Hi,
Just now got my money back from SBI that was debited from my account due to the ghost debiting.It all started yesterday when Mr.Anil Partekar called me from SBI Mumbai, he is the person in charge of SBI cards.He told me that he will try and credit back the amount within an hour and call, but i didn't get a call from him so i called him a few hours later.He picked the call and said he was unable to contact my branch and so will do it the next day (that is today). this morning he called me and said he will contact my branch and settle the matter by today and as per his word he called me 15 minutes ago and said that the amount has been credited, i cross-verified it online.I really appreciate the fact that such a senior person took this much interest and solved my issue, he also told me that i can call him any time if i have some issues.
But the person whom i owe a lot is Ms.L.N.Revathy, she is the person who wrote the article in Hindu Business Line about my problem, if not for that it would have taken me a lot longer to get my money back. As i promised i won't stop with this i will still fight against this inter bank ATM trouble and help others, will update about my further course of action in my next post.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
ATM vs ME (season 2)
Hi,
I don't know what is with me and ATMs they simply don't give me cash.After my long battle with ICICI now it's the turn of SBI. A few days back i was in urgent need of a large sum of money due to a medical emergency and so i rushed to the SBI ATM near my house but to my shock it was "out of order" and so i opted to use the near by IOB atm, but in the back of my mind the old ICICI-HDFC hassle was running but i had to take my chances as i was in a real hurry and i was a believer in "Lightning never strikes twice in the same place" but i couldn't have been more wrong, it did strike me this time too but this was even a more lethal blow as the sum was a large one, the ATM merely dispensed a "HIGH AMOUNT" receipt, i was worried and i rushed home to check if any ghost debiting has taken place and my worst fears came true, the amount was gulped up.
I was mad with anger but i had to wait till the next day to get my clarifications and raise a complaint as night had fallen by then. The next day when i went to the IOB bank where the ATM was the guy there asked me "Why did you use our ATM machine and not that of your bank's, we will advertise that it's all free to use any bank's ATM but we cannot assure you of hassle free transactions and it's you who will have to face the consequences", my blood started to boil by now but i calmed down and went to the nearest SBI branch to register my complaint.
The branch manager refused to even see my complaint, he simply asked me "Which branch" and when i mentioned my branch he said you have to complain only in that branch "Core banking is a facility available for making transactions and not for registering complaints", i actually wanted to shout at him but better sense prevailed as i didn't see a point in arguing with him.
After all in person attempts failed i resorted to more extreme means,
1.I scanned the receipt given by the ATM and sent my bank a detailed mail about the problem with the scanned attachment.
2.I faxed my complaint to my branch.
3.I sent a registered post to them.
4. i called them a million times and finally caught them once to tell them my complaint.
But it has been now 10 days now still my money has not been returned.I wanted to share my anger and struggle with everyone and so i contacted "THE HINDU" newspaper and to my shock they told me i was not isolated in this matter and there are many people sharing my plight.They have also written on the topic of Ghost Debiting before, which basically means you get no cash from the ATM but it gets debited.
One of their personnel called me and asked me for a detailed description of what had happened, the person was also very helpful, she contacted some senior persons in SBI and informed me that sending a fax would be the ideal solution.Finally yesterday the news about my trouble came in the Hindu BusinessLine and i am glad that i am able to share my plight with the world.Here is the link
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/10/stories/2009071052170600.htm
RBI has set a 12 days dead line to for all banks to revert such transactions but these people say as it is an inter-bank issue it will take more time, my question is, these people know that such a problem is on the raise now why don't they join hands and present a centralized grievance cell that can cater to anyone's complaint and make the necessary connections possible.
An even more long term solution would be to seriously re-look into the working of ATM's when it comes to inter bank transactions, until it is fool proof they can declare saying "Don't use other bank ATMs".Are the banks ready for this challenge?I am ready for an open debate on this and i have also requested for some air time in a leading news channel to exhibit this problem, get expert opinions and so on.
