As per extant guidelines Reserve Bank of India (RBI), all NBFCs should ensure that a suitable mechanism exists for receiving and addressing complaints from its customers with specific emphasis on resolving such complaints fairly and expeditiously regardless of the source of the complaints.
The quick and effective handling of complaints as well as prompt corrective & preventive actions to improve processes are essential to provide excellent customer service to all segments of customers. To achieve this, the Company has a clearly documented policy for redressal of customer grievances in line with RBI guidelines. This policy is being suitably revised and is being tabled for the approval of the Board.
1. Introduction:
Sampathi Credits Private Limited is a technology-driven financial services company committed to advancing digital financial inclusion by bridging traditional lending practices with innovative fintech solutions. It operates its loan products under the brand name “Friendloan”.
Our mission is to transform the way loans are processed in India by leveraging advanced credit assessment systems and modern technology to deliver fast, secure, and seamless digital lending experiences and our vision is to become a premier fintech lending platform that empowers individuals and small businesses by providing accessible, collateral-free, and customer-centric credit solutions.
At Sampathi Credits, customer trust and satisfaction are fundamental to our business. We strive to provide transparent, fair, and efficient services at every stage of the customer journey. However, despite our commitment to operational excellence, there may be occasions when our services do not fully meet customer expectations.
To ensure that every concern is addressed expeditiously and fairly regardless of the source of the complaint, Sampathi Credits has established a robust Grievance Redressal Mechanism that provides customers with multiple channels to register complaints, seek clarification, and obtain timely resolutions.
We are committed to handling all grievances in a transparent, impartial, and time-bound manner while continuously improving our people, processes, and technology to enhance customer experience and prevent recurrence of issues.
This Policy has been framed in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements and industry best practices, reinforcing our commitment to customer protection, responsible lending, and ethical business conduct.
This Policy applies to all products, services, digital lending platforms, business correspondents, lending service providers (where applicable) and customer interactions of the Company. The policy seeks to ensure that:
- Adequate information shall be made available to all customers of the Company about various channels for seeking redressal of grievances arising out of any perceived deficiency in service by the Company. Such information shall include the name and contact number of grievance redressal officer with whom such complaints can be addressed and escalation thereafter. This will be updated as and when any change occurs in the process emerging out of internal reasons or change in guidelines from the regulators.
- Any complaint received – either verbally, via e-mail or in writing – from the customers, shall be logged into a tracker. With this the Company shall not only ensure that all the complaints received are recorded and resolved, but shall also ensure effective monitoring/ escalation mechanism to the senior functionary responsible so as to make sure that none of the complaints remain unresolved.
- The grievance redressal channels of the Company will also deal with the issues relating to services provided by employees, agents, Business Correspondents (BCs), Lending Service Providers (LSPs) and shall sensitize all concerned stakeholders to resolve the customer issues expeditiously.
Mechanism:
The company has initiated appropriate procedures under the purview of this policy to address the grievance of customers. Various channels, such as email, call center, etc. shall be available to customers who wish to register their complaints with the company.
In case the complaint is not resolved to the satisfaction of the customer, the customer can contact the company’s Grievance Redressal Officer for the further escalation. The name and contact number of the Grievance Redressal Officer will be posted on company’s website.
The company will maintain a register containing the details of the complaints received which includes name of the complainant, nature of the complaint, details of the complaint and action taken thereon. Such register will be reviewed by the Grievance Redressal Officer on regular basis and update the Board periodically.
2. Definitions:
Unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings assigned to them below:
2.1 Complaint:
A Complaint means any written, verbal, electronic or digital expression of dissatisfaction made by a Customer or any person duly authorized and acting on behalf of the Customer regarding the Company’s products, services, lending practices, customer service, recovery practices, digital platforms, employees, agents, Business Correspondents (BCs), Lending Service Providers (LSPs), or any deficiency in service, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected. “Deficiency in service” means a shortcoming or an inadequacy in any service, which the Regulated Entity is required to provide statutorily or otherwise, which may or may not result in financial loss or damage to the customer.
2.2 Grievance:
A Grievance means any complaint, concern, dispute, dissatisfaction or objection raised by a Customer relating to any act, omission or commission, decision, service deficiency, delay, unfair practice, misconduct, or non-compliance by the Company or its representatives, which requires investigation and appropriate resolution.
