Answer Book question
Quite a lot. RBI's rules bar recovery calls before 8 am and after 7 pm, bar threats, abusive language, calls to your relatives or employer, and 'naming and shaming'. Agents must carry the bank's authorisation and identity, and the bank must have told you in writing who the agency is. For a secured loan, the bank cannot touch your property without a 60-day demand notice under SARFAESI, a written reply to your objections, and a further 30-day notice before any sale. If you owe the money, you still have to pay. You do not have to be harassed while you do.
Quite a lot. RBI's rules bar recovery calls before 8 am and after 7 pm, bar threats, abusive language, calls to your relatives or employer, and 'naming and shaming'. Agents must carry the bank's authorisation and identity, and the bank must have told you in writing who the agency is. For a secured loan, the bank cannot touch your property without a 60-day demand notice under SARFAESI, a written reply to your objections, and a further 30-day notice before any sale. If you owe the money, you still have to pay. You do not have to be harassed while you do.
A small trader in Adoor, three EMIs behind on a ₹9 lakh business loan, starts receiving calls at 10 pm and a visit to his shop in front of customers. His brother-in-law gets a call too. Every one of those acts breaches RBI's outsourcing and fair practice directions. A written complaint to the bank's nodal officer, with call logs, usually stops it within days. If not, the RBI Ombudsman can award compensation for harassment.
RBI's August 2022 direction on outsourcing of financial services and its fair practices code set the conduct rules: no contact outside 8 am to 7 pm, no intimidation, no humiliating language, no calls to third parties, no false legal threats, and agents must be trained and certified. The lender remains responsible for its agents.
For secured loans, the SARFAESI Act process is separate and formal: after the account becomes an NPA (90 days overdue), the bank issues a Section 13(2) notice giving 60 days to pay; you may object within that period and the bank must reply with reasons within 15 days; only then may it take possession under 13(4), and it must give a further 30-day public notice before auction. You retain the right to pay and redeem the property until the sale notice is published.
Courts have also held that physical possession generally requires a magistrate's order.
Whether the bank told you in writing that the account was handed to an agency, and the agency's name Call times, numbers, and what was said: keep a dated log and screenshots Whether you have received a formal 13(2) notice (secured loans) and what date it carries Whether the bank has offered restructuring or a one-time settlement; ask in writing Your actual arrears and the figure the agent is quoting (they frequently differ)
Hiding from the bank. The bank's fear is silence. A written proposal, even a small one, changes the file from 'evasive' to 'cooperating', and it is the written record that protects you later. Also: paying an agent in cash without a bank receipt.
Gold-loan and vehicle-loan recovery by NBFC agents is the commonest complaint in Kerala. Gold loans have their own RBI auction rules (Loans 7). For a vehicle, repossession without notice and without your consent is unlawful; RBI and the courts require notice and a fair process, and the vehicle must be sold at a fair value with the surplus returned.
Loan ₹9 lakh, arrears ₹72,000 across three EMIs. A written offer to pay ₹24,000 now and the balance over two months, sent to the branch manager and nodal officer, is the kind of proposal that stops agency escalation. If calls continue after that, the Ombudsman has awarded harassment compensation in five-figure sums in comparable cases.
If you have genuinely stopped paying and have no plan, the law will eventually allow the bank to recover its security. Rights against harassment are not rights against repayment. Use the breathing space to restructure, sell the asset yourself at a better price than an auction, or negotiate a settlement.
Send a written complaint to the bank's nodal officer with your call log, citing RBI's fair practice and outsourcing directions Send a written repayment or settlement proposal the same day Keep every notice; check dates against the SARFAESI timeline; after 30 days without resolution, cms.rbi.org.in
I repaid my gold loan. When must the bank return my gold? The bank ignored my complaint. Who is above the bank?
Loans & bank disputes
RBI circular on Outsourcing of Financial Services and conduct of recovery agents, 12 August 2022 · SARFAESI Act, 2002, Sections 13(2), 13(3A), 13(4) and Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules · Your loan agreement and any notices received Last checked: 22 August 2026. Rates, limits and whether you may qualify change. Confirm with the official source before you act. Ask Kerala Rising: Use only general, non-identifying facts.
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