Ghaziabad: The consumer commission has asked the Ghaziabad branch of ICICI Bank to adjust Rs 2.2 lakh collected as pre-EMI interest from a borrower towards his loan account and recalculate the repayment schedule. It also ordered the bank to pay Rs 10,000 in compensation for mental harassment. The customer had sought a Rs 15 lakh loan, but the bank disbursed only Rs 10.2 lakh, following which the dispute reached the consumer commission.On July 8, 2022, Sahibabad resident Rupam Khare filed a complaint against the Ghaziabad branch of ICICI Bank Ltd stating that he had applied for a loan of Rs 15 lakh on Dec 30, 2016, after being allotted a two-room flat in a multi-storey building in GDA’s Koyal Enclave Scheme.The bank disbursed a loan of Rs 10.2 lakh, which was insufficient to meet his needs, preventing him from taking possession of the flat. Consequently, he continued to live in a rented house. Khare said that he was charged an exorbitant interest rate of 10.8%, higher than the market rate, and a hefty amount was shown to be deducted as interest for pre-EMI.He alleged that the bank should have charged an EMI, but instead they charged a pre-EMI even though the property was not ready. During lockdown he requested that his pre-EMIs be converted into EMIs. However, the bank ignored his request, forcing him to stop repaying the loan. He further alleged that he was not given the interest benefit for PM Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme, even though it was his first property.ICICI Bank filed a counterclaim, stating that the complainant was approved for a home loan for a two-room flat in the GDA-developed Koyal Enclave. Based on the documents submitted by the complainant, a loan of Rs 15 lakh was sanctioned, and Rs 10.2 lakh was disbursed at an interest rate of 10.8%. Later, after examining the documents and considering his ability to repay the loan, the remaining amount was not disbursed.Having heard the arguments of either side, commission president Anil Kumar Pundir and members Shailja Sachan and RP Singh on Aug 20 noted that the documentary evidence clearly shows that the bank sanctioned a loan of Rs 15 lakh, but disbursed only Rs 10.2 lakh.“The loan approval letter stipulates that pre-EMI interest will be payable until the full amount is disbursed. The bank has not provided any evidence as to why the remaining loan amount was not disbursed, nor has it clearly informed the complainant of this. In such circumstances, continuing to hold the complainant accountable for pre-EMI interest for a long period without providing a valid reason for not disbursing the remaining loan amount constitutes deficiency in service,” the commission held.The commission, however, held that the compensation sought in the form of rent of Rs 8 lakh, as paid by the man for the failure to move into his own house cannot be accepted as it lacks a direct connection to the deficiency in service of the bank.“The commission concludes that the opposite party should adjust the amount of Rs 2.2 lakh received from the complainant as pre-EMI/interest against the outstanding principal amount of the complainant’s loan account and recalculate the loan account accordingly and make a revised settlement,” the commission ruled.
