GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL POLICY – 2012-13

Introduction:

In the present scenario of competitive banking, excellence in customer service is the most important tool for sustained business growth. Ever since inception our Bank has attached high priority to customer satisfaction. Over the years, steps have been taken to come out with a number of initiative aimed at achieving high standards of customer satisfaction and complaint free branch network. Customer complaint is part of the business life of any corporate entity. As a service organization, customer service and customer satisfaction is the prime concern of the Bank. We believe that providing prompt and efficient service is essential not only to attract new customers, but also to retain existing ones. This policy document aims at minimizing instances of customer complaints and grievances through proper service delivery and review mechanism and to ensure prompt redressal of customer complaints and grievances. The review mechanism will help in identifying shortcomings in product features and service delivery.

The Bank's policy on Grievance Redressal follows the under noted principles:

Our customers will be treated fairly at all times
Complaints raised by our customers will be dealt with courtesy and in time
Our customers will be fully informed of avenues to escalate their complaints/ grievances within the organization and their rights to alternative remedy, if they are not fully satisfied with the response of the bank to their complaints
Our Bank will treat all complaints efficiently and fairly as they can damage the Bank's reputation and business if handled otherwise.
Our employees will work in good faith and without prejudice to the interests of the customer.

In order to make Bank's redressal mechanism more meaningful and effective, a structured system will function at Branches/Circle Offices/Head Office, which will ensure that redressal sought is just and fair and is within the given frame-work of rules and regulation.

This policy document will be made available at all branches. All the employees will be made aware about the complaint handling process to ensure better customer service and general awareness in the Bank.

1.1 The customer complaint arises due to :

The attitudinal aspects in dealing with customers
Inadequacy of the functions/arrangements made available to the customers or gaps in standards of services expected and actual services rendered.

The customer is having full right to register his complaint if he/she is not satisfied with the services provided by the Bank. He/she can give his/her complaint in writing, orally or over telephone. If customer complaint is not resolved within given time or if he/she is not satisfied with the solution provided by the bank, he/she can approach Banking Ombudsman with his/her complaint or other legal avenues available for grievance redressal.

2. Internal Machinery to handle customer complaints/grievances

If the customer wants to make a complaint, we will inform:
- Where to make complaint
- How a complaint should be made
- When to expect a reply
- Whom to approach for redressal
- What to do if customers are not happy about the outcome
The Bank will inform customers where to find details of procedures for handling complaints fairly and quickly.
If the customer complaint is received in writing, we will endeavour to send an acknowledgement/a response within a week. If customer complaint is relayed over phone at our designated telephone helpdesk or customer service number we shall provide a complaint reference number and keep customers informed of the progress within a reasonable period of time.
After examining the matter, we will send our final response or explain why we need more time to respond and shall endeavour to do so within 30 days of receipt of complaint and will tell customers to take their complaint further if they are still not satisfied.

2.1 Complaint Redressal Mechanism in our Bank (Internal Machinery):

2.1.1 At Branch:

Resolution of Grievances

Branch Manager will be responsible for the resolution of the complaints/grievances in respect of customer's service by the Branch. He/she would be responsible for ensuring closure of all complaints received at Branches. It is his/her foremost duty to see that the complaint should be resolved completely to the customer's satisfaction and if the customer is not satisfied, then he shall be provided with alternate avenues to escalate* the issue if the same is not resolved within the stipulated period. If the Branch Manager feels that is not possible at his/her level to solve the problem he/she may refer the case to Circle Office or Head Office for guidance. Similarly, if Circle Office finds that they are not able to solve the problem such cases may be referred to the Nodal Officer of the Bank.

* Grievance Escalation System is mentioned in subsequent paragraph

Suggestion Box and complaint Book are provided in all the branches. Any written complaint is instantly and promptly acknowledged.
All branches other than small branches have "May I help you counters".
Counter staff are provided with training and additional inputs.
If counter staff/Supervisor is unable to resolve a grievance, the branch in-charge intervenes and tries to resolve the issue.
Customers’ Day is observed on 15th of every month. On this day branch in-charge will make himself available at the branch between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to meet customers without any prior appointment.

Customer Service Committee meetings is held every month at all Branches, Circle Offices. The sole task of the Committee is to find out ways and means to render service to the satisfaction of the Customers. For this purpose Committee will meet regularly at stipulated intervals to discuss in detail the strengths and deficiencies of the services presently rendered and take steps to improve it.
Special Customers’ Meet is conducted on special occasions.
Every year, Customer Fortnight is observed to create awareness among Public as well as staff for achieving the objective of Complaint free branch network and also highlight our products and services.

