Bank Charged You Wrong? Recover ₹ in 5 Steps
If your bank overcharged you or debited money without permission, you have the legal right to get it back. Here is a step-by-step path from your bank's grievance desk all the way to the RBI Ombudsman — at zero cost to you.
Filing an RBI complaint costs ₹0 — less than your morning chai, yet most Indians never bother.
You can recover every unauthorised debit if you act within 3 days
Key Takeaways
Report the unauthorised debit or overcharge IN WRITING to your bank within 3 working days — call the helpline first but immediately follow up with an email or branch letter for a paper trail.
Escalate to the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in if your bank hasn't resolved the complaint within 30 days or you receive an unsatisfactory reply.
Collect all evidence before filing — screenshots of the disputed transaction, bank SMS/email alerts, your complaint reference number, and any bank response you received.
If your bank overcharged you or debited money without permission, you have the legal right to get it back. Here is a step-by-step path from your bank's grievance desk all the way to the RBI Ombudsman — at zero cost to you.
Here's what happened: RBI's framework mandates zero customer liability for unauthorised transactions reported within 3 working days of the bank's own communication to the customer.. Every RBI-regulated bank must have a designated nodal grievance officer and resolve complaints within 30 days before a customer can escalate.. The RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (launched 2021) lets any retail banking customer file a free online complaint if the bank fails to resolve the issue in 30 days..
What you should do: Report the unauthorised debit or overcharge IN WRITING to your bank within 3 working days — call the helpline first but immediately follow up with an email or branch letter for a paper trail.. Escalate to the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in if your bank hasn't resolved the complaint within 30 days or you receive an unsatisfactory reply.. Collect all evidence before filing — screenshots of the disputed transaction, bank SMS/email alerts, your complaint reference number, and any bank response you received..
Pro tip: if the bank reverses only part of your disputed amount and closes the ticket, that still counts as an 'unsatisfactory resolution' — you can immediately escalate to the RBI Ombudsman for the remaining balance.
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- [1]“Bank overcharged you or failed to reverse an unauthorised debit? Here’s what you should do next” mint - money · 23 Aug 2026
This article is reported by GoCredit's Editorial Team based on the source above. GoCredit synthesises, contextualises, and adds India-borrower-relevant analysis. We are not the original publisher.