Are you really struggling to correct the errors present in your CIBIL report? Although you have raised disputes in CIBIL multiple times, they closed the dispute id without making the required changes or you have not received any response from CIBIL for more than 30 days. In this scenario, you should go for an RBI complaint against the concerned Credit Information Companies (CICs), such as TransUnion CIBIL.
Under RBI regulation, currently, major four Credit Information Companies are operating in India, namely;
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Experience Credit Information Company of India Pvt Ltd
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CRIF High Mark Credit Information Services Pvt Ltd
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Equifax Credit Information Company of India Pvt Ltd
As per the Credit Information Companies (Regulations) Act, 2005; each regulated entity of India (PSU Banks, NBFCs) submits their borrower’s credit data and repayment records to these four Credit Information Companies.
Based on the loan repayment history, they generatecredit report and evaluate a credit score for each individual. This credit score plays the most crucial role in terms of getting a new loan/ credit card approval.
Now, the presence of any kind of discrepanciesin your credit report not only damages your credit score but also hamper the possibility of getting new credit. That’s why the dispute resolution (Error correction) process of each credit bureau should be faster within a standard timeframe (typically 30 working days).
As all these CICs don’t have any authority to modify any changes to a borrower’s credit report without getting confirmation from the respective lender; that’s why, when you raise a dispute with any of the Credit Information Companies to rectify the inaccuracy, they forward the disputed details to the respective lender.
In simple terms, they work as a mediator between the borrower and the concerned lender.And because of that, rectification takes an extendedperiod, even in some cases several months.
To reduce unnecessary delay in response and improve the customer grievance redress mechanism, RBI launched The Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 on 21 Nov 2021, which includes all four Credit Information companies under the RBI framework.
Now, consumers who are victims of incorrect credit information and did not get any kind of resolution from the respective credit bureau, can register a grievance against the particular Credit Information Companyunder the RBI- IOS 2021 scheme. This will provide a cost-free alternative redress mechanism for grievances against Credit Information Companies in India.
How does RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2021 work:
When you file a grievance against any Credit Information Company (such as CIBIL), your complaint will be forwarded to the principal nodal officers/ general manager of that respective Credit Bureau.
They will investigate your concern on a priority basis, and have to submit a written version of theirreply to RBI within 15 days. In case they fail to reply within the time frame, RBI have the authority to settle down the case or issue an award.
However, RBI have the power to provide compensation of upto 20 lakhs for any consequential loss suffered by the complainant and a compensation of upto 1 lakh for the loss of the complainant’s time, expenses incurred and for theharassment suffered by the complainant.
Things to be remembered before filing an RBI (Ombudsman) complaint against CIBIL and other CICs:
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At first, you have to approach the respective Credit Information Company (such as CIBIL) before filing a grievance against them. If the concerned credit Bureau failed to resolve the matter within 30 days or you are not satisfied with their response, then only you can register a grievance under RBI Ombudsman Scheme 2021, otherwise RBI will simply reject your complaint.
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In case CIBIL has resolved your dispute and you are not satisfied with their response, then you have filed an RBI complaint within one year of their last response date.
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Your complaint should not be related to any legal matter that is already pending in any court or sub juice or any other forum. That’s why, for any complaint related to a ‘Suit Filed’ withdrawal from your credit report, there is a high possibility that RBI will deny your grievance.
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If you already registered an RBI grievance against the regulated entity, you can’t register a new grievance on the same ground until unless your previous complaint has been closed.
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Under the RBI Ombudsman Scheme 2021, a complaint should be made by the Complainant individually or through an authorized representative other than an advocate (unless the Complainant is an advocate himself).
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Your complaint should not involve any employer-employee relationship of a regulated entity. You can’t register a general grievance against the management or executive of the entity.
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You don’t have to pay any charges to register a grievance under RBI Ombudsman Scheme 2021.
The process to file an RBI (Ombudsman) complaint against CIBIL and other CICs:
There are several modes through which one can register complaint in RBI under the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2021, such as through the RBI CMS portal, or by sending an email or a physical form to CRPC (Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre). In this article, we have discussed all these ways in detail with practical examples.
A. Online complaint – on the CMS portal of RBI:
To register an online grievance on the RBI CMS Portal, visit the official websitehttps://www.rbi.org.in/. On the downside of the page, you can find the option for “Complaint”, or you can go directly to the complaint page https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/Complaints.aspx.
