Bank to pay woman for sharing her info with estranged husband

A bank has a relationship of fidelity with its customers and it cannot share their personal information or financial statement with anyone else, Delhi state consumer commision has said while holding a private bank guilty of deficient service by providing account details of a woman to her estranged husband without her consent. The state commission also asked HDFC Bank Ltd to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the complainant, whose financial details were given to her husband with whom she had strained relations owing to a matrimonial dispute. "The relation of the bank and the customer is of fidelity and therefore, bank cannot supply financial statement or any information to another person except that of the court order," the commission said. "Considering the totality of facts and circumstances, the only conclusion drawn is that the statements were provided to the husband with the connivance of the bank officials. The same amounts to deficiency in service on part of the bank...," IT said while dismissing the bank's appeal against a district forum order directing it to pay the compensation. "Financial statements have been provided to the husband of the complainant (woman), who is having strained relationship and ultimately she had to undergo mental agony pain and sheer suffering," the commission said. According to the complaint filed by Delhi resident Gurpreet Kaur, on April 3, 2009 her salary account details were released by the bank to her husband without her consent and knowledge. The bank, while denying the allegation, had claimed that it got a formal application for the release of account details but failed to submit it before the commission saying it was unable to trace the same.