Jun 17, 2006 01:04 AM
4498 Views
Sometime back my friend congratulated himself that he got a Home Loan from ICICI, So far so good. His nightmare started the moment he defaulted on second instalment. Not only was Rs.400 deducted everytime he defaulted ( 200 by the ICICI Home Loan Dept for returned cheque. and 200 by the ICICI Bank branch from which he had issued postdated cheque. rs.400/- on a instalment of Rs.3,900/-., 11 % penalty per month.
ICICI gets rich either way.
The second nightmare and most horrifying was, every week a different collection agent , supposedly a " debt collecting agency " authorised by ICICI, started calling on his Mobile/Home number and started making personal visits.
Does ICICI Home Loan have the authority to pass on " personal and private " information (in this case phone numbers and the residential address) to any third party (whether authorised or not), without safe guarding the Borrower, that the third party will not misuse the numbers and the address for illegal and unrelated work and or cause any personal injury, threat to personal injury or abusive and vulgar language not being carried out by these so called third parties ??
A very very crucial question...if the debt collecting agencies are authorised by ICICI Home Loan Department , does the ICICI Home Loan Department take security measures to ensure that " the staff employed by these debt collecting agencies bear a clean police record ? a look at some of the staff employed by these debt collecting agencies will definitely prove that some of them are involved in criminal offences and liable to prosecution and imprisonment.
Who safeguards this particular aspect ?? No one sir. Believe me. a borrower is than at the mercy of these so called staff of the debt collection agencies.
I am sure such blatant misuse of hiring third parties to terrorise Borrowers is a practise in India only and must be stopped forthwith.
No one has a right to pass on personal information to any third party.
No one has a right to send a stranger to the house of a Borrower.
Terms and conditions read and signed is not a legal excuse.
Terms and conditions that violate the privacy of an individual are against the constitution of India and challengable in a Court of Law.
All we need today is a good Lawyer and a well read Judge to protect against this fast spreading practise adopted not only by ICICI but all and sundry Home Loan giving Banks/companies in India.
