INDIA POST ASKED TO PAY RS 10,000 COMPENSATION FOR NOT JUSTIFYING THE AMOUNT OF INTEREST ON SB SCHEME Labels:

Panchkula: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum of Panchkula has directed Union ministry of communication and IT, department of posts and sub-post master of General Post Officer, Sector 8 here, to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation two men for not justifying the amount of interest on a money-saving scheme of India Post.

In the joint complaint by Col Jagdish Singh Sura (retd) and Amritesh Singh, it was claimed that an agent from the post office had advised them to invest in India Post's Senior Citizen Saving Scheme and Monthly Income Scheme, which has been floated by the department of post office. On the advice, Sura and Singh opened accounts under SCSS and MIS scheme by investing Rs 5.40 lakh and Rs 6.60 lakh in June 2010, respectively.

Both started paying interest on monthly basis and the post office accepted the invested amount under MIS without disclosing the financial limit, though there was no limit for SCSS scheme. Col Sura, after his retirement, joined duty at Gurdaspur and had requested for transfer of his accounts, but it was informed to him that there are certain financial caps in MIS and same is inadmissible. On the basis of financial investment limit, both Sura and Singh requested for the termination of MIS account as they had been mislead at the time of opening the account.

Sura and Singh also informed that no interest had been paid to them to date and post office, Sector 8, has issued cheques in January 2014 after deducting the excess interest from July 2013, without disclosing the same to both and no action had been taken to justify the interest amount.

Representatives of post office appeared before the forum and informed that just to evade their liability to refund the excess amount of interest, Singh and Sura has filed a frivolous complaint and both had put their signatures on the terms and conditions of MIS and even they both themselves have written on their applications for opening an account that "Limit does not exceeds Rs 4,50,000".

Forum observed the case and directed that both ministry of communication and IT, department of posts and sub-post master, department of posts, general post officer in Sector 8 Panchkula, have taken the matter in causal manner and failed to redress the grievance of Sura and Singh. The forum directed them to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation for harassment and mental agony and Rs 5,000 as costs of litigation.