The Banking Ombudsman, Odisha, received 16 per cent less complaints in the year 2012-13 compared to the previous year and the rate of disposal was also lower than the previous year.
Presenting the annual performance report of the year 2012- 13 to media persons here on Tuesday, Ombudsman BK Bhoi said that the number of complaints received was 1,523, while as many as 40 were carried forward from the previous year and 1,495 of them were disposed off from the total list. In answer to a question, he said that the drop in number could be due to the banks taking better steps to be responsive to its customers. He also pointed out that there is a steep drop in the non maintainable complaints compared to earlier years which could be a reason of less number of complaints and which could be due to better awareness among potential complainants.
The silver lining in the otherwise lackluster performance was contributed by relatively higher complaints from the rural areas and the drop in the cost per complaint handled. Bhoi listed out several steps taken by the Ombudsman to create awareness among the customers of banks which included awareness camps and campaigns in the media. When media persons pointed out that even in Bhubaneswar the effort of banks to inform their customers about this forum of grievance redressal left much to be desired, he agreed that much could be done on this front. He also agreed that a toll free number to enable potential complainants to get information about the Ombudsman could be implemented.
In the annual report circulated in the meet, State Bank of India figured at the top with more than 50 per cent of complaints against it though the RBI officials present in the meeting were careful to point out that the bank also has the largest number of branches and highest number of customers in the State. Other RBI officials present in the meeting included Regional Director, Odisha, PK Jena and Secretary of the Ombudsman AR Samal.