A private bank has been asked to compensate a customer for wrongly debiting his credit card account and sending him monthly statements even after he had surrendered the card.

The state consumer disputes redressal commission, in a recent order, asked ICICI bank to pay Rs 30,000 in compensation to Kalyan Kumar Sur, a resident of Dum Dum’s RN Guha Road.

It also ruled that a copy of the order be sent to the Reserve Bank of India governor, “so the RBI is aware how the business of a reputed private bank is conducted and how the credit card-holders are taken for a ride”.

Sur was holding a Gold Credit Card and his wife Sarbani an add-on card of ICICI Bank. On December 30, 2004, Sarbani had bought goods worth Rs 183.95 using her card and repaid the amount on February 1, 2005.

Sur said that though the dues were cleared within the deadline of interest-free repayment, the bank in the statement issued on February 2, 2005, levied a late payment charge of Rs 250 and service tax of Rs 25. This, along with other purchases, took the closing balance to Rs 655.

On approaching the bank, Sur was assured that the mistake would be rectified. But it was not. Despite Sur repeatedly pointing out the irregularity to the bank, the subsequent statements kept charging the couple interest and service tax.

The statement of September 9, 2005, showed an entry of Rs 29,827, which the bank claimed was a “debit transaction” in the earlier month. The closing balance in October 2005 was around Rs 42,000 and the bank asked Sur to pay up immediately.

The debit balance kept increasing in the subsequent months, though the couple had stopped making purchases using the cards, prompting Sur to ask for proof of his taking any loan from the bank.

He also returned the credit card to the bank in January 2006 after tearing it apart.

The bank then sent him a lawyer’s notice, demanding immediate payment of the dues. Sur then moved the Calcutta District Consumer Forum II, alleging that the bank could not produce any evidence of providing him a loan and yet was threatening him to “repay the dues”.

The forum slapped compensation of Rs 1 lakh on ICICI Bank. The bank then moved the state commission against the order, denying the allegations of Sur.

“The allegations of the complainant were without any basis, since he had failed to adduce satisfactory evidence in support of his contention,” the bank told the commission.

But the state panel dismissed the bank’s plea and asked it to pay a compensation of Rs 30,000 to Sur.

“We are yet to get the certified copy of the order. Once we receive it, the course of action will be planned,” said a bank official.