You can point a finger at me and say that i am talking so much about this only because i was stung twice, i couldn't agree more cause only i know the mental agony that i had to go through when i couldn't get money for a medical emergency, i promise everyone that even after my transaction get's reversed (touch wood) i will still take up this issue very seriously, in my subsequent blogs i plan to give a detailed break up about the inner working details of all ATMs.
Join me in my crusade against these careless people, feel free to post your comments and share your experiences cause the more details i have the better it prepares me to take them on.
I don't know what is with me and ATMs they simply don't give me cash.After my long battle with ICICI now it's the turn of SBI. A few days back i was in urgent need of a large sum of money due to a medical emergency and so i rushed to the SBI ATM near my house but to my shock it was "out of order" and so i opted to use the near by IOB atm, but in the back of my mind the old ICICI-HDFC hassle was running but i had to take my chances as i was in a real hurry and i was a believer in "Lightning never strikes twice in the same place" but i couldn't have been more wrong, it did strike me this time too but this was even a more lethal blow as the sum was a large one, the ATM merely dispensed a "HIGH AMOUNT" receipt, i was worried and i rushed home to check if any ghost debiting has taken place and my worst fears came true, the amount was gulped up.
I was mad with anger but i had to wait till the next day to get my clarifications and raise a complaint as night had fallen by then. The next day when i went to the IOB bank where the ATM was the guy there asked me "Why did you use our ATM machine and not that of your bank's, we will advertise that it's all free to use any bank's ATM but we cannot assure you of hassle free transactions and it's you who will have to face the consequences", my blood started to boil by now but i calmed down and went to the nearest SBI branch to register my complaint.
The branch manager refused to even see my complaint, he simply asked me "Which branch" and when i mentioned my branch he said you have to complain only in that branch "Core banking is a facility available for making transactions and not for registering complaints", i actually wanted to shout at him but better sense prevailed as i didn't see a point in arguing with him.
After all in person attempts failed i resorted to more extreme means,
1.I scanned the receipt given by the ATM and sent my bank a detailed mail about the problem with the scanned attachment.
2.I faxed my complaint to my branch.
3.I sent a registered post to them.
4. i called them a million times and finally caught them once to tell them my complaint.
But it has been now 10 days now still my money has not been returned.I wanted to share my anger and struggle with everyone and so i contacted "THE HINDU" newspaper and to my shock they told me i was not isolated in this matter and there are many people sharing my plight.They have also written on the topic of Ghost Debiting before, which basically means you get no cash from the ATM but it gets debited.
One of their personnel called me and asked me for a detailed description of what had happened, the person was also very helpful, she contacted some senior persons in SBI and informed me that sending a fax would be the ideal solution.Finally yesterday the news about my trouble came in the Hindu BusinessLine and i am glad that i am able to share my plight with the world.Here is the link
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/10/stories/2009071052170600.htm
RBI has set a 12 days dead line to for all banks to revert such transactions but these people say as it is an inter-bank issue it will take more time, my question is, these people know that such a problem is on the raise now why don't they join hands and present a centralized grievance cell that can cater to anyone's complaint and make the necessary connections possible.
An even more long term solution would be to seriously re-look into the working of ATM's when it comes to inter bank transactions, until it is fool proof they can declare saying "Don't use other bank ATMs".Are the banks ready for this challenge?I am ready for an open debate on this and i have also requested for some air time in a leading news channel to exhibit this problem, get expert opinions and so on.
You can point a finger at me and say that i am talking so much about this only because i was stung twice, i couldn't agree more cause only i know the mental agony that i had to go through when i couldn't get money for a medical emergency, i promise everyone that even after my transaction get's reversed (touch wood) i will still take up this issue very seriously, in my subsequent blogs i plan to give a detailed break up about the inner working details of all ATMs.