On the complaint page, there is a link to register a grievance against any Regulated Entity (Banks, NBFCs, System Participants) as highlighted in the picture above. Click on the link.
On the next page, you can find options of “File a Complaint”, “Track Your Complaint”, “File an Appeal” and more. Now, if you are going to register a grievance for the first time, then click on the “File a Complaint” tab.
Then the next page will open as shown in the picture above, enter the Captcha as shown on that page and proceed next.
Then the Complainant Details page will open. Here, you have to put your name (Block letter), and mobile number. Then, verify the OTP sent to your phone number.
After successful OTP verification, the complaint page will open as shown in the picture below. From this, we will explain the further steps with practical examples so that you can understand easily.
Fill the form with your contact details and personal information such as email ID, age, gender, residential address, pincode, etc. Be noted, here you are filing the complaint as an individual person, that’s why select the “Complainant Category” as Individual.
Under the Entity Name section, select the particular Credit Information Company name, against which you want to file the grievance. For example, if you are going to file a complaint against CIBIL, then select “Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited”.
As we already discussed, your complaint should not be pending under sub-judice or related to any legal matter, emploer employee relationship. The same complaint should not made through an advocate, not pending in the previous RBI ombudsman; that’s why select all these options as “NO” and then proceed to the next.
On the next page, they will ask, whether you have filed a written/ electronic complaint with the Regulated Entity or not. If you have raised an online dispute or write a complaint letter in TransUnion CIBIL or sent an email to CIBIL’s Nodal officer, attach the dispute status page or the email copy as evidence.
For example, if you have raised an online dispute or sent an email on 12 Oct 2023, mention the particular date and attach the file, then click on “Upload”. Be noted, the uploaded document should be under 2MB.
Now, if you have received any email response from the CIBIL against your complaint Dispute ID or Service Request Number, attach that response similar way and mention the response date.
In case you have sent any reminders to the regulated entity against their response, then select “Yes”, mention the reminder date and attach the documents similar way.
Since TransUnion CIBIL did not charge any fees for credit report error correction, that’s why mention the first dispute date in the place of “Date of the dispute transaction”. As your complaint is not against the wallet of the Regulated Entity and a Business Correspondent; so, select all these options as “NO”
Now, if your complaint is related to any loan/ credit card account mentioned in your CIBIL, then put the loan account number or 16-digit credit card number in the appropriate place as shown in the picture above.
Next, under the “Complaint Category Section”, select the suitable option according to your complaint. Since you are complaining against CIBIL, try to select “Credit Score” under “Complaint Sub-category 1”
After that, you will get an option to brief your complaint in 1000 characters. Here, write a complaint in detail, and don’t forget to mention your KYC details, CIBIL report control number, previous dispute ID and service request number as evidence of your previous communication with CIBIL.
****Be careful, your complaint letter should not contain any special character. Only “Comma” and “Full stop” are allowed.
In case, you want to claim any compensation, then mention those amounts in Rupees; otherwise, keep it blank and proceed to “Next”.
On the next page, you will get the option to upload the required documents related to your complaint. The attached documents should not exceed 10MB.
Attach your KYC documents, CIBIL report, payment details (Payment receipt/ NOC/ loan statement), etc.
In case, you want to authorise a representative to appear and make a submission on your behalf, then select “Yes” otherwise keep it as “No”. Then, select the self-declaration checkbox and go for “Review and Submit”.
Then a complaint preview page will open to you. Verify all the details provided by you and then click on the final “Submit”.
After a successful submission of the complaint, a complaint number will be generated as shown in the picture above. Click on the “Download PDF” to save the complaint acknowledgement. In addition to this, you will also get an email confirmation sent by RBI.
B. Send an email or a physical form to RBI
You can also lodge a grievance against CIBIL under RBI-IOS 2021, by sending an email to CRPC (Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre) on their email address [email protected] or you can send a physical form to the below-mentioned address:
Centralized Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC)
Reserve Bank of India,
Central Vista, Sector 17,
Chandigarh – 160 017
You can check the complaint status by re-logging into the RBI portal. All the responses will be sent to your registered email address. Maintain a continuous follow-up throughout the process.
