Your bank said no. Here is what to do next.
A plain guide to filing an RBI Ombudsman complaint, written by a customer who has filed 40 of them since 2022. Every case is here with its dates, its closure clause and its result, including the ones I lost.
The process in five steps
Complain to the bank in writing
Email the grievance or nodal officer. Say what went wrong, what you want and by when. You will need proof of it later, so avoid phone calls.
Wait 30 days, or until they reject you
The Ombudsman cannot look at a complaint the bank has not had 30 days to answer. Filing early gets you closed in under a week.
File on the RBI's CMS portal
It is free, online, and you do not need a lawyer. An advocate may not file for you. Attach the complaint you sent the bank and its reply.
Answer the bank's reply
The RBI sends you what the bank said and gives you a few days to respond. This reply decides most cases.
Read the closure letter properly
It names a clause. That clause tells you whether you won, whether you can appeal, and what to do if a promised payment does not arrive.
How 40 complaints ended
By outcome
20 of 39 closed complaints ended with the problem fixed, 9 of them with money. 11 never reached the bank because of how or when I filed.
Compensation paid, ₹ thousand
Amounts are modest. The Scheme allows far more, but in practice most payments are goodwill sums offered by the bank once the Ombudsman is involved.
Browse all 40 complaints with filters →
Does it actually help?
My verdict on each complaint
Leaving out my own mistakes, most complaints got me something. But in 6 of the 19 cases where I replied to the bank's response, the closure did not deal with what I wrote.
Read the scorecard →Where it failed
Four complaints against a credit bureau closed without a finding, and a card chargeback where the closure answered none of my four questions. RTI replies showed how one of those decisions was recorded.
Cases worth reading first
₹50,000 because the bank missed the Ombudsman's deadline
IDFC FIRST Bank · 7 Jul 2026 · 42 days
The largest amount I have received came from the bank's failure to answer the Ombudsman on time, not from the underlying error.
Read the case →CompensationApplication rejected for a credit score of "-1" when the real score was above 800
IndusInd Bank · 5 Apr 2025 · 149 days
This is the same situation I lost against another bank a year earlier.
Read the case →CompensationGST invoice dated three months after the charge
IDFC FIRST Bank · 16 Aug 2026 · 37 days
This took three rounds of rebuttal.
Read the case →Not maintainableFiled the day after complaining to the issuer
American Express · 5 Feb 2026 · 8 days
I knew the rule and filed early anyway.
Read the case →RejectedChargeback for a defective laptop declined on proof of delivery
ICICI Bank · 5 Oct 2026 · 22 days
I argued that the merchant's documents proved delivery, not that the goods worked, and that the bank's own date for my dispute was before the purchase date.
Read the case →Disputed closureAnother customer's record carrying my email since a 2015 bank merger
Kotak Mahindra Bank · 31 Aug 2026 · 14 days
On that call I confirmed a fact, that the email had been marked inactive.
Read the case →Find your situation
Someone else's loan alerts in your inbox
Your email or mobile is on a stranger's bank record.
See the cases →Wrong entry on your credit report
An enquiry you never made, a closed loan showing open.
Who to complain against →Card or loan application rejected
You cannot force approval, but you can demand a reason.
Lost one, won one →Card dispute or chargeback refused
The hardest category to win here.
Why, and the alternative →Promised compensation never arrived
A closure letter is not a payment.
What worked twice →Wrong charges and fees
Reversals, GST invoices, forex mark-ups.
See the cases →