A consumer commission dismissed a complaint filed by a scientific officer working in a Government of India agency and his wife against Punjab National Bank Housing Finance Ltd.. They had alleged that they were charged a higher housing-loan interest rate and a sum in insurance premium without their knowledge.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, Hyderabad, was dealing with a complaint from Suresha Prabhu and wife Suma Prabhu. The opposite parties (OP) were Punjab National Bank Housing Finance Ltd. and Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd..
The complainants stated that they obtained a housing loan of ₹65 lakh at an interest rate of 8.35% per annum. While downloading a statement of account, they noted a discrepancy in the interest rate, which turned out to be 8.5% per annum. An insurance premium of ₹95,000 was also noticed.
The complainants alleged that a “fictitious” sanction letter was created and their signatures were fraudulently obtained, thus increasing the interest rate and charging the insurance premium. The complainants wrote to the OP highlighting the alleged irregularities and sought a point-wise response, which they said, was not supplied.
For their part, the OP denied all allegations and stated that the complainants had indeed signed the sanction letter and the insurance premium had been mentioned on the sanction letter. All correspondence was through email. The rate of interest as agreed was communicated through email.
Taking all the evidence and arguments placed on record, the commission noted that the agreements showed that the interest rate for the first year would be 8.5% per annum for one year, followed by floating rate of interest. The agreement was signed by the complainants and the bank.
