A few months ago Reliance and Birla Mutual Funds were pushing hard a combo plan of mutual fund and insurance. One investor is now caught in a bind having fallen for Reliance’s pitch. Don’t expect SEBI to do anything about it though

If you were a mutual fund investor, investing in Reliance Tax Saver Fund (which also provides life cover) via the SIP (systematic investment plan) route, and wanted to change the bank from which you’re paying SIP, you probably would not be able to do it! Such is the case for Deepak from Karnataka, who has been investing Rs1,000 per month from his Punjab National Bank account in the Reliance MF scheme that came with a coverage of Rs10 lakh. However, when he wanted to switch banks, as he had moved to a new company, he could not do so. Reliance MF had told him that such a move was not possible and that the insurance cover would be reduced or completely nullified if he changed his bank account!

“How can Reliance MF not have the facility for investors to seamlessly change bank accounts?” moans Deepak. Apparently, Reliance MF had stated this anti-investor clause in the offer document itself. The facility for switching banks is only available with ECS debit, and not auto-debit as in Deepak’s case. If Deepak wishes to accede to Reliance MF’s demand of reduced coverage, he would get a reduced coverage of Rs5.4 lakh instead of Rs10 lakh, merely because he had switched bank accounts. The other option, of course, would be to continue to invest in the SIP insurance plan from his existing bank account, and keep transferring money from his new bank account for the remainder of the scheme which is 12 years (!)—a major hassle. Deepak adds “to impose a harsh penalty just for switching banks is beyond our imagination and goes against basic business principles.” He had complained to Reliance MF’s Karnataka state head as well as compliance head, and has not got any help so far.

In a supreme irony, Reliance Mutual Fund CEO Sandeep Sikka was quoted in the media in August as saying “There cannot be any short-cut to reach out to the under-penetrated market but to create financial literacy and spread knowledge about what a mutual fund is,” added Mr Sikka. If this is the case, why hadn’t Reliance MF informed Deepak before-hand of this auto-debit clause since he had opted for it? Indeed the Reliance MF website lists auto-debit as an important convenience.

http://www.reliancemutual.com/SIP/RelianceSIPInsure.aspx
According to Sunil Nair, R&T operations of Reliance MF, “We need a cancellation request to cancel the mandate registered in one bank and registration mandate to register the mandate in another bank.” Unfriendly banking regulatory laws are forcing customers to jump from one place to another in order to get a seemingly simple thing done. Why should a customer like Deepak work hard to get these things done? He has to get two letters now—a cancellation mandate from PNB and a registration mandate from the new bank he had signed up—and then produce both these to Reliance MF. Why can’t the institutions step up and make it easier for customers to do business with them and, in this case, make bank switching easier? Obviously, if this facility is available— it is a win-win for both institution and consumers.

The recent tightening of fund regulations and strict banking laws has forced mutual funds to look to alternative sources of income. Some of the regulations have squeezed the cost structure of the fund industry as a whole, and thus have been forced to mis-sell products to consumers in search for better margins. Deepak’s case is one such case where the fund changed the rules to suit itself while at the same time passes the onus to the customer to solve the problem.

This is yet another case where institutions, and the broad regulatory environment, short-change the small investor for their own benefit. What is appalling in this case is that it lacks empathy and common sense. How difficult is it to switch bank accounts? If it is due to regulatory requirement that an institution cannot entertain this simple facility to customers, it only shows how ignorant our regulators are, and it badly reflects on the way consumers are treated in this country. Not only this, but Reliance MF failed to inform Deepak of the auto-debit clause when he had opted for it. It also shows that regulator’s apathy towards institutions and consumers alike will only make it more difficult to for products to reach a wider section of the population. Moreover, as more and more cases like this crop up, consumers will be more aware and stay away from them.
Investors, after reading this episode, will be less inclined to invest with such institutions and products that are not customer friendly. No wonder investor population in India is not rising but shrinking!