You may have come across several digital lending apps that make it easier for people to borrow paperless loans. Many of you might have already taken such small loans for your financial requirements. But what about the time when an EMI was deducted wrongly or your account balance shows an incorrect amount? That’s when you would want to get in touch with the customer service of the instant loan app.
However, a flexible communication channel may not be available with every lender. So, this guide will help you take the steps further, especially if a lending app stops responding completely.
Find Out Who is the Lending App’s Owner
A lending app cannot be a lender, and there’s a huge difference here that you must understand as a borrower. A quick loan app in India will operate on behalf of a bank or a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in most cases. That’s because loan disbursement is possible only through these regulated entities.
This piece of information is important here because you can connect with customer services through a formal channel if the app is connected to a regulated financial institution.
Unfortunately, you may be dealing with an unauthorized lending app if they are not connected to a bank or NBFC.
You can find this out by analyzing your loan agreement or the lending app’s ‘About Us’ section. Consider this a warning sign if the quick loan app is not able to display this information or refuses to name its lending partner. Now, let’s look at the steps that you must follow to complain to the right authorities:
Step 1: Contact the Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO)
A genuine lending app will always have a GRO who looks after the grievances submitted by the borrowers. These organizations must appoint this professional compulsorily under the RBI’s strict digital lending guidelines. The officer’s name and contact details are generally available on the app or its website. You can send your complaint to the GRO in writing, especially by email. Make sure to attach documents like the screenshots or your transactions or other bills for validation purposes. The GRO is generally expected to resolve the issue within a set time, in around 30 days.
Inform the lending app’s authorities in writing if you cannot find the contact information of the GRO.
Step 2: Escalate the Matter to the Bank or NBFCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
In some cases, the lending app may not provide you with the GRO’s details or delay in responding to your queries. This should prompt you into connecting with the nodal officer appointed by the bank or NBFC which is the official lending partner of the quick loan app. Their contact details are generally available on the lending partner’s website instead of the app.
Write to the officer by providing your loan application details, account number, and the date of your complaint. Inform the official that you did not receive any response from the lending app’s team.
Step 3: Inform the RBI Ombudsman
Contact the ombudsman if you fail to receive any response from the lending app, the GRO, or the financial institution. You should follow this only if 30 days have passed since you filed the complaint. The good part is that it’s a free grievance redressal platform and doesn’t require you to hire a lawyer. You can either file the complaint online, send it by post, or call RBI’s toll-free number 14448.
Keep all the complaint records you have about the lending app or partner. That’s because the Ombudsman will ask you what went exactly wrong before proceeding with other actions.
Step 4: Handle an Unauthorized App
As mentioned above, there might be a case where the lending app from which you took a loan may not be connected to any bank or NBFC. In that case, it’s a fraudulent issue and you need to approach the Sachet portal for further assistance. This platform generally receives complaints against illegal and unregistered lending activities. Several state-level coordination committees use such complaints to act against multiple fraudulent apps.
Step 5: The App Store and Consumer Forums
You can also reach out to the National Consumer Helpline (1915) or the UMANG app if any lender has wrongfully deducted your money or failed to provide the required services. In some cases, you may also take unresolved matters to the Consumer Court through an e-daakhil portal. You can also report about the app to the Google Play Store if it indulges in any fraudulent activities or violates lending policies.
How to Complain in the Right Order?
It may be easier for you to get a loan from a lending app, especially if it’s promising a paperless process. However, you must be careful from this step onwards to ensure you are borrowing from a genuine, RBI-regulated institution. The first thing to do is to check whether the app is connected with a bank or NBFC which acts as its lending partner. If you face any issues in the future, do not forget the order: contact the GRO, then the nodal officer, and if both steps fail, get in touch with the RBI ombudsman. Every complaint or document you send works in your favor as evidence in the long run.