The Importance of a Customer

What all organizations need to frame on every desk of every executive for reading on a daily basis. And also on all walls wherever there is space available.

“A customer is the most important visitor in our premises.

He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him.

He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it.

He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it.

We are not doing him a favour by serving him.

He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.”

Mahatma Gandhi

ICICI Bank offers 15 Lacs to Family of member killed by them

In a startling development, ICICI Bank has offered to pay 15,00,000 (1.5 Million Indian Ruppes) as compensation to the family of Mr. Y. Yadaiha, the person killed by its recovery agents in Hyderabad last week.

What is your life worth Mr. Kamath?

Can someone kill you and offer the price that you put on your life to your family?

Follow up on ICICI recovery story

Today I read in Times of India that police has arrested four employees of the recovery agency, Elite Financial Services.

The Supreme Court direction in such cases is very clear. The agencies appointed by the banks and other financial institutions are the direct responsibility of these banks and financial institutions. They can not escape the actions of their agents and associates.

I thus urge the police and powers that be that Mr. Kamath, CEO of ICICI Bank be arrested and put behind bars as an exemplary punishment. This will serve as an eyeopener for all the banks that are operating within the country and their executives who sit in air-conditioned office and are responsible for the reprehensible activities of their agents and associates.

One top person being sent to jail will wake up everyone down the line. But I think this is again going to be wishful thinking.

Some more information on Crezendo

The other day I wrote on the controversy surrounding the Crezendo Condom from Hindustan Latex. Since then there has been an explosion of visitors to my blog.

Sex really sells!

While searching for more information about the product, many people visited my blog. This made me search too.

And I found a very hilarious account on this link http://kennysia.com: Ansell vibe4u Vibrating Condom Review

Also, as this product sells for AUD (Australian Dollar) 12 in Australia, you can make a killing exporting it from here by buying it for Rs 125/- (Less than 3 AUD) and selling it for 12. How's that for a profit.

Please send generous donations to me when you are able to capitalize on this idea

Death to ICICI Bank

Today I read a shocking incident pertaining to recovery of personal loan by ICICI Bank.

In Hyderabad, a person has been detained illegally and beaten up brutally by a private recovery agency of ICICI Bank.

This person later died due to his injuries at a local hospital.

The police has registered a case of wrongful confinement and culpable homicide not amounting to murder! How can they register as culpable homicide not amounting to murder when an actual murder has taken place.

All this after the Supreme Court of India giving clear guidelines to all the banks operating within India on methods of recovery. The Court has clearly said that 'There will be no use of force'. But the banks don't want to listen.

This person lost his life for a paltry sum of 15,000.

I wish death to ICICI Bank.

Read the complete article here

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Man_dies_after_being_confined_by_debt_recovery_men/articleshow/2145190.cms

A personal experience with credit cards

I want to tell you my personal experience with credit cards.

I started with a single card from Standard Chartered Bank in the year 1990. This was a Master Card, very soon they sent me another free card with Visa affiliation. Thus I had two cards.

One of my friends was working in a DSA for ANZ Grindlay's bank and he requested that I take a card from him in a particularly lean month of sales for him. Thus I got my third card, very soon ANZ Grindlays sent me another card with Visa affiliation. Thus now I had four cards.

I very soon acquired another credit card, this time from American Express called the green card.

At this point of time, I was feeling on top of the world. I had a combined credit line of more than 5 Lacs, which at that point of time meant that I could buy a house using just my credit cards!

All through the time, I used my cards judiciously and never maxed them out, although the temptation to do so arose on many occasions.

Being in the IT industry, I fell into a debt trap following the dot com bust that happened in year 2000-2001.

I now had an outstanding on my card and no source to pay it up. Very soon the bill collectors were on my back. I had to answer one harassing call after another.

Sometime in June 2001, I settled with the credit card company and paid them their outstanding dues after getting a discount from them.

But before I did this, I did my home work. I insisted on a settlement letter from the company (Standard Chartered Bank, which by then had taken over ANZ Grindlays) before I made my payment to them. For some strange reason they asked me to pay 96000 in six installments of 16000 each even when I offered to pay them in one go.

Later on I learned that this was another of their dirty tricks. What they are banking upon is that the payer will falter and in their settlement letter they mention that even if you miss out on any one payment, the settlement stands canceled and the money already paid stands forfeited!

