AXIS bank complaint - refusal to issue FREE ATM card

Update (10 June 2023)

For new visitors, please read full story below. Then, read "Update" sections.

As expected, AXIS bank took U turn. It deducted Rs. 236 as annual debit card charges. I mailed Principal Nodal Officer (PNO) as suggested in 2021. The response was, the charges are legitimate and cannot be reversed.

I registered a complaint at https://pgportal.gov.in/
This action forced AXIS bank not only to reverse the charges but also issue FREE ATM card without any further argument or excuse.

However, it reversed only Rs. 200 initially. When I asked for remaining Rs. 36, response from PNO was, The reversals has been processed excluding GST  and the said GST component cannot be reversed.

An executive from home branch (MIDC, Andheri(E.), Mumbai, Maharashtra) called and requested me to let go this amount. I refused. He tried to convince me for at least 10-15 mins. giving various excuses but I asked for full refund.

After couple of days, I got credit of Rs. 36


My experience has always been very much painful with AXIS bank. The staff (including managers) is absolutely non-cooperative, incompetent and arrogant (sometimes).

However, feedback from my friends about other private or government banks is almost the same.

I agree that the banks have complete right to increase their revenue. But, it's unfortunate that they clearly misguide, in fact, cheat the clients for this purpose.

Lesson learnt from this incident : Under any circumstances, DO NOT BELIEVE any executive of AXIS bank. Google your queries and follow up with them to get a solution. Complaint to RBI or PGPORTAL work very well to get things done.

===============================================

Update (15 June 2022)

Debit card charges were deducted for FY 2022-23. As promised earlier by Principal Nodal Officer (PNO), I mailed about refund and received it.

However, I am still not convinced that it would work every year. I'll keep you posted. 

For new visitors, please read full story below.

===============================================

I have a savings account with AXIS bank. It issued a debit card which has an annual fees of around Rs. 250. Since I neither do online shopping nor swipe the card at any shop, POS etc., I decided to apply for an ATM card which does not levy any annual fees.

I am aware that banks like HDFC, TJSB do issue FREE ATM card if requested through a written application. These banks cancel issued debit card and provide ATM card. I thought, that would be the case with AXIS bank too but I was wrong.

I went to Uthalsar naka, Thane (W.), Maharashtra branch on 22nd December 2021 with a written application. But, the lady at counter refused to accept it. She told me that AXIS bank didn't issue ATM card and there was no FREE debit card either. The manager was not available. So, I came back home and mailed a complaint to customer support.

Support's response was same. So, I mailed Mr. Amitabh Chaudhary - MD & CEO of AXIS bank. Response from Customer Service Manager (MD Cell) was same. I had some heated emails to and fro with them. But, they took a firm stand and kept saying that FREE ATM card could not be issued. Meanwhile, I got a call from branch manager of Uthalsar naka, Thane (W.), Maharashtra branch. He proposed to upgrade my savings account to "Priority Savings Account". This would waive off annual debit card charges. But, I would have to maintain Rs. 2 lakh as average quarterly balance. This was unacceptable.

Finally, I decided to report this to RBI. I registered a complaint on RBI complaint portal (https://cms.rbi.org.in) on 26 January 2022. Complaint number is N202122013024729. But, RBI rejected it stating that I need to get a response from my home branch (MIDC, Andheri(E.), Mumbai, Maharashtra) first. So, I mailed back to Customer Service Manager (MD Cell) since I didn't have any email id of home branch.

This did the trick !!

I got a call from home branch. The executive requested to send an email every year once the charges were levied. He said that those would be reversed immediately. However, he mentioned again that AXIS bank didn't issue any FREE ATM or debit card. Considering the experience so far, I requested for a written confirmation on the proposed solution. Fortunately, I received the same.

Note : My home branch never replied to my emails. I received all updates so far from Principal Nodal Officer's (PNO) email id.

So, I have decided to mail PNO every year. I am still unsure that things would go smooth in future. I have a very strong feeling that I will have to bang my head with AXIS bank once again. I'll keep you posted on the progress.


Few words about RBI complaint portal :

I had a very good experience with RBI complaint portal (https://cms.rbi.org.in). Please note, it takes 4 to 6 weeks to take action on complaint. Mostly, this is due to the volume of complaints it receives. But, on complaint registration, you get a receipt and complaint id immediately in email. Complaint progress can be tracked on portal. Once it's closed, one more receipt is mailed with action/rejection etc. details. In case, you don't receive any of these receipts, please send a mail to crpc (at) rbi (dot) org (dot) in

Again, you won't get reply immediately but they do respond.

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