After a 9-year legal battle, the bank had to pay a substantial fine for money not withdrawn from the ATM.

News Topical, Digital Desk : Nine years later, a minor ATM glitch has cost Bank of Baroda so much that it is now forced to pay compensation nearly 30 times the original amount. In February 2017, a customer in Surat's Udhna area attempted to withdraw just 10,000 rupees, but the machine dispensed neither cash nor a receipt.

The money was deducted from the account. A long battle followed, making the bank realize, like millions of others, that a customer's words should not be taken lightly.

Fight from complaint to RTI

In the morning, a customer tried to withdraw ₹10,000 from an SBI ATM using a card linked to his Bank of Baroda account. He inserted his card and entered his PIN, but the screen simply displayed "Transaction Processing." Neither the money nor the receipt came out. A short while later, he received an SMS stating that ₹10,000 had been debited.

On February 21st, the customer filed a written complaint with the Dumbhaal branch of Bank of Baroda. From March to May, he sent numerous emails. He contacted the RBI and other officials. He even filed an RTI requesting CCTV footage from SBI. But he received no concrete response. Finally, on December 20th, 2017, he filed a case with the Consumer Forum.

The bank's argument

During the hearing, Bank of Baroda argued that the ATM belonged to SBI and that the transaction was successful in their records, making them not liable. However, the Consumer Commission completely rejected this argument.

The Commission clearly stated that the bank must provide concrete proof of the transaction. According to RBI regulations, the money should have been returned within five days, which the bank failed to do. The delay has cost the bank 3,288 days.

The bank had to pay nearly 30 times the damages.

The Commission's final decision clearly directed Bank of Baroda to refund the original amount of ₹10,000 at an annual interest rate of 9%. Furthermore, compensation at the rate of ₹100 per day for the delay in processing the refund within 5 days. As of February 26, 2026, the delay had totaled 3,288 days, resulting in a compensation amount of ₹328,800.

Additionally, an additional ₹3,000 was ordered for mental harassment and ₹2,000 for legal expenses. In total, the bank now has to pay approximately ₹3.5 lakh.

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