Cooperative bank in Thrissur told to pay customers who lost pledged gold in burglary
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has directed Thrissur-based Manaloor Service Cooperative Bank to compensate 15 gold loan customers who lost their pledged gold in a burglary at the bank. The order came on an appeal petition filed by the cooperative bank against the state commission's order.
The burglary happened at the bank in May 2006. The customers had secured favourable verdicts from the Thrissur district commission and the state commission. The state commission had directed the bank to provide the market value of the gold as on the date of payment after deducting the loan amount and interest. Also, it asked the bank to settle the loans as on the date of filing of complaints before the district commission without charging any interest after that date.
The bank argued before the national commission that the complaint was not maintainable in view of Section 69 of the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act. As per the Act and rules, the complaints are to be resolved through arbitration before the cooperative registrar. It challenged the state and district commissions' orders to pay market value of the gold. Since BIS certification was not mandatory at the time of the incident, there are chances that the gold would not be 916 carat.
The bank further said that claims of 95% of customers were settled by paying the market price from the date of pledge to the date of theft.
The case was heard by the NCDRC bench comprising its members Dr Inder Jit Singh and Dr Sadhna Shanker. Advocates Sreevaraham N G Mahesh and Sheeba Sadasivan represented the complainants.
The national commission found that the bank lacked adequate security arrangements like security guards or CCTV cameras. It rejected the bank's contention of non-maintainability of the complaint stating that the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act are in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of other laws.
The argument on the purity of the gold was not valid as no bank would advance gold loans without checking purity and weight. The customers are entitled to get the market value of the gold on the date of payment, it said.
The national panel, however, disagreed with the state commission's finding on interest payment. When the customer gets a refund on the date of refund, he is obligated to adjust this outstanding loan with interest till the date of adjustment. But the bank should charge interest only at the rate at which loan was granted and cannot charge any penalty, the order said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
12 minutes ago
- Business Standard
India remains key strategic market for global brands: Myntra CEO Sinha
India continues to be a strategic market for both global and domestic brands, said Myntra CEO Nandita Sinha. She made the remarks after attending the NRF 25 retail event held in Singapore from 3 to 6 June. Following the e-commerce major's launch in Singapore on 19 May, Myntra Global has reported growing user engagement, a healthy average order value and a notable share of returning customers. Singapore launch 'With the launch of Myntra Global in Singapore, we're also laying the foundation for our global foray, with a long-term aspiration to serve the Indian diaspora beyond India,' Sinha said. The company in May said that it aims to assess consumer preferences, selection patterns and brand traction before planning wider expansion. Initial targets include reaching 12–15 per cent of the Indian consumer base in Singapore. The Walmart-owned company is currently targeting the 650,000 Indians living in Singapore. Sinha noted that the company's India-based platform had already recorded around 30,000 users from Singapore prior to the launch. 'We're tapping into opportunities around festivals, weddings and occasions with our brand portfolio, spanning Indian fashion and home décor,' Sinha had said in May. 'For now, our focus is on learning, getting product–market fit right and then expanding.' 'At less than 15 per cent, e-fashion in India is still significantly underpenetrated compared to global benchmarks, presenting a tremendous opportunity,' she said. Sinha added, 'The new-age insurgent brands are tailoring their value proposition,' while highlighting the Indian market's rising importance. Customer segment A key focus for Myntra is the Gen Z customer segment, which interacts with fashion differently and expects a customised shopping experience. 'The aspirational Indian shopper is trading up across beauty, accessories and occasion-wear, and Myntra, as one of India's leading e-lifestyle destinations, is well poised to cater to the aspirational and evolving customer needs,' Sinha said.
