HARASSMENT BY TELEMARKETERS IN COLLUSION WITH BANKS

I am bringing this to the attention of TRAI and other government officials. First, all telecom operators have been mandated to register the choice of customers under DND. Second, government mandates that all bank accounts, insurance accounts, pension funds, EPF etc should register the customers’ phone numbers. Both of these have practical purposes.
But, isn’t the information supposed to be used by the telecom operators and the financial institutions only for their own business purposes and for the benefit of the customers?
What I have noticed in the past 4 years is that, under the BJP government, all financial institutions have started third party business activities on their premises. Their employees, especially PSUs, get incentives if they successfully sell an insurance policy. Hence, now they are not at all interested in the basic banking activity and serving banking customers even though they are receiving salaries, free health insurance, pensions etc. This is being encouraged at an institutional level. If customer visits a bank for a cheque book or to open a new FD, bank employees put that aside and try to get the customer to take an unnecessary loan or insurance policy from a third party.
In addition, since many customers have started using digital technologies, banks have started giving away confidential customer information like phone numbers, residential addresses and professional & income details to all and sundry. This has resulted in constant harassment by telemarketers and agents over phone and in person from absolutely unknown companies like NBFC (BAJAJ FINANCE ETC) and real estate agents (many of whom do not have RERA registration).
When asked as to how they got our contact details and phone numbers, they claim that they sourced it from the banks with whom they have tie-ups. My queries are as follows:-
1) Aren’t the banks supposed to keep this information confidential?
2) When they distribute this information to third parties, aren’t they breaching their own security protocols?
3) Are the banks going to vouch for the safety and security of these third party companies with whom they are sharing customer information (many of the companies are unheard of, do not have a website, do not have company registration or RERA registration)?
4) Isn’t it the right of the customer to be informed when the bank is sharing their details with unknown third parties? The telemarketers do not reveal where they got their phone numbers from.
5) Why isn’t there a complaint and redressal mechanism on this harassment?
6) Even though we have never approached anyone for a loan or an insurance policy, how are they getting the contact details?
7) Why are real estate agents and companies doing telemarketing without RERA registration? In my native place, even a Rajya Sabha MP has started a real estate venture and is marketing & advertising without any RERA registration. Isn’t this illegal? What are the RERA agencies doing about it when there are huge hoardings set up and full front page ads in mainstream newspapers without mention of RERA registration number?
8) I have 3 phone numbers, each allotted for specific purposes. Based on the numbers on which I receive the calls, my guess is that PSU Banks and their staff are involved (permanent & contractual). In addition, my low socioeconomic status employees do not receive any such calls. That means, the banks are sharing information beyond just phone numbers.
Thus, this is a clearcut violation of privacy, violation of trust placed by customers in banks & harassment and attempt to mislead and cheat by NBFCs & real estate agents.