So here goes…
I work in Canada and last year when i was in India (around April 2014) i wanted to close my HDFC savings account because i didn’t need it anymore. So, i went to the branch and they told me the following:
1) I withdraw all the money from my account, any remaining money will be settled via a demand draft at my home address.
2) I fill the account closure form and submit and everything will be taken care of.
After i came to Canada and followed up with the branch they said the demat account will be closed within one week and only after that the trading and the savings account can be closed.
I filled the forms and sent them to my father in India and when my father went to the bank they said they need me present in order to close the accounts. This is really silly provided that this wasn’t told to me before and why can’t i just fill in the forms and submit them at the same time. So, i decided to let it sit and close it the next time i go home.
I logged in my hdfc account after a few months and found that they have been deducting 393.26 rs every month stated as “AMB CHRG INCL ST & CESS” in the statement. This started from Feb 2015 onwards. This is really unfair in the sense no prior notice was given to me about these charges and even though the average monthly balance was less than 10000 rs, it was being told to me by the bank that i need to withdraw the money from the account in order to close the account.
I managed to transfer some money to make the balance greater than 10000 rs and i still see the AMB being deducted.
In addition to that they cut depository charges. I don’t understand that if they confirmed that the demat account is closed why are they charging the depository charges. This is really stupid and insane.
Another frequent charge is the “INST-ALERT CHG INC ST & EC” that happens every 3 months. I never signed up for the insta alert and even on my online banking it doesn’t show that i am subscribed to it.
In total I have been charged a total of 4129.01 rs since i closed my demat account last year with Insta alert around 101.35 rs, AMB around 2251 rs and Depository charges of over 1800 rs.
I am so agitated of these unfair and stupid fees for something that i never subscribed and i have to pay for inefficient process of HDFC bank. I have accounts with other banks but HDFC is the worst.
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