Mint
35 minutes ago
- Mint
The US economy is headed toward an uncomfortable summer
The U.S. economy, which weathered false recession alarms in 2023 and 2024, is entering another uncomfortable summer. Job growth held steady in May, with the economy adding 139,000 jobs. The unemployment rate has stayed in a tight range, between 4% and 4.2%, over the past year. But there are cracks beneath the surface. Businesses are warning that constantly shifting trade policies are interfering with their ability to plan for the future, leading to hiring and investment freezes. Policy uncertainty has unfolded against the backdrop of an economy with slower job growth and a cooling housing market. Compared with last year, the Federal Reserve is more reluctant to cut interest rates because officials are worried about new inflation risks. John Starr, the owner of UltraSource, an importer and manufacturer of meat-processing technology in Kansas City, Mo., said he is hunkering down—no hiring, no more capital spending—until he has clarity on tariffs. 'We're going to be very careful about any cash expenditure' amid uncertainty on tariffs, says John Starr, owner of UltraSource. The company is waiting for suppliers in Europe to finish work on $20 million in orders it placed before 10% tariffs took effect on April 9. That means he faces a $2 million levy if tariffs stay at that level. 'How am I supposed to pay this?" said Starr, a third-generation owner of the company. 'That could wipe out profits for a year." Whether the economy again bends, rather than breaks, turns on how the U.S. consumer handles the latest curveball—this time from President Trump's desire to reorder America's trading relationships and reduce reliance on imported goods. For months, the president has announced one large tariff increase after another, at times wavering from escalation to temporary resolution. 'Where this goes all depends on what Trump decides to do next, and candidly, even Trump doesn't know what Trump will do next," said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. 'So it's almost impossible to see where this thing is heading." Economists largely agree that for the U.S. economy to slide into recession, the American consumer needs to falter. 'As long as the consumer is doing OK, it's not going to change our world," said Ric Campo, chief executive of Camden Property Trust, a Houston-based developer and owner of 58,000 apartment homes. Most economists think the prospects of a recession are higher than they were at the beginning of the year but lower than in April and early May, when tariffs on China had been increased by 145%. The U.S. agreed to roll back the tariff increase to 30% last month. Most other nations face 10% tariff increases, with higher rates on dozens of countries paused until early July. Three risks loom large. • First, the U.S. labor market has been in an uneasy equilibrium where companies aren't hiring but are reluctant to fire workers that they hustled to find three or four years ago. Like a beach ball that shoots skyward after being held underwater, joblessness can quickly jump once companies decide demand is too soft to keep those workers. 'It starts with one large firm. Then competitors might say, 'Well, listen, we have to do the same,'" said Gregory Daco, chief economist at consulting firm EY. Bill Hutton, president of Titan Steel, a Baltimore-based distributor and processor of mostly imported steel for products such as paint cans, said he is going to 'err on the side of caution" when it comes to reducing the size of his workforce. Having worked so hard to staff up, he said, he is 'very, very leery of making assumptions that, 'Oh, we can dial up or down our workforce at a moment's notice.' " • Second, consumers could finally push back against rising costs, forcing companies to tighten their belts. Delinquency rates on consumer debt have been on the rise for a year, raising fears that deteriorating finances for low-income borrowers could lead to a more pronounced slowdown in consumer spending. For the housing market, the spring sales season has been a bust. The U.S. market now has nearly 500,000 more sellers than buyers, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin. That is the largest gap since its tally began in 2013. Home prices could fall 1% this year, said Redfin economist Chen Zhao. 'The market has been at rock bottom for the last 2½ years and there was some hope that we'd get a little bit of a turnaround this year. And it's just actually been worse than expected," said Zhao. • Third, financial-market shocks or abrupt sentiment changes remain a wild card. The Fed reduced short-term interest rates by 1 percentage point last year, providing a measure of relief to borrowers with credit cards or variable-rate bank loans. Officials hit pause on rate cuts this year amid concerns that tariffs might create new inflation risks. Longer-term borrowing rates, which aren't set by the Fed and which influence many borrowing costs such as mortgages, have been elevated as investors around the world pay more attention to how governments will finance rising deficits in the years to come. Any sudden and sustained rise in borrowing costs could spill over to the stock market, hurting companies' earnings and making stocks less attractive. Lofty asset prices have supported business investment and high-income consumer spending. For many companies, the uncertainty triggered by Trump's sudden and seemingly arbitrary announcements of tariffs has upended the outlook for sales this year. Starr, at UltraSource, orders equipment that has a lead time measured in months. Because those products are made to each customer's specifications, Starr can't resell them if clients refuse to eat the cost of the tariff. 