Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Dr Arif Alvi, has imposed a fine of PKR 20,000 on United Bank Ltd (UBL) over filing a waggish representation in a disputed transaction case involving PKR 20,000 only.
The President further directed that the bank should pay the fine in addition to returning the amount to its customer as the bank adamantly filed waggish representation wasting its resources and time as well as the Banking Mohtasib of Pakistan (BMP) and the office of the Head of State, President Secretariat Press Wing said on Saturday in a press release.
UBL had submitted a representation with President Alvi against the orders of the BMP in a case where a customer had attempted to withdraw PKR 20,000 from UBL’s ATM, but the cash was not dispensed, whereas the account of the customer was debited.
The concerned customer also filed a complaint and the Dispute Settlement Form, but his complaint was rejected summarily. Feeling aggrieved, he raised the matter with the BMP, which passed the orders to return the disputed amount to the customer.
UBL directed to comply with the orders in 30 days
The President rejected the UBL’s representation because the bank had failed to discharge the burden and statutory liability cast on itself under the law by failing to comply with the SBP’s directives that the banks should install external cameras in ATM cabins within 90 days from the date of issuance of SBP’s circular to have secondary proof against cash claims to satisfy the customers’ complaints.
He further observed that the concerned bank also failed to comply with SBP’s instructions that banks were required to follow instructions contained in Prudential Regulations for record-keeping relating to complaints.
Where CCTV footage was considered as part of circumstantial evidence, it must be retained for at least two months. For complaints escalated to the Courts, all related evidence should be kept till the final decision.
President Alvi held that UBL needed to provide its investigation report and requisite information to the BMP office despite follow-up and being given the opportunity during the hearing.
The President rejected the bank’s representation filed against the orders of the BMP wherein BMP had rejected the viewpoint of UBL, terming it baseless and without any evidence and ordered the bank to pay the defrauded amount of PKR 20,000 to the complainant and report compliance within one month.
He also upheld the order of Banking Mohtasib and imposed a fine of 20,000 on the bank for filing an appeal in a case where a meagre amount was involved and was less than even the cost of litigation and was frivolous.
