Lesson 1 of 3 · 8 min
The company first, and why that is not a delay
Every free forum in India opens with the same question: did you complain to the company itself, and how long ago was that? The order is not optional.
If money has gone and the company has stopped replying, start here. This route exists because companies fail people often enough to need a system for it, and it was built for you to walk yourself — no lawyer, no courtroom, no fee.
What it does have is an order, and that order is not optional. Each rung asks what happened on the rung below it. Skip one and you are simply sent back to it, weeks later.
The ladder, bottom rung first
Rung one
The company's own grievance officer
Every regulated firm has one, named on its website. Complain in writing and hold the acknowledgement or reference number — that number is what every later rung asks for.
Rung two
The sector's ombudsman
The RBI Ombudsman for banks, most NBFCs, prepaid instrument issuers and credit information companies. The Insurance Ombudsman for insurers. SEBI's SCORES for the securities market. All free, and none of them needs a lawyer.
Rung three
The consumer commission
District, State or National, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Which one hears you depends on how much you paid for the good or service.
In parallel, if a crime happened
The police and the cyber portal
A fraud is also a criminal matter. 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in run alongside everything above, not instead of it.
I cannot afford to fight a bank
KabirTara
Kabirasking
The bank took ₹4,800 off my account for something I never signed up for. Everyone tells me to fight it. Fight it with what? A lawyer costs more than ₹4,800.
Taraexplaining
You do not need one. The RBI Ombudsman charges nothing, and its own rules say an advocate cannot even file on your behalf — not unless the advocate is the person who lost the money.
Kabirasking
That cannot be right. So who argues my side?
Taraexplaining
You do, in writing. What happened, the dates, the complaint number the bank gave you, what you want back. It is a form, not a hearing. Both sides send documents and the Ombudsman reads them.
Kabirasking
Then do I go straight there tomorrow?
Taraexplaining
No — the bank first, in writing, and then wait thirty days. The Ombudsman's opening question is what the bank said. An answer of "I never actually asked them" ends the complaint on day one.
The RBI route, in four numbers
- Wait after complaining to the firm
- 30 days
- Outer limit to bring it
- 90 days
- Cost of filing
- Nil
- What it can award
- Up to ₹30 lakh
A complaint reaches the RBI Ombudsman once 30 days have gone by with no reply — or sooner, if a reply arrives and it does not satisfy you.
Counted from the day that timeline runs out, or from the firm's last message, whichever is later.
No fee at all, and no need to hire any agency that offers to do it for you.
For the loss actually suffered, plus up to ₹3 lakh more for your time, your expense and the harassment of it.
Quick check
You complained to your NBFC twelve days ago and have heard nothing. You file with the RBI Ombudsman today. What is likely to happen?
Myth
“Going to an ombudsman means going to court, which means a lawyer and years of hearings.”
False
An ombudsman is not a court. There is no fee, no advocate arguing for you — the RBI scheme says an advocate cannot represent you unless the advocate is the aggrieved person — and no courtroom. A complaint goes in online at cms.rbi.org.in, by e-mail or on paper, and it is decided on the documents both sides send. What is true is the reverse of the fear: once the same dispute is filed before a court or a tribunal, the ombudsman can no longer take it up. That is why the free rung comes first.
Check yourself
1 / 3
Kabir asks
What has to happen before any ombudsman will look at your complaint?
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