You should cut the card and then send the same to the bank with a letter stating that you did not need it
My wife received a credit card, which she had not applied for. We ignored the card and did not use it. Now I am receiving bills on the card for non-usage and an annual fee. I spoke to the bank; they say the bank will look into the matter. But I have started getting the statements again. What should I do?
Surjeet Khandelwal, Delhi
The experience you narrate is strange, because according to an RBI notification, no bank can issue an unsolicited credit card. There is in fact a penalty that they ought to pay on issuance of such a card. In case your wife accepted the card on phone or inadvertently responded to an email request in the affirmative—chances of the card being issued are high. In such a case, it will be difficult to establish that the card was issued without asking or agreeing to receive it.
You should cut the card into pieces and then send the same to the bank with a letter stating that you did not need it in the first place, and copy the letter to the banking ombudsman. The bank is likely to take the card back, as long as there are no purchase transactions at all. You can take up the issue with the banking ombudsman if the bills do not stop.