COIMBATORE: The district consumer disputes redressal commission has ordered a housing finance firm to pay ₹10 lakh in compensation to a customer for the loss of original property documents.
According to sources, S. Murugesan and his son M. Prabhakaran from Vadavalli took out a housing loan with DCB Bank in Coimbatore, using their property as collateral. Later, PNB Housing Finance Ltd., located in Pappanaickenpalayam, agreed to assume the loan and sanctioned ₹22.90 lakh on November 11, 2018. As part of this process, the father-son pair submitted their original title deeds and other essential documents to the finance company after signing a memorandum of deposit of title deeds.
After they repaid the entire loan amount, the finance firm issued a no-objection certificate on November 12, 2023. However, when they visited the firm’s office on December 5, 2023, to collect their original documents, they were shocked to find out that those documents were misplaced and the firm was attempting to locate them.
Additionally, the finance firm failed to cancel the memorandum of deposit of title deeds and did not return the original documents.
Murugesan and Prabhakaran subsequently filed a petition with the district consumer disputes redressal commission. The commission’s president, R. Thangavel, along with member P. Marimuthu, instructed the finance firm to obtain a non-traceable certificate from the local police station to facilitate the reconstruction of the missing documents and acquire certified copies.
Furthermore, the commission directed the finance firm to cancel the memorandum of deposit of title deeds and to compensate the complainants ₹10 lakh, as well as an additional ₹5,000 to cover legal costs.
