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Paan (Manager Finance)     08 April 2015

Calls from collection agency for old credit card balance

Hello,

I am getting harrassing calls from a collection agency on behalf of Kotak Mahindra Bank. This is regarding a ABN Amro bank credit card which I held 12 years back and was closed atleast 10 years back.

Suddenly I started receiving calls from the collection agency on behalf of Kotak Mahindra bank who they say have purchased outstanding receivables. As per their record balance of Rs 11000 is due. 

Can a third bank make such calls for balance which is so old?

Can anyone suggest what are the options I have. First of all I cannot validate the genuiness of the transaction because they are so old. I am still unable to understand if at all anything was due why they have woken up 12 years later. Is there anything I can do other than pay up whatever they say? They have got hold of my parents number and are harrassing them regularly.

I had written to some one from Kotak Mahindra to ask the collection agency to stop calling and give me some time. This person had sent an email earlier regarding the balance and the person does not respond anymore.

 

Regards



Learning

 6 Replies

G.L.N. Prasad (Retired employee.)     09 April 2015

Do you owe any amounts towards credit card (as dues) ?

Are you aware that it may affect your credit rating ?

(Then directly contact KMB, enter into one time settlement, and avoid such disgusting encounters with collection agency)

They resort to any type of humiliation of defaulters and go to any extent of harassing.  The amount is too small and you can negotiate for a settlement and get mental peace by paying legitimate dues, instead of seeking alternatives to avoid legitimate dues payment.

Lead a respectable life by settling dues  before you receive such humiliation before your colleagues and neighbors.

SAINATH DEVALLA (LEGAL CONSULTANT)     09 April 2015

U said closed atleast 10yrs back, kindly clarify

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate)     12 April 2015

This appears to be a time barred claim and being misused by some officials or some enthusiastic employees may be playing pranks to give a try so that you get committed and thereby bring you into the limitation circle and make you liable for the dues.  Do not ever commit to any such trick played by them, if their harassment is beyond tolerance, you may prefer a criminal complaint with the local police against the callers.   Consult a local advocate for further issues.

G.L.N. Prasad (Retired employee.)     12 April 2015

In India, pranks can not be played with citizens, as they are more informed.  Unless there is specific acknowledgment or some other proof, Banks can neither sell SPV to outside agency, nor the agency buy time barred debts.  Further, all the payments are made only in the name of the Bank, at their branch or through demand draft/ checque and hence pranks  have no place.

krishnamoorthi (Advocate)     12 June 2015

In the absence of any remittances it is a matter barred by limitation.  The credit card bank's outsourced agents employ market methods to fix the people into an agreement.  When it is time barred the only reply is "I don't owe any rupee".

G.L.N. Prasad (Retired employee.)     13 June 2015

I was on the otherside of Bank at Mumbai, and when DSA has called them (let me confirm highest paid executives) they have given acknowledgments accepting the debt and setteled some amounts through compromise within a week in all cases.   DCA are more powerful and used arm twisting tactics including threat of kidnap and selling kidneys. Complaints from cardholders Bank through RBI executives (ofcourse, unofficially through requests from such executives who coughed the over dues) and executives shelved down the recovery process.

(Before resorting to recovery of such old outstanding of past decade, Bankcollected legal opinion from a highly paid advocate in Mumbai.  We have operated for one moth and recovered Rs.20 lakhs.  When bank officials visited those same executives for recovery they were not given appointment by those executives.  At a place like Mumbai, it takes one day to trace a card holder, who behaves as though he is Bank's boss.)

Morale and values are  involved and those who know law must not misue for getting undue benefits.


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