PhonePe fined Rs 2,000 over a failed transaction; asked to refund Rs 9,455

HYDERABAD: PhonePe, a UPI payment provider, was ordered by the Telangana consumer court to refund Rs 9,455, an online payment made by a complainant. The court asked the company to pay an amount of Rs 2,000 as compensation to the complainant.

Sardar Vishal Singh, the complainant, said that he had initiated a payment of Rs 9,455 using the PhonePe application, which went into pending state. On contacting the PhonePe customer support team, they informed him that the payment would be made in three to four business days, he said.

The complainant said that he had received a notification about the successful payment, after which he had contacted the merchant to confirm if the money was credited. The merchant said that no money was credited. As the complainant received no response from the authority concerned, he registered a complaint seeking justice.

PhonePe, defending itself, said that the complainant's PhonePe transaction was initially in a pending state as the receiving bank had failed to mark the status of the payment. They added that they had informed the complainant about the successful transaction after receiving confirmation from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The PhonePe said in such cases where the amount got debited from the banks but did not reach the destination, then the amount was struck at the end of the beneficiary bank. Therefore, the company should not be held liable.

The court, hearing both parties, said after the complainant claimed that the amount was neither credited to the merchant's bank account concerned, nor did the PhonePe team nor the bank help the complainant resolve the problem. Therefore, the court ordered the company to pay an amount of Rs 2,000 as compensation to the complainant.