HDFC Deducts Money From My Account Automatically(AMB CHRG INCL ST & CESS )

Update: Today (24/02/15), one HDFC representative contacted me after reading this complaint and explained the circumstances under which they levied the AMB penalty. She claimed that HDFC had sent me a post about the change of account status from salary A/C to ordinary savings A/C. The postal address listed in the bank details pointed to my old office. Unfortunately, they changed the office and couldn't deliver the post. She also told me that HDFC doesn't inform customers about account changes via SMS. They only send posts.

Today's post is my experience with the Indian banking system and its malicious practices.

People with multiple bank accounts may not recognize the white-collar theft by banks in the form of hidden charges and penalties. I have been facing such a situation for the past few months, but yesterday, I found it.

I joined a new company as a Software Developer, and the salary account was with HDFC Bank. They told me it's a salary account and the minimum balance can be 0 rupees at the time of account opening.

However, after I left the job, HDFC automatically converted my salary account to a regular savings account.

The problem is that they didn't inform me of the minimum balance I should keep on the account. According to Reserve Bank guidelines, every bank must tell the customers about the minimum balance they should maintain before levy penalties.

I have added a link to the Reserve Bank guidelines for the levy of penal charges on non-maintenance of minimum balances in savings bank accounts at the end of this article under resources. Now let me explain my situation.

Yesterday, I logged on to my HDFC bank account to purchase an item from Snapdeal, but the final amount was confusing after finishing the purchase procedure. So, I took the mini statement to check the last 20 transactions. Everything looked fine until I found small withdrawals in the code name of AMB CHRG INCL ST & CESS.

They reduced the same amount in the last month. HDFC is charging 393.26 rupees per month under the same code name. I was confused about the meaning of the term - AMB CHRG INCL ST & CESS FOR JAN2015- and found that it is the short form of -Average Monthly Balance.

I also found that they wanted me to keep 10,000 rupees daily on average ( in a month).

We can stop HDFC Bank from automatically deducting money from our savings account. We must keep the Average Monthly Balance, and there will be no AMB CHRG.

So, the net monthly amount I should keep must be 3,00,000 or more. That is 10000 X 30.

The irony is that they could have informed me about not having a minimum required balance. Instead of that, they deducted 393.26 rupees every month. The screenshot I have provided below will explain it.

I have marked two AMB CHRG INCL ST transactions on the bank statement screenshot. One is just above the NWD code, and the other is above the CHQ DEP - MICR CLG statement.

PS: If you have seen the code NWD DEC CHG on your account statement, they deducted the charge for the withdrawal through ATM. The code "CHQ DEP-MICR CLG" describes the cheque deposited.

RBI guidelines do not have guidelines for making a minimum balance. But, it is mandatory to inform their customers about it. You can read the story by visiting the RBI page below.

Despite the strict guidelines, HDFC is taking my money without telling me. No one can tolerate such an attitude. They should have sent me an SMS regarding the non-maintenance of the minimum balance.

However, HDFC publishes the minimum required balance for every type of account on its website. The link below will show the current HDFC minimum balance requirement for different accounts.

1. RBI urges banks to inform their customers about the non-maintenance of minimum balance before levy penalty.

   
   http://rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=9343&Mode=0
   
   
2. Some interesting threads discuss the same issue.
   
   
   • http://www.consumercourt.info/topic/hdfc-deducted-more-than-4000-rs-from-my-saving-account
     
     
   • http://www.consumercomplaints.in/hdfc-bank-amb-chrg-incl-st-amp-cess-for-apr2014-c894201
     
     
   • https://forums.digitalpoint.com/threads/why-is-hdfc-bank-deducting-amb-charges.2650630/
     
     
   • http://www.complaintboard.in/complaints-reviews/hdfc-bank-l4627.html
   
   
3. Modify SBI Inter-Bank Beneficiary For RTGS & NEFT