Standard Chartered Credit Card — Harrasment calls for payments

I would like to bring to your notice that I am suddenly being harassed by calls from Standard Chartered Bank for payment against my credit card, closed more than 6 years ago.

Here are the details:

I received a call from Ms Priya from Delhi on 20th October 2008 from the phone number [protected], stating that she is from the legal department of Standard Chartered. She stated that I have a Standard Chartered Credit Card and there is some amount pending which needs immediate clearance. This shocked me, as I had paid all my bills and destroyed the card in the year 2001 and also requested to close the card. They had not informed any closure procedure and only advised me to destroy the card, which would be the end of it.

As I didn’t have much know-how of it I believed them and destroyed the card. From then on I received a few statements with zero outstanding, but when I called up Standard Chartered bank to inform them that I had destroyed my card and asked them to close the account they just told to ignore the statements. I don’t remember when the last statement was sent to me but for the last 6 years I have not got any statements, or notice or calls from Standard Chartered bank. I am very sure about this as the address and phone number given was permanent and we have been staying there for the last 20 years.

If according to them if I had defaulted why did the Standard Chartered wait for 6 years to contact me even when they had my contact details?. If I had received the same call somewhere in 2002 it would have been easy for me to produce the documentary evidence (bank statement etc.) stating that I have cleared all the pending balances. Now I realize that using a CC I will have to keep all the proofs of payment till my death or even beyond, so can be produced by my family or me whenever the bank calls up for checks.

I had received numerous calls from the number above from different people (Mayank Malhotra, Priya, Kunal, Malathi) in different tones (request and threatening) to go to the nearest Standard Chartered bank and pay up what they call the settlement amount (which has been varying from the first call 17000, 15000, 4900). On asking them to send written information clarifying the details of the card, the purchase done and why have they not contacted me in this many years, they bluntly refuse. They say they can’t give any information and what they only can do is issue a settlement letter after I pay up the settlement amount. It’s only on my repeated request that they sent me an email from a gmail account with a word document as attachment. The document had only an extract of a computer display and address where I had to go and pay the outstanding or settlement amount

Further to this I had send two registered post detailing my concerns and requesting information to the address given in the email which is Vijay Kumar Sharma Recovery Manager Standard Chartered amsri plaza 4th floor sd road secandrabad and to Priya Krishnaprakash, Head – Customer Care, Standard Chartered Bank, Customer Care Unit, 19, Rajaji Salai, Chennai 600 001. The registered post to the Hyderabad was returned.

I had also emailed a copy to the customer care at Standard Chartered, for which I have received an auto email as acknowledgment. However till date I haven’t received any communication from Standard Chartered, neither did the calls end.

It is great surprise how ill organized is Standard Chartered bank is and how unethical are the ways and means in dealing with Customers. They blatantly violate the RBI guidance on CC business.

I would like to now take the issue with the banking ombudsman.