• Hey there! Welcome to TFC! View fewer ads on the website just by signing up on TF Community.

Issue Resolved Kotak Cancelled Secured Credit Card without my Consent.

The highlighted issue has been resolved by the bank/financial institution.

vaibhavk

TF Buzz
Hi Everyone!

Kotak Mahindra Bank cancelled my secured credit card without my consent.

To give you context let me explain. I had Kotak Dream 811 (previously known as Kotak Aqua) credit card from November 2019. This was a secured card, which was marked as lien on an Fixed Deposit.

This was my first credit card.

In December 2019, I requested and received Add-on Credit Card for my brother.

Now, fast forward to 2024, the limit of the card was increased and the card was still secured against same FD.

In Aug. & Sep. 24, 3-4 months before renewal, I received two separate SMS for renewal, with specific card number & expiry month.

I had decided not to renew the add-on card which was supposed to be renew in December 2024 and hence clicked on the link mentioned in SMS to Opt-out of the renewal. I never expressed a consent to cancel the primary card, which was supposed to be renewed in November 2024.

On 29/11/2024, the Add-On Credit Card was disappeared from the mobile app. But to my surprise, on 30/11/2024, my primary credit card also disappeared from the app. I also received an SMS that credit card is closed and Fixed Deposit will continue.

As I had received two separate SMS specifying the card numbers, I was unable to understand why the primary credit card was cancelled? There was no information in SMS and on the webpage that SPECIFICALLY mention that cancellation of add-on credit card will lead to cancellation of Primary credit card. I had also not taken the screenshot of the webpage at the time of opting out renewal.

Hence, I raised a grievance on X (twitter) and via email to provide the reason and details of cancellation.

Soon after this, I received calls from Kotak Mahindra Bank. One call was due to social media post and another was due to email. On both calls, the bank asked for time to internally check the issue.

On 02/12/2024, I received a e-mail from bank stating that "we would like to inform you that the add-on card is linked with the primary card hence any changes done on the add-on card will be applicable for primary card also. We wish to inform you that your Kotak credit card ending with xx91 and xx72 stands cancelled and the same was cancelled on 29/11/2024 and as on date there is no outstanding on your Kotak credit card. No due certificates are issue only to Loan accounts, as a Bank we do not issue NOC to credit card customers".

Hence, I again requested and replied to bank on 03/12/2024 via email to provide me with the exact details showing the date and time when I had requested cancellations of PRIMARY CREDIT CARD. I also posted & DM’d the same on X (twitter) to bank.

I never asked about CIBIL reporting, No Due Certificate etc., in my previous and this email.

On 05/12/2024, I received a call from Kotak Bank and, they now told me that credit card was "Upgraded" with a new card number. I also received an email soon after the call stating that "As per our telephonic conversation, we wish to inform you that only add on card is cancelled in the system and primary card is upgraded with card number xx18. We wish to inform you that once the card gets expired the same shall auto renewed of your new credit and will be delivered to your registered mailing address."

I asked why no communication was done prior to the "Said Upgrade" and why was the "Upgraded Card" is issued (in Dec 24) only after expiry of previous card (Nov 24). Bank was clueless about all these questions.

I also did not want to fight with the bank as the new card was issued. On 06/12/2024 within one day, the new credit card was delivered to me.

But to my surprised, the Lien on the fixed deposit was removed, and full value of fixed deposit (with interest) is now visible in the mobile app. Previously, it was always showing less by my first limit of that card.

Now, on 14/12/2024, I received the following SMS "Your Kotak Bank Credit Card x5618 is blocked due to Bank's internal policy. We regret any inconvenience caused."

After this, the card was disappeared from the mobile app, and I have again taken the email and X (twitter) route to discuss the card blockage. On the same day, I received the call and email from bank "As per our telephonic conversation, regret to mention your credit card XXX18 is block on basis of bank internal checks. Regret to mention that we cannot activate the same."

How to proceed with this now? Should I contact Nodal Officer or RBIO?
 
Last edited:
Update: Got another call from the bank, and now they are stating that the Card is not cancelled but permanently blocked. However, the reason cannot be shared as it’s an internal process. When I asked to re-issue the card as it is not cancelled, bank refused.
 
Update: Got another call from the bank, and now they are stating that the Card is not cancelled but permanently blocked. However, the reason cannot be shared as it’s an internal process. When I asked to re-issue the card as it is not cancelled, bank refused.
Escalate it till nodal and PNO, either it gets resolved or
Raise it to RBI or
Have a peace of mind, card in dispute is not worthy to fight for
 
Issue resolved
Update: Got another call from the bank, and now they are stating that the Card is not cancelled but permanently blocked. However, the reason cannot be shared as it’s an internal process. When I asked to re-issue the card as it is not cancelled, bank refused.
Update: The card is unblocked and appears in the app with the same credit card number from yesterday morning. I have done a successful test transaction. 😊 In CIBIL, the card was marked "Closed" in November 2024, I will check again next month.

Also, in the evening got a call from the Bank's social media support team that "We're working on it to get it resolved at the earliest".

What a Circus! :woman-juggling:
 
Update: The card is unblocked and appears in the app with the same credit card number from yesterday morning. I have done a successful test transaction. 😊 In CIBIL, the card was marked "Closed" in November 2024, I will check again next month.

Also, in the evening got a call from the Bank's social media support team that "We're working on it to get it resolved at the earliest".

What a Circus! :woman-juggling:
No wonder RBI banned them from taking new credit card request due to bad tech.
 
Sorry bro, missed your mention.

Happy to hear it, so Social Media team helped you.
Update: The card is unblocked and appears in the app with the same credit card number from yesterday morning. I have done a successful test transaction. 😊 In CIBIL, the card was marked "Closed" in November 2024, I will check again next month.

Also, in the evening got a call from the Bank's social media support team that "We're working on it to get it resolved at the earliest".

What a Circus! :woman-juggling:
 
Last edited:
Banks cannot upgrade your credit card without any consent from you. Also, if they are closing your card, they have to inform you before hand. Yes Bank closed my credit card without my consent and did not give any reason for it. I escalated to RBI BO, got compensation of Rs. 11K
 
Banks cannot upgrade your credit card without any consent from you. Also, if they are closing your card, they have to inform you before hand. Yes Bank closed my credit card without my consent and did not give any reason for it. I escalated to RBI BO, got compensation of Rs. 11K
The Kotak Aqua Card has been rebranded to the 811 Dream Credit Card. The bank referred to this as an "upgrade."

This post describes how they first incorrectly canceled my credit card, reissued it, and then blocked it again. Their customer care team provided conflicting responses to grievances raised via email and on X (Twitter).

If you had read the post, you would have known that the bank did not inform me about the cancellation of my credit card. It was their mistake that they closed the primary credit card when I only requested the cancellation of the add-on card.

The new card was not canceled as per the email from the bank; it was "permanently blocked." However, all this was a blatant lie. After the issue was resolved, the card is active, with no change in the card number, and no new card was delivered to me.

Kotak seems to operate under its own set of rules, disregarding RBI regulations, which may have led to the RBI ban.
 
Back
Top