiving the Complaints
- Branches / Zonal Offices will maintain a complaint register at their level and all the complaints will be entered in the register in a chorological order. The mandatory columns of the Complaint Register are:
S.No. Date of Name & Address of Brief Description Date of Date of Remarks Receipt the Complainant of complaint sending Acknow-
ledgement Disposal - The Inspecting Officials / Concurrent Auditors during Inspection /Audit of the Branches / Zonal Offices will check these registers also and give their remarks in the Inspection / Audit Reports
- Branches will send the detail of Complaints received, disposed of and pending on monthly basis. If the disposal of any complaint has not been done within seven days of its receipt, branch will give valid reason for the delay. Zonal Offices will send report on complaints on the same lines to HO inspection Department. If the disposal of any complaint has not been done within fifteen days of its receipt, Zonal Office will give valid reason for the delay. Zonal Office will also send monthly detail of awards received from Banking Ombudsman, implemented and pending during the month. Zonal Office will also give the reasons for non- implementation of awards to Head Office Inspection Department.
- All the written Complaints which are filed in person or which are received through post or through some other agency / Department, shall be duly acknowledged giving Complaint No. and date of receipt.
- Branch Manager is responsible for resolution of complaints / grievances pertaining to customer service of the branch, to the satisfaction of the customer and to ensure their final closure. If the Branch Manager feels it is not possible to solve the Complaint / resolve the grievance at his level, he will refer the matter to the Zonal Office. Similarly, if Zonal Office finds that matter can't be resolved at their end, it will refer the same to Nodal Officer at Head Office for redressal of the Complaint / grievance.
- If the complaint is relayed over phone at Bank's designated telephone help desk or through Toll Free Number of the Bank, the Complaint Reference no. will be provided immediately after confirmation of the identity of the Complainant. Through this Complaint Reference No., the Customer will be able to check the status of his/her Complaint at any time. In case, the Complainant wants a written reply of his Complaint, the telephonic Complaint must be followed by a written complaint otherwise Bank will inform the progress of the Complaint to the Complainant telephonically only within a reasonable time.
- The Complaint Reference No. of Complaints registered through Bank's website will be generated by the Bank's in-built system. The Complainant may track the progress of the complaint on the website of the Bank by typing his / her Complaint Reference Number.
- In the final letter sent to the complainant, Zonal Office / Branch Offices will mention that the Complainant, if not satisfied, may approach the concerned Banking Ombudsman / other designated authorities. The details of the concerned Banking Ombudsman / designated authorities will be given in the letter for the convenience of the Complainants.
- Complaints emanating from rural areas and those relating to financial assistance to Priority Sector and Govt. Poverty Alleviation Programmes (including Financial Inclusion) also form part of above process
- Complaints received from Banking Ombudsman are dealt with at Zonal Office level and concerned Zonal Manager is the Nodal Officer of his Zone. Zonal Managers will ensure the expeditious disposal of these complaints.
- At Corporate level, HO Inspection Department will be the Nodal Office for complaints who will be responsible for monitoring and putting up review of Complaints to higher authorities / Board periodically.
Time Frame for handling Complaints
- Bank will view complaints in right perspective and would analyze / examine them from all angles. Bank will endeavour to send acknowledgement of / response to complaint within one week from the receipt of complaint.
- Branches shall have to deal the complaint within maximum seven days from the date of receipt of complaint. Zonal Offices shall have to deal the complaint within maximum fifteen days from the date of receipt of complaint
- However, after examining the matter, if the Bank feels that the redressal of Complaint may take more time, Bank will send interim reply to the Complainant explaining why Bank needs more time to respond and shall endeavour to do so within maximum period of six months from the date of receipt of Complaint and shall inform the customer accordingly.
Mandatory display requirements
The Zonal Manager shall ensure display of following information at the Branches falling under their jurisdiction:
- Information with regard to arrangement made for receiving complaints and suggestions.
- The name, address and contact number of Nodal Officer(s)
- Contact details of Banking Ombudsman of the area.
- The detail of Customer day when customers can meet the Branch Manager without prior appointment and date of holding of Branch Level Customer Service Committee meeting
Other Designated Authorities for Grievance Redressal
If the complainant is not satisfied by the Remedial Action / Bank's view, he is free to take recourse to the following authorities for redressal of his Complaint / Grievance:
- Office of the Banking Ombudsman located in State Capitals under RBI Ombudsman Scheme- 2006
- Directorate of Public Grievances, Govt. of India, Cabinet Secretariat, Sansad Marg, New Delhi.
- Distt. Consumer Forum, under Consumer Protection Act 1985.
Closure of Complaint
- The Branch Manager / Nodal Officer for Complaints of the Bank shall inform the complainant about the resolution / Remedial action / Bank's view on the complaint. If the complainant accepts the same or does not respond within 15 days, the complaint would be considered as closed or satisfied.
- If at any time the Complainant submits letter of satisfaction of complaint, the complaint will be deemed to have been satisfied and complaint will be closed.
Maintenance of Records of Complaints
The record of Complaints will be maintained for Five Years as per existing guidelines of the Bank (P&D Circular No. 1890 dt. 30.06.98)
Sensitizing operating staff on handling complaints
Staff shall be properly trained for handling complaints. We are dealing with people and hence difference of opinion and areas of friction can arise. With an open mind and a smile on the face, we would endeavour to win the customers' confidence. It would be the responsibility of the Nodal Officer to ensure that internal machinery for handling complaints/grievances operates smoothly and efficiently at all levels. He shall give feed back on training needs of staff at various levels to HO Personnel Department.
All concerned may note the contents of the Policy for necessary compliance at their end in letter & spirit.
The effort of the Bank would always be to convert complaint into compliment.
Sensitizing operating staff on handling complaints
Since we are dealing with people and hence difference of opinion and areas of friction can arise. With an open mind and a smile on the face we should be able win the Customers confidence. Training programmes shall be organized to sensitize the staff for handling Complaints. Imparting soft skills required for handling irate customers, shall be an integral part of these Training Programmes. It will be the responsibility of the Nodal Officer to ensure that internal machinery for handling Complaints / Grievances operates smoothly and efficiently at all levels. He will give feed back on Training Needs of staff at various levels to HO Personnel Department
All concerned may note the contents of the Procedure and Time Frame for handling Complaints for necessary compliance at their end in letter & spirit.
The effort of the Bank would always be to convert complaint into compliment.
