After a private bank neglected to promptly close a credit card, a credit card user was compensated with a substantial sum of Rs 3.21 lakh.
The user described how he attempted to close two credit cards in May of last year after the bank lowered the credit limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10,000 in a widely shared Reddit post titled "Got Rs 3.21 lakh compensation from Kotak Mahindra Bank for not closing my credit card." The bank charged an annual fee rather than canceling the cards.
The user then filed a complaint with higher authorities. After bringing up the matter, the bank claimed that the cards had never been closed, which led to another round of unanswered emails. The user complained to the Banking Ombudsman because they were frustrated.
The bank’s officer called customer and said: “It’s your mistake. Closure requests are not accepted via email, you should have called”. But I had already submitted a written closure request. Sent follow-ups. Received no response from the bank.”
The user said the bank finally paid a compensation of Rs 3,21,000. But what are RBI guidelines regarding credit card closure? Let’s understand.
According to RBI guidelines, if a bank fails to close a credit card within 7 working days of a customer’s request (provided all dues are cleared), the issuer must pay a penalty of ₹500 per day of delay to the customer.
If a bank fails to follow the guidelines, customers can raise a complaint. The first step is to complain to the bank’s nodal officer. If no resolution is provided within 30 days, customers can approach the RBI Ombudsman.