'I have to take action now," Starr said. 'We're going to be very careful about any cash expenditure just because we need that cash to pay the tariff." White House officials have said they are confident the president's approach will lead to better trading relationships. 'In order to get another country to eat the burden of the tariffs, we have to have a credible threat to move our supply chains across the border…It can take some time to make that threat credible," Stephen Miran, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview. Miran said he couldn't produce a forecast for inflation this year because 'we're still waiting for policy details to be fully fleshed out right now." He also said businesses would benefit from a tax-cut package moving through Congress. Starr, who said he has already racked up $300,000 in unanticipated expenses because of tariffs, said the prospect of business tax cuts is of little use if his profits are zeroed out from tariffs. He said he doesn't object to paying a 20% tariff on prospective orders as long as he has certainty the duty won't suddenly change after he has negotiated purchase orders with customers and vendors. Steel and aluminum tariffs, which Trump this past week raised to 50% from 25%, could boost domestic metal producers while squeezing profits for carmakers, can manufacturers, and companies such as Titan Steel. Hutton, the steel company's president, said customers have been understanding about accepting some price increases because his competitors have also had to raise prices. 'It feels like we're muddling through," he said. 'Nobody—neither us, nor our customers, nor our overseas supplier—is in any position to do any long-term thinking." The Fed aggressively raised rates in 2022 and 2023 to combat inflation. But the U.S. economy was insulated because many households and businesses had already refinanced at ultralow rates during the pandemic. Later, the economy benefited from an unexpected boom in capital spending on artificial intelligence. Any pullback could be abrupt. 'It's very rare that you have a technology shock of this sort that doesn't lead to overbuilding," said Jason Thomas, chief economist at private-equity manager Carlyle Group. Some companies have held back from raising prices now until they can see how tariffs settle out. 'They just said, 'We cannot take the risk of souring relations with our customers, with our suppliers, over a policy that in two months' time may not even be in place,'" Thomas said. He expects businesses eventually will have to pass along some cost increases, however, because they will have depleted inventories acquired at pretariff rates. One tailwind—recent declines in energy prices—could help offset some of the inflationary impulses from tariffs. While the president often gets undue credit for what goes right or wrong in the economy, this time could be an exception. 'The economy has a lot of momentum, and so if Trump truly backs off on tariffs and just calms down, you could see this expansion going another two, three years, honestly," said Thornberg of Beacon Economics. 'Then again, if he keeps rocking the boat, you can blow it up by the beginning of next year."
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Real estate market: Major listed firms sell over Rs 1 lakh crore properties; Godrej leads
India's top listed real estate firms recorded a blockbuster performance last fiscal, with property sales surging past Rs 1.62 lakh crore, marking a jump of over 20% from the previous year. Leading the charge was Godrej Properties, which emerged as the biggest seller among 26 major listed players, clocking pre-sales worth Rs 29,444 crore. The data, compiled from investor presentations and regulatory filings, shows that the growth was largely powered by residential projects, particularly in the luxury segment, while commercial sales made up a smaller share. DLF Ltd, the country's largest developer by market capitalisation, secured the second spot with Rs 21,223 crore in bookings, up from Rs 14,778 crore in the previous fiscal. The company's standout performer was its ultra-luxury project The Camellias in Gurugram, which saw strong buyer interest. Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers, known for its Lodha brand, followed close behind with Rs 17,630 crore in bookings, a rise from Rs 14,520 crore a year ago. Prestige Estates Projects and Signature Global rounded out the top five, with the latter nearly touching Rs 10,300 crore. The rest of the pack saw varied performance. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Aditya Birla Real Estate saw sales double to Rs 8,087 crore, while Brigade Enterprises and Max Estates also registered solid growth. On the other hand, Sobha Ltd, Puravankara Ltd, and Prestige Estates Projects reported slight declines in sales. Among developers with below Rs 5,000 crore bookings, Delhi-based TARC Ltd, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, and Mumbai's Keystone Realtors (Rustomjee) showed healthy year-on-year gains. Even smaller players such as Arkade Developers, Suraj Estate Developers, and Lucknow-based Eldeco Housing posted modest but consistent sales, signalling broad-based resilience in the sector. Market experts credited the strong performance of listed firms to the shift in consumer preference towards branded and reputed players who have better track record of executing real estate projects. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
