LOAN APPRAISAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

• The Company shall make available loan application forms in the local language to all prospective customers free of cost at the concerned branches also mentioning the supporting documents to be submitted along with. An acknowledgement for receipt of duly completed loan application forms will be given to the customer in all cases. Preferably, the time frame within which loan applications will be disposed of shall also be indicated in the acknowledgement. Disbursement of the loan and acceptance of security will be carried out nearly simultaneously.
• The Company shall disclose all relevant information relating to a loan / product in the loan application form such as eligible loan amount, interest rate, charges, penal charges etc before sanction of the loan to enable the customer / prospective customer to take an informed decision. From April 1, 2024, the Company will not be recovering penal interest instead will recover penal charges as at the rates and periods as per policy in place. In the case of goldloan the scheme and interest percentage will be changed if the interest is not serviced as per the agreement.The Customer / prospective customer will also be provided, on request, the detailed terms and conditions of the loan before sanction.
• The Company shall ensure that a loan sanction letter is given to the customer containing all the terms and conditions governing the loan facility in the local language or other language understood by the customer. The Company shall mention the penalties charged for late repayment in bold in the loan agreement. The Company shall furnish a copy of the loan agreement as understood by the borrower along with a copy each of all enclosures quoted in the loan agreement to all the borrowers at the time of sanction / disbursement of loans. The loan sanction letter will also mention the loan amount, loan account number, interest rate, charges etc. The loan sanction letter which will bear the signature of the authorized official of the company will also serve as a receipt for the security pledged at the branch by the customer.
• The Company shall not in the normal course make any changes / modifications in the terms and conditions of the loan, including rate of interest, which could adversely affect the customer financially or otherwise. In abnormal circumstances when such changes / modifications are inevitable, keeping in view the new circumstances, adequate and proper notice shall be given to the customer in the vernacular language, or a language as understood by the borrower about any such change/modification.

RECOVERY OF DUES, EXERCISE OF LIEN & DELIVERY OF SECURITY

• The Company will not, as a matter of fair dealing, normally recall the loan before the initially agreed tenure except in unanticipated or abnormal circumstances where the Company’s interests are adversely affected e.g. when the security value diminishes substantially (substantial diminution refers to reduction in security value of 30% and more), when the quality of gold is not found to be acceptable, due to any regulatory / government directives etc. In all such cases proper and reasonable notice shall be given to the customer recalling the loan before expiry of the normal tenure. Decision to recall/accelerate payment or performance under the agreement shall be in consonance with the loan agreement.
• The Company will make all possible soft or persuasive efforts to get the customer to repay the dues without resorting to disposal of the security. The Company does not accept nor will it encourage the use any coercive or hard measures to recover its dues from the customer.
• The Company will deliver the security (gold) to the customer immediately upon settlement of the loan in the same condition as was at the time of sanction of the loan. The Company shall release all the original movable / immovable property documents and remove charges registered with any registry within a period of 30 days after full repayment/settlement of the loan account. In case of delay in releasing of original movable/immovable property documents or failing to file charge satisfaction form with relevant registry beyond 30 days after full repayment/ settlement of loan, the Company shall communicate to the borrower reasons for such delay. In case where the delay is attributable to the Company, it shall compensate the borrower at the rate as per regulators directions.
• The borrower shall be given the option of collecting the original movable/ immovable property documents either from the banking outlet/branch where the loan account was serviced or any other office of the Company where the documents are available, as per her/his preference. The timeline and place of return of original movable/immovable property documents shall be mentioned in the loan sanction letters issued on or after the effective date.
• In case of any damage caused to the security (gold) due to mishandling by its employees, the Company shall at its cost get the damage repaired or alternately pay reasonable compensation to the customer on a case to case basis. In case of loss/damage to original movable/immovable property documents, either in part or in full, the Company shall assist the borrower in obtaining duplicate/certified copies of the movable/immovable property documents and shall bear the associated costs. However, in such cases, an additional time of 30 days will be available to the Company to complete this procedure and the delayed penalty period will be calculated thereafter (i.e., after a total period of 60 days).If the security (gold) has signs of damage thereon, before being taken custody of by the Company at the time of sanction of loan, the fact will be briefly incorporated in the sanction letter (pawn ticket).
• The Company will exercise only legitimate right of lien over the pledged security or such cash surplus as may arise upon settlement of existing loans at any time. Such right of lien shall arise only if the customer has any other dues, either directly or as guarantor, and will be subject to proper intimation of such right of lien being given to the customer by the Company.
• The Company shall issue a signed and, normally, a system generated receipt for all cash payments made by the customer immediately. The Company shall also accept payments vide cheques, demand drafts, electronic transfers etc. subject to the condition that return of the security will be made only after confirmation of realization.
• Even though the loan sanction letter contains all applicable terms and conditions of the loan the Company shall, nevertheless, endeavor, on a best effort basis, to send advices, reminders etc. regarding due date for payment of interest, principal etc. by letter, courier service, telephone, SMS etc.
• The Company shall, on demand, provide the customer or his duly authorized representative with a statement of the loan account at any time during the currency of the loan or immediately upon closure. However, the Company may, at its discretion, require payment of reasonable processing charges by the customer for providing statement of account if such demand is made 30 calendar days after closure of the account.
• The Company will resort to disposal of security only as a last resort and that too after adequate and proper notice is served on the customer to repay the dues. Such notice will be as per the terms contained in the sanction letter and also in compliance with applicable laws and regulatory guidelines. The disposal of the security will be taken up through public auction when the customer does not positively respond to the communications sent by the Company to close the loan account along with interest and other charges.
• Where the Company proposes to dispose of the security even before the normal tenure of the loan based on the rights conferred on the Company vide loan application and loan sanction letter adequate and proper notice will be served on the customer before such action is initiated for recovery of dues.
• The Company prefers and encourages customers to take back delivery of the security immediately upon full settlement of all dues. However, should there be exceptional instance of the Customer being unable to take delivery of the security, not attributable to the inability of the Company, after closure of the loan account reasonable safe custody charges may be payable which will be duly advised to the customer or displayed in the branch premises and the Company’s website.
• The Company will not interfere in the affairs of the customers except for the purposes mentioned in the terms & conditions of the loan or when constrained to do so due to inadequate or false disclosures made by the borrower at the time of putting through the transactions.

