When to escalate where: the loan-trouble map

Most loan problems fail not for lack of rights but for wrong routing — a police matter sent to a grievance cell, a grievance shouted at a recovery agent. Find your situation below; each row is the fastest correct route.

EMERGENCY

Physical threats, or threats to your life or family

This is a police matter first, a loan matter second. Call 112. Preserve the threat (recording, screenshot) before anything else.

Route: Police (112) · then cybercrime.gov.in / 1930 · then the lender-side letters

EMERGENCY

Morphed or private photos being circulated or threatened

Do not negotiate with the sender. Save the original message with the sender’s number visible. File at cybercrime.gov.in immediately — this is a serious criminal offence regardless of any loan.

Route: cybercrime.gov.in / 1930 · never pay the blackmailer

EMERGENCY

The pressure is affecting your will to live

Stop everything else. Talk to someone today — iCall 9152987821, Vandrevala Foundation 1860-266-2345 (24×7, free, confidential). No loan is worth your life; every debt problem on this site has a process.

Route: iCall 9152987821 · Vandrevala 1860-266-2345

HIGH

Your employer, HR or colleagues were contacted

Send the employer-retraction demand to the lender’s grievance officer within 24 hours, and preserve the employer-side evidence (the email they got, the caller’s number).

Route: Retraction demand → grievance letter → RBI CMS after 30 days · the exact format →

HIGH

Family, references or contacts being called

Written cease-and-desist to the lender’s grievance officer — 48-hour confirmation deadline. Every call after it lands is a documented violation.

Route: Cease-and-desist → grievance letter → RBI CMS · the exact format →

HIGH

A stranger or ARC claims your loan was sold and demands payment

Pay nothing until the assignment is proven in writing by your ORIGINAL lender. Send the verification letter to both sides.

Route: Verification letters → if fake: cybercrime.gov.in · the exact format →

MEDIUM

Wrong charges, closed loan showing active, promised terms not honoured

Grievance letter to the lender’s grievance officer with numbered incidents and a concrete ask. Mark day 31 in your calendar.

Route: Grievance letter → RBI CMS (cms.rbi.org.in) after 30 days · the exact format →

MEDIUM

App misusing your contacts, photos or SMS

DPDP consent-withdrawal and erasure demand. If the app is not even in RBI’s directory, add a Sachet report and treat shaming as cybercrime.

Route: DPDP withdrawal → sachet.rbi.org.in → cybercrime.gov.in · the exact format →

MEDIUM

The app itself looks fake or unregistered

Check it against RBI’s directory in 10 seconds, then report an unlisted lender at Sachet. Never share KYC or pay "processing fees" while in doubt.

Route: Loan App Checker → sachet.rbi.org.in · the exact format →

PLAN

You genuinely cannot pay — job loss, medical emergency

Get ahead of it in writing: tell the lender before the default does. Ask about restructuring or settlement — the settlement guide covers the sequence and the traps.

Route: Written hardship letter → settlement route if needed · the exact format →

The one rule underneath every row: document first, escalate second. A dated letter beats a phone call; a numbered incident beats a story. The evidence guide shows exactly what to save and how.