2.1.2 At Circle Office:

Divisional Manager/Assistant General Manager hold exclusive charge of Customer Service Section at Circle office.
By and large, complaints are redressed within shortest possible time.
Whenever it is not possible and more cross checking is required, steps are taken to settle the matter within a reasonable time.
Divisional Managers(O)/Assistant General Manager(O) visit branches periodically and submit a report on Customer Service, as per the detailed checklist
Divisional Manager/Assistant General Manager in-charge of Customer Service Section, Circle Office contact the aggrieved customers as and when necessary, meet him personally with the Branch Manager, for ensuring timely redressal of the complaint.
Wherever deficiencies are noticed, accountability is fixed and erring employees punished.

Still there may be some aggrieved customers who write to Head office.

2.1.3 At Head Office:

A full-fledged Customer Service Section is functioning at SP&D Wing, Head Office, overseen by General Manager.
An acknowledgement is sent to the customer immediately on receipt of the complaint.
Thorough analysis of the complaints is done and necessary instructions are given to CO/Branches for speedy redressal and followed up till final redressal letter is sent to the complainant duly explaining the decision taken on the complaint.

On 15th of every month, Customers’ Day is observed between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. during which our overseeing Executives are available for meeting the public / Customers without prior appointment.
Special Customers’ Meets are organized for different segments of the market, viz., Exporters, SSI, NRI, Agriculturists, etc.
Customer Satisfaction Surveys through In-house as well as by External agencies are conducted to assess the level of customer satisfaction.

2.1.4 Grievance Escalation System:

Customers can lodge their complaints directly to Branch-in-charge and it will be the responsibility of the Branch-in-charge to resolve the complaint within 7 days from the date of receipt.
The Branch-in-charge will analyze the complaint and if need be he/she will contact the complainant personally and resolve the complaint.
A complaint redressal letter will be sent to complainant, if the complaint is resolved at Branch level. The Branch will also send the details of the grievance received at periodical intervals to Circle Office.
If the Branch-in-charge is not able to resolve the complaint within 7 days, the complaint will be referred by the Branches to the concerned Circle Office along with their comments/replies for further action.
The complaints referred to Circle Office will be analyzed by Customer Service Section and based on the explanation received from the Branch, CO will send a suitable reply to complainant.
If the reply received from the Branch is not satisfactory and if Circle Office cannot resolve the complaint within 7 days from the date of receipt of complaints, the same will be referred to Customer Service Section, Head Office along with their comments/explanations. The Circle Office will also send the details of the complaints received directly by them and not settled within seven days to Customer Service Section, Head Office along with their comments/ replies.
Customer Service Section, Head Office will analyze the complaint and the replies received from Branch and Circle Office. On placing the matter before appropriate authorities a decision is taken on the complaint. A complaint redressal letter is sent to the complainant from Head Office and suitable instructions are passed on to Branch, Circle Office for taking action in the deficient areas.

3.ONLINE GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL SYSTEM: CPGRS ( CANARA PUBLIC GRIEVANCE SYSTEM )

Based on the Recommendations of the Damodaran Committee, IBA and also as per the instructions of the Ministry of Finance the bank has developed a in-house package for the online grievance redressal system namely CPGRS ( Canara Public Grievance Redressal System ). The same is made available in the Banks Website. This package enables the customers to register their complaints online through our website. This package records a complaint and provides the customer the complaints status tracking and receiving response from the bank.

The information about the CPGRS has been circulated wide our Circular No 122/2012 dated 20/04/2012. Through the website of the bank the customers register the complaints. A unique reference number is generated by the system for the reference to the customer. The complaint goes to the concerned branch automatically and the branch redresses the issue. In case if there is any delay the same is being escalated to the Circle after 7 days for follow-up. Similarly if there is any delay at Circle Office the same is escalated to Head Office after 7 days. HO is following up with each case and redresses the issue to the satisfaction of the customer

4. BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEME:

We have displayed on our website and in all our Branches a notice explaining that we are covered by the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 of the Reserve Bank of India. The copy of the scheme is made available at all the branches and will be issued to customers at a nominal charge.
Within 30 days of lodging a complaint with us, if customer does not get a satisfactory response from us and if customer wishes to pursue other avenues for redressal of grievances, customer may approach Banking Ombudsman appointed by Reserve Bank of India under Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006. Salient features of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 are displayed in the branch notice boards and the scheme itself is displayed on our Website www.canarabank.com. If customers face any difficulty our Staff will explain the procedure in this regard.

5. Standing Committee on Customer Service (constituted on 22/06/2005)

In order to benchmark the current level of service, review the progress periodically, enhance the timeliness and quality, rationalize the processes taking into account technological developments and suggest appropriate incentives to facilitate change on an ongoing basis the Standing Committee on Customer Service is functioning.

The Standing Committee on Customer Service will be chaired by the Managing Director/ Executive Director of the Bank. Besides two to three Senior Executives of the Bank, the Committee would also have two to three eminent non- executives drawn from the public as members.