In order to address the contingent event of demise of the sole borrower or joint borrowers, the Company shall have a well laid out procedure for return of original movable/immovable property documents to the legal heirs. Such procedure shall be displayed on the website of the Company along with other similar policies and procedures for customer information

CUSTOMER SERVICE & GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL

• The Company will implement all possible steps to prevent and minimize customer complaints / grievances.
• The Company will facilitate the customer to pay the whole or part of the dues at any of the branches of the Company subject to the condition that delivery of the pledged security(gold) shall be made only at the branch where loan was originally disbursed.
• The Board of Directors of the Company will put in place an effective Customer Grievance Redressal mechanism details of which will be displayed on the website and in all the branches. Such a mechanism shall ensure that all disputes arising out of the decisions of lending institution’s functionaries are heard and disposed of at least at the next higher level. The mechanism will specify inter alia the names & designations of the officials with whom complaints can be registered, their postal address / telephone numbers/ email address, escalation matrix, time limit for acknowledging receipt of complaint, time limit for dealing with the complaint etc. It will also put in place at all offices where business is transacted, the complete contact details of the Regional Office of RBI, Thiruvananthapuram, within whose jurisdiction the registered office of the company is situated, so that the customers may directly approach the RBI in case their grievances are not redressed within one month of the receipt of complaints by the company”
• The Board of Directors shall also provide for periodical review of the compliance of the Fair Practices Code and the functioning of the grievances redressal mechanism at various levels of management. A consolidated report of such reviews shall be submitted to the Board at regular intervals, as may be prescribed by it.
• The Company will put in place an effective training system to ensure that employees of the Company are customer friendly and do not resort to rude, inappropriate or unethical behavior.
• The Company will have a sympathetic approach to the problems faced by the customer, especially the poor and underprivileged sections.

Loan facilities to the physically/visually challenged

The Company shall not discriminate in extending products and facilities including loan facilities to physically/visually challenged applicants on grounds of disability. All branches of the Company shall render all possible assistance to such persons for availing of the various business facilities.