Join me in my crusade against these careless people, feel free to post your comments and share your experiences cause the more details i have the better it prepares me to take them on.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
MT.DUMPMORE (beta)
Don't get carried away on seeing the heading i am talking about the theme park that is opposite to the CHENNAI ONE building located in the Thoraipakkam SEZ, still no idea let me give you a clue the theme of the park is GARBAGE,JUNK and WASTE. Yes I am talking about the dump yard, it is the place that holds half of Chennai’s trash. What started as a good idea to do landfill to convert the degradable waste into natural manure by degradation has now become a “Make a stink hill” project.
I work in Chennai One so I have no other way than to come to this location and enjoy the smell, not only is the dump yard a cause for concern but the whole road that leads to my office is full of trash. I for one is very surprised to see such contrasting contours within just 100 meters, oh and by the way let me not forget the beautiful lagoon that we have just beside our office you can call it “the swamp”, it is a mixture of ground water, rain water, sewage water etc…
Why I am bringing this point to your notice is it is not like we Indians are not able to keep our place clean, no. My office to the best of my knowledge is kept quite clean and neat. But if you see the street leading to my place you would not believe your eyes. To just give you an idea of what I am talking about just look at the photo below.
This Mt.Dumpmore is the creation of the careless waste management, now I am now trying to point my fingers at the government, the corporation, what I am saying is we are all at fault and we need to start the recovery process.
It’s like this we all agree River Kuvam is a blot on the face of SINGARA CHENNAI but no one actually tries to do anything about it as it has now become too big a beast to control or curtail. Now I am not all talk, I have started to understand the impact of my carelessness and started mending my ways, simple steps can be taken to reduce your waste footprint like, taking your own bag to supermarkets, vegetable markets and if possible even while shopping for cloths and other stuff. We all are now the mass supporters of PACKAGED MILK but none of us bother to dispose those plastic packs safely, the best thing to do is collect these packets and once in a month or so give it to the appropriate persons who can dispose them safely.
These are just baby steps, but even the biggest of fires have to start with a small spark right, so I think feel that we all must take an oath at least the educated lot that we will not pollute our environment any more, how you do it or how much your effort contributes towards greening the city actually doesn’t matter. I strongly feel that keeping your country clean is as important a duty as voting to chose your leader. Stricter laws must be imposed to make sure that we don’t follow this downward spiral.
I work in Chennai One so I have no other way than to come to this location and enjoy the smell, not only is the dump yard a cause for concern but the whole road that leads to my office is full of trash. I for one is very surprised to see such contrasting contours within just 100 meters, oh and by the way let me not forget the beautiful lagoon that we have just beside our office you can call it “the swamp”, it is a mixture of ground water, rain water, sewage water etc…
Why I am bringing this point to your notice is it is not like we Indians are not able to keep our place clean, no. My office to the best of my knowledge is kept quite clean and neat. But if you see the street leading to my place you would not believe your eyes. To just give you an idea of what I am talking about just look at the photo below.
This Mt.Dumpmore is the creation of the careless waste management, now I am now trying to point my fingers at the government, the corporation, what I am saying is we are all at fault and we need to start the recovery process.
It’s like this we all agree River Kuvam is a blot on the face of SINGARA CHENNAI but no one actually tries to do anything about it as it has now become too big a beast to control or curtail. Now I am not all talk, I have started to understand the impact of my carelessness and started mending my ways, simple steps can be taken to reduce your waste footprint like, taking your own bag to supermarkets, vegetable markets and if possible even while shopping for cloths and other stuff. We all are now the mass supporters of PACKAGED MILK but none of us bother to dispose those plastic packs safely, the best thing to do is collect these packets and once in a month or so give it to the appropriate persons who can dispose them safely.
These are just baby steps, but even the biggest of fires have to start with a small spark right, so I think feel that we all must take an oath at least the educated lot that we will not pollute our environment any more, how you do it or how much your effort contributes towards greening the city actually doesn’t matter. I strongly feel that keeping your country clean is as important a duty as voting to chose your leader. Stricter laws must be imposed to make sure that we don’t follow this downward spiral.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