Anyway I managed to pay all the installments in time. But I kept getting their statements showing outstanding dues for the next 1 full year. When I complained to them, they said that it takes time for the statements to stop. This I found hard to believe given the fact that everything they do is computerized and they have the ability to suspend a card within an hours notice. During this period when the statements were still coming, I had to confront a bunch of bill collectors, who I could ward off only when I showed them my settlement letter along with the receipt of the payments that I had made.

I held on to the American Express Credit Card just in case of any emergency.

During this time, I have had to fight American Express for waiver of charges on many occasions. I once withdrew cash of 8000 and they levied me two separate charges while it was their system that was at fault as it did not allow withdrawal of more than 5000 from the ATM. When I took this up with them, they reversed the charges.

Tell me, is this not a trap? How many people must have been shortchanged this way?

At the time of renewal of this card, when American Express charged me the annual fees, I refused to pay and told them that they could cancel my card. They waived the charges and I have not paid any annual fee for the last three years.

On another occasion when I paid my monthly dues at an American Express Bank branch, my cheque went missing. Inexplicably this happened at their own office. They put late charges on my account and also charged me interest for the delayed payment. I once again fought with them and accused them of probably shredding my cheque just to levy late charges and interest. When confronted thus and in the light of evidence that I had always paid on time everytime, they had no option but to reverse my charges.

Thus the readers should remain vigilant of all the charges that appear on their statement and fight back to have charges they don't agree to be reversed. Using a credit card only in emergencies or in situations where cash is not accepted is the best way to handle them.

Do not make a costly purchase on your credit card. Save for such extravaganzas. If you do make such a purchase opt for the EMI scheme from the company. This carries a much smaller percentage rate on the credit that you avail.

Now Government wakes up to credit card fraud

An article that appeared today in the Mumbai Mirror, edition dated 22nd June 2007 talks about MRTPC getting into act to probe the wrong doing of Credit Card companies.

It is a known fact amongst people who watch this industry that this kind of skimming has been happening for year. The Credit Card Industry is so loaded with money that they have been able to buy silence from the authorities.

My question is, when a person commits a robbery by snatching a chain on the street, you first beat him up, then haul him to the nearest police station, then the police extracts their pond of flesh from the thief. Later he is consigned to the legal system where the reason why he did the act in the first place is ignored and he is sent to prison.

How many such cases can you remember of corporate thieves going to jail? Not many I believe. Therefore it becomes all the more important that this industry is reined in and the MBA's who head and manage these schemes be sent to jail. Only then the white-collar people will realize that they can not get away with fraud and larceny.

Imagine a credit card issuing company like ICICI which has 20 Million cards committing a fraud of 100 rupees on 10% of their card base. Do you think this does not happen? Wait for the MRTPC report which will tell you the truth unless these companies are able to buy the investigators from here too.

Article reproduced below for your reading pleasure.

MRTPC orders probe into credit card fees

NEW DELHI: Alarmed by reports that credit card companies have collected over Rs 6,000 crore in a decade from customers by way of fines and late fee, India’s antimonopoly w a t c h d o g has ordered a probe into the fees levied by them.

The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has asked the Director General of Investigation and Registration (DGIR) to probe the issue and report back, sources have revealed.

The commission ordered the probe after taking cognizance of reports that claimed credit card issuers extracted more than Rs 6,000 crore as late fee, cash, advance fee, billed finance fee, overlimit fee, cash withdrawal fee, insurance charges, cheque pick-up fee and service taxes during the past 10 years.
DGIR would direct banks to furnish details of their income during last three-four years derived from other than the credit limits (extra charges), the sources added.

As per the MRTPC Act, DGIR has to submit its preliminary investigation report before the commission within 90 days.

The commission has already initiated judicial enquiry against Citibank, HSBC, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank for adopting unfair practices for selling credit cards, as the DGIR submitted its preliminary report in which it suspected these organisation to have violated norms.

In its report, DGIR had found that these banks were making false promises to their credit card customers and caused loss to the general public by violating the rules framed by the Reserve Bank of India. It also alleged that the banks were delaying delivery of bills and realisation of cheques toward payment just to charge increased interest rate, late fee and fines, etc.

The commission had initiated judicial enquiry against HDFC on November 10 last on the same grounds.

The sources added enquiries against American Express Bank, ABN Amro and country’s largest lender State Bank of India on the same issue are also going on. PTI