The Committee is having the following functions:

Evaluate feedback on quality of customer service received from various quarters. The committee would also review comments/feedback on customer service, implementation of commitments in the Code of Bank's Commitments to customers received from BCSBI.
The committee would be responsible to ensure that all regulatory instructions regarding customer service are followed by the Bank. Towards this, the committee would obtain necessary feedback from Zonal/Regional Managers/ Functional heads.
The committee would consider unresolved complaints/grievances referred to it by functional heads responsible for redressal and offer its advice
The committee would submit report on its performance to the customer service committee of the board at quarterly intervals.

6. Customer Service Committee of the Board (constituted on 1/08/2004)

This sub-committee of the Board would be responsible for formulation of a Comprehensive Deposit Policy incorporating the issues such as the treatment of death of depositor for operations of his account, the product approval process and annual survey of depositor satisfaction. The committee would also examine any other issues having a bearing on the quality of customer service rendered. This committee would also review the functioning of the Standing Committee on Customer Service.

7.Nodal Officer and other designated officials to handle complaints and grievances.

7.1 At Head Office:

Nodal Officer:

The Bank has nominated General Manager, Customer Service Section, CC&BP Wing Head Office, Bangalore as PRINCIPLE NODAL OFFICER, who is monitoring the implementation of Customer Service and complaint handling for the entire Bank.

Quality Assurance Officer:

Deputy General Manager, SP&D Wing, Head Office has been nominated as the Quality Assurance Officer of our bank who apart from performing various functions, is also undertaking separate visits to branches to assess the level of service and interact with customers for initiating necessary action in the deficient areas.

7.2.At Circle Office:

Overseeing Executive of Customer Service Section at Circle Offices is handling the complaints received directly from customers of that region. Customer Service Committees are in place in all the Circle Offices to look into implementation of customer service.

7.Mandatory display requirements

The Bank has made it mandatory to display the following at Branches and at our website WWW.CANARABANK.COM for the benefit of our customers:

Details on appropriate arrangements made for receiving complaints and suggestions
The name, address and contact number of Nodal Officer(s)
Contact details of Banking Ombudsman of the area
Details of Code of Bank's commitments to customers/Fair practice code

Resolution of Grievances

Branch Manager is responsible for the resolution of complaints/grievances in respect of customer’s service by the branch. He would be responsible for ensuring closure of all complaints received at the branches. It is his foremost duty to see that the complaint should be resolved completely to the customer’s satisfaction and if the customer is not satisfied, then he should be provided with alternate avenues to escalate the issue. If the branch manager feels that it is not possible at his level to solve the problem he can refer the case to Circle Office for guidance. Similarly, if Circle office finds that they are not able to solve the problem such cases may be refereed to the Nodal Officer of the Bank.

9. Time Frame

Complaints received will be seen in right perspective and will be analyzed from all possible angles. Specific time schedule is set up for handling complaints and disposing them at all levels including branches/Circle Offices and Head Office. The Branch Manager will try to resolve the complaint within specified time frames decided by the Bank.

Time Schedule for Redressal of Complaints:

	Stipulated by MOF	Adopted by Bank
General Complaints	30 days	21 days
Complaints forwarded by RBI/MOF MPs/VVIPs	21 days	15 days
Complaints from PMs office	15 days	7 days

All the complaints received will be acknowledged immediately. In cases where complaints received would require some time for examination, the same will be informed to customer through an interim reply.

Branches/Circle Offices will send action taken report on complaints received at their end to Head Office at the end of every month.

Interaction with customers

Customer's expectation/requirement/grievances can be better understood through personal interaction with customers by Bank's staff. Structured customer meets will give a message to the customers that the bank cares for them and values their feedback/suggestions for improvement in customer service. Many of the complaints arise on account of lack of awareness among customers about bank services and such interactions will help the customers appreciate the banking services better. The feedback from customers would be a valuable input for revising our product and services to meet customer requirements.

Sensitizing the operating staff on handling complaints

Our staff will be properly trained for handling complaints. During all the Training Sessions at our Apex Staff Training College and Regional Staff Training Colleges, the importance of handling complaints is explained to all the participants and they are trained to deal with customer complaints. Nodal Officer for the Bank will ensure that internal machinery for handling complaints/grievances operates smoothly and efficiently at all levels and he will be giving feed back on training needs of staff at various levels to the Human Resources Department.

Redressal of complaints emanating from rural areas and those relating to financial assistance to Priority Sector and Governments Poverty Alleviation Programme.

The existing grievance policy adopted, approved by the Board and published in our website is applicable to the complaints emanating from rural areas also.

Our Toll Free number 18004250018 satisfies the grievances of Rural Customers. Rural Customers can register their grievances by using this Toll Free number in seven regional languages namely Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali apart from English.