Lodging a Credit Card Complaint


The non-issue of credit cards, issue of unsolicited cards, non-despatch of account statements on time, levy of excessive service charges, levy of late fees despite payments being done on time are some of the common complaints.

Many people also face the problem of banks refusing to cancel credit cards, freezing of cards without informing the cardholder and harassment by recovery officers.

Here's how can you get your banking-related problems solved...

The RBI states that in the case of any banking-related complaint, the customer has to first try to get a solution from the bank. He can file a complaint before the Banking Ombudsman if a reply is not received from the bank within one month of the bank receiving his complaint. He can also move the Banking Ombudsman if the bank rejects the complaint or if he is not satisfied with the reply given to him by the bank.

The complainant can file his/her complaint in any form, including online. You can file your complaint onlinehttps://secweb.rbi.org.in/BO/compltindex.

The customers can also appeal to the Reserve Bank of India against the awards given by the Banking Ombudsman

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Credit Card Finance Charges and Revolving Credit


What is the Revolving Credit Facility? When you receive your bill, you have the flexibility of selecting any of the following payment options:
  • Pay the total amount due.
  • Pay only the minimum amount due (5% of the bill amount subject to a minimum of Rs 100) and the balance can be carried forward to subsequent statements.
  • Pay any amount ranging from the minimum amount due to the total amount due.
Should you opt for any of the last two payment options, then the amount due is carried forward to the next billing period. This is referred to as the Revolving Credit Facility.

More on Credit card application - must read article

When do I start paying interest on new purchases if I am already revolving credit? If you are revolving your credit, fresh purchases attract interest from their date of purchase.

What is the Balance Transfer facility? Worried about the outstandings on your Other Bank Credit Cards? Are the interest rates bothering you all the time? The Balance Transfer facility allows you to transfer your outstanding from your exisitng Bank Credit Cards to a new Bank Credit Card at interest rates as low as 0%.

Various attractive schemes like the 0% Balance Transfer offer and the Life Time Balance Transfer offer, along with the zero documentation and crisp draft delivery are offered by some of the banks.

Will fresh purchases also attract interest if I use the balance transfer facility?
Your fresh purchases get the normal credit period for the first month. However, if at the end of the first billing cycle, your total amount due (including balance transfer) is not reduced to zero, your fresh purchases attract interest from the day of purchase.

Are there any interest charges? If you send a payment for the Total Amount Due before the "Payment Due Date" no interest charges are applicable. Thus you can enjoy interest-free credit from the date of purchase to the date on which the payment is due. This can be as high as 50 days.

However, for certain transactions like cash withdrawals and balance transfers, interest charges would be applicable from the date of transaction till date of payment.

If you send a payment for the "Minimum Amount Due" or pay any part amount less than the "Total Amount Due", interest charges are applied on the outstanding amount and on any fresh charges that you incur subsequently.

If there are some unpaid "Minimum Amounts Due" of previous statements, then these will also be added on to the "Minimum Amount Due" of your current statement.

If you have for some reason exceeded your credit limit then the amount by which you have exceeded the credit limit will also be added to the "Minimum Amount Due".

When will the interest charge stop?
If all outstanding charges are paid at any point of time, the interest charges will cease to apply immediately.

How are interest rates calculated on ICICI Bank Credit Card?
Interest charges are applicable only if the part payment facility (revolver facility) is chosen. It is governed by a rate of interest. The interest accrual is on a daily outstanding balance. The monthly application of interest happens on the statement date.

An Example of interest calculation:
Taking an example where the customer has all retail transaction – no cash withdrawals).

  • As the customer has made a part payment, interest is charged on transactions in the previous month from the respective transaction date up to the statement date.Then on TAD (total amount due) from the statement date up to the part payment date.

  • Then on the balance amount (after deducting payment from TAD) from the part payment date up to the next statement date.

  • And if there are any fresh purchases interest is charged on the same from respective transaction date up to statement date.
*Please note if the customer makes a part payment he does not enjoy interest free days on fresh purchases.
*Formula: Principal amount*rate of interest*no of days.
Statement of Mr. XYZ
Credit Card Services
MAD-Minimum amount due
TAD-Total amount due
The interest of Rs.40.52 has been calculated as below:

  • The total outstanding for the month of Aug was Rs.700 against which the Mr. Ramesh Kumar has made a part payment of Rs.600, thus interest is charged.

  • On transaction dated 15-July-02 (Rs 600) from transaction date up to Statement date 01.08.2002.

  • Then on TAD i.e Rs.700 from statement date 01.08.2002 up to part payment date 20-08.2002.

  • Then on balance 100 (700-600) from part payment date 20.08.2002 up to next statement date 01.09.2002.

  • Then on the fresh purchases from 03-08.2002 up to 01.09.2002.
Calculation Part:

  • 600*2.95%*18/30 days=Rs.10.62

  • 100*2.95%*3/30 days =Rs.0.30

  • 700*2.95%*20/30 days=Rs.13.77

  • 100*2.95%*11/30 days =Rs.1.08

  • 500*2.95%*28/30 days =Rs.14.75

  • Total =(10.62+0.30+13.77+1.08+14.75)=Rs.40.52

Credit Card Finance Charges of some Indian Banks



Just take a look at the list of finance charges of top card issuers such as ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Citibank or Standard Chartered Bank. The interest on extended credit and cash advances ranges from over 12 per cent an annum to 49 per cent, depending on the type of card and the issuing bank.

Most banks say there is no direct link between the cost of funds and the rate of interest they charge on the card. Credit cards outstanding are unsecured loans and interest rates are typically higher for such loans. For select customers, these banks do offer lower interest rates of up to 2.49 per cent per month.

As there is no guarantee for payment, the attitude has been to recover as much as possible through high rates to get back the principal amount. The high rates, thus, cushion defaults besides keeping a normal card-holder serious about repayment.

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What Credit card numbers mean


Although phone companies, gas companies and department stores have their own numbering systems, ANSI Standard X4.13-1983 is the system used by most national credit-card systems.

The front of your credit card has a lot of numbers --here's an example of what they might mean.

Here are what some of the numbers stand for:

The first digit in your credit-card number signifies the system:
  • 3 - travel/entertainment cards (such as American Express and Diners Club)
  • 4 - Visa
  • 5 - MasterCard
  • 6 - Discover Card

The structure of the card number varies by system. For example, American Express card numbers start with 37; Carte Blanche and Diners Club with 38.

American Express - Digits three and four are type and currency, digits five through 11 are the account number, digits 12 through 14 are the card number within the account and digit 15 is a check digit.

Visa - Digits two through six are the bank number, digits seven through 12 or seven through 15 are the account number and digit 13 or 16 is a check digit.

MasterCard - Digits two and three, two through four, two through five or two through six are the bank number (depending on whether digit two is a 1, 2, 3 or other). The digits after the bank number up through digit 15 are the account number, and digit 16 is a check digit.

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