Recovery agents of a commercial banking company have been booked for assault, criminal intimidation and under the provisions of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act by Madakulam police station.
A woman from Ponmeni has complained that the recovery agents and a few others had abused her in a filthy language and assaulted her and her relative following a quarrel over defaulting repayment of loan on September 25.
The police said that the banking agents had come at night and harassed the woman for defaulting repayment.
“Collection agents have guided principles in their jobs. They are bound to follow the RBI guidelines in the process of collecting the loan dues from the defaulters,” said Madurai City Commissioner of Police, S. Rajendiran.
The agents are expected to issue notice to the loan defaulters and wait till the notice period gets over for them to act further.
“They can go for distraint proceedings with an order from court of law. They can also seek police protection for all their legal procedures,” he said.
However, some of the agents do not have the patience to wait for the law to take its own course and indulge in short cut ways of arm twisting, he added.
The agents have absolutely no right to harass the defaulters by frequently calling them or visiting their houses during odd hours, the Commissioner said. They cannot use an abusive language or can threaten the defaulters with dire consequences.
The police say that people can lodge complaint with the banks or commercial banking companies about the illegal means adopted by the recovery agents. It could be further escalated with the RBI banking ombudsman.
With regard to criminal intimidation or using force by the recovery agents, the people can lodge complaint with the police. “Stringent action will be taken against the agents, if they violate the RBI guidelines in their process of recovering the loan dues,” the Commissioner said.
Published – October 02, 2026 10:41 pm IST
