The Banking Mohtasib Pakistan is a statutory ombudsman established under the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 to resolve complaints against banks. It is one of the more effective consumer remedies in the country and one of the least used, largely because customers escalate to a lawyer or give up instead.
What it can consider
The Mohtasib's jurisdiction covers, in relation to banks:
- Failure to act in accordance with banking laws and regulations, including State Bank directives
- Delays or fraud in relation to payment or encashment of cheques, drafts and other instruments
- Fraudulent or unauthorised withdrawals and debit entries
- Non-payment or inordinate delay in the payment of remittances
- Non-observance of the State Bank's prescribed schedule of charges, or levying charges without disclosure
- Failure to provide banking services that were undertaken to be provided
- Complaints of corruption or mala fide practices by bank officers
Two limits matter. The Mohtasib does not ordinarily entertain a matter that is sub judice before a court, and complaints about a bank's commercial or lending judgement - the refusal to grant a loan, the pricing of a facility - are generally outside the remit.
The mandatory first step
You must complain to the bank itself, in writing, before the Mohtasib will take the matter up.
- Write to the branch manager, and copy the bank's complaint resolution unit - every bank is required to have one, and the contact details are on its website and in its schedule of charges.
- Keep the acknowledgment, or send it in a way that proves delivery.
- Give the bank the time it specifies to respond, or the period recognised in practice - commonly forty-five days.
If the bank rejects the complaint, or does not respond within that period, the matter is ready for the Mohtasib.
Filing
The complaint is made on the Mohtasib's prescribed form, which is available on its website, and can be submitted online, by post or in person at the Karachi head office or a regional office. It must be filed within the prescribed period from the date of the cause of action, so do not let the matter drift for years.
Attach:
- Your written complaint to the bank and proof of delivery
- The bank's response, if any
- Statements, transaction records, SMS alerts and any correspondence
- Your CNIC and account details
- An affidavit in the form the Mohtasib prescribes
There is no fee and no requirement to be represented.
What happens
The Mohtasib sends the complaint to the bank for comments, may hold hearings at which both sides appear, and often resolves the matter informally - a large proportion of complaints are settled once the bank is asked to explain itself in a formal forum.
Where it is not settled, the Mohtasib makes an order, which can direct the bank to reverse an entry, refund an amount, pay compensation for loss suffered, and correct its conduct. Either party may represent to the Governor of the State Bank against the order within the prescribed period, and thereafter the ordinary avenues apply.
The complaints that succeed
The pattern in published case summaries is consistent. Complaints do well where there is a documented instruction the bank did not follow, an unauthorised debit reported promptly, charges levied outside the schedule of charges, or a delay in a remittance with a clear timeline.
They do poorly where the customer disclosed their OTP or PIN and there is no evidence of a systems failure, where the complaint is really about a lending decision, or where the customer waited two years and the records have gone.
Timeliness is the single strongest factor in a fraud complaint: report to the bank the same day, in writing.
The related forums
- State Bank of Pakistan operates its own public complaint facility, and complaints registered there are routed and monitored. Filing there in parallel does no harm.
- Insurance complaints go to the Insurance Ombudsman, not the Banking Mohtasib.
- Federal Ombudsman handles complaints against federal agencies, and the Federal Tax Ombudsman against FBR.
- Banking Courts under the Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance, 2001 are for recovery suits and for substantial claims a customer wishes to litigate.
Practical advice
Write the complaint as a chronology with dates, amounts and reference numbers, and attach the documents in the same order. State plainly what you want - the specific amount reversed or compensated. Complaints that describe frustration rather than facts take longer and achieve less.
This article describes the general jurisdiction and procedure of the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan. Periods and forms are set by the governing law and the Mohtasib's own procedure. It is not advice on any specific complaint.