2.3 Customer:
A Customer means any individual, proprietor, partnership firm, company, trust, society, institution or any other legal entity who has availed, intends to avail, or has applied for any financial product or service offered by Sampathi Credits Private Limited, including prospective borrowers, existing borrowers, guarantors and authorized representatives.
2.4 Borrower:
A Borrower means any person or entity to whom the Company has sanctioned or disbursed a loan or a credit facility and who is contractually obligated to repay the loan together with applicable interest, fees, charges and other dues under the terms of the loan agreement.
2.5 Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO):
The Grievance Redressal Officer means the officer designated by the Company to receive, register, investigate, coordinate and resolve customer complaints in accordance with this Policy and applicable regulatory requirements.
2.6 Principal Nodal Officer:
The Principal Nodal Officer means the senior official designated by the Company to oversee the grievance redressal mechanism, monitor regulatory compliance, handle escalated complaints and coordinate with the Reserve Bank of India or other regulatory authorities, wherever applicable.
2.7 Complaint Reference Number:
A Complaint Reference Number means the unique identification number generated by the Company’s Complaint Management System upon registration of a complaint, which enables tracking of the complaint until its final resolution and closure. All Customer Complaints received through e-mails shall be responded through e-mail Only. Grievance Redressal Officer shall be responsible to provide final resolution response to customers raising complaints via E-mail.
2.8 Resolution:
Resolution means the final action taken by the Company to address and resolve a complaint after due investigation, including communication of the outcome to the Customer, implementation of corrective action where necessary, and closure of the complaint in accordance with this Policy.
All complaints received by the Company through any of the Channels, shall be noted, tracked, analyzed for facts/ details, veracity of the complaint made and resolved in a proper and time bound manner with detailed advice to the customer. In case of all complaints received, an acknowledgement shall be provided within 2 working days. In case the resolution needs time, an interim response, acknowledging the complaint shall be issued within 4 working days.
2.9 Escalation:
Escalation means the process of referring a complaint to a higher level of authority within the Company when the complaint is not resolved within the prescribed Turn Around Time (TAT) or when the Customer is dissatisfied with the response provided at the previous level.
2.10 Working Day:
A Working Day means any day on which the Company’s offices are open for normal business operations, excluding Sundays, national holidays and other public holidays declared by the Central Government, State Government or any competent authority applicable to the Company’s registered office.
2.11 Turn Around Time (TAT):
Turn Around Time (TAT) means the maximum period prescribed by the Company within which a complaint shall ordinarily be acknowledged, investigated and resolved from the date of its receipt.
2.12 Fair Practices Code:
Fair Practices Code (FPC) means the policy adopted by the Company in compliance with the directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India to ensure fairness, transparency, ethical conduct and responsible lending practices in all dealings with customers.
2.13 RBI:
RBI means the Reserve Bank of India, established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, being the regulator of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in India.
2.14 Company:
Company means Sampathi Credits Private Limited, a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), together with its branches, employees, authorised representatives, Business Correspondents (BCs), Lending Service Providers (LSPs) and other persons acting on its behalf, as applicable.
3. Category / Type of complaint:
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction made to an organization, related to its products or services, or the complaint-handling process itself, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected.
Various categories / types of complaints can be:
- Loan Sanction / Rejection
- CIBIL / CRIF / Credit bureau reporting
- Collection / Recovery practices
- Wrong / incorrect information
- Poor customer service attitude
- Overpricing / disputes in repayments or interest rates
- Lack of adequate information
- Delay in responses resulting in customer dissatisfaction
- Unresponsiveness of service providers
- Misappropriation of funds / documents
- Rude behavior of employees, authorized representatives, BCs and LSPs
- Failure or refusal to convey formally the complete and relevant details on loan sanction, disbursement, loan closure
- non-observance of directions issued by Reserve Bank to the non-banking financial companies
- non-adherence to any of the other provisions of Reserve Bank Guidelines on Fair Practices Code for Non-Banking Financial Companies
Note that this is an indicative list and not an exhaustive one and is given herein for illustrative purposes only.
4. Disabled / Physically Challenged:
The company shall not discriminate in extending products and facilities including loan facilities to physically/ visually challenged applicants on grounds of disability. All the Branch/Regional/Centralized branches offices shall render all possible assistance to such persons for availing of the various trade facilities. Wherever required, the Relationship Managers/ Company Officials also shall visit such applicants at their office/ residence to assist them in completing the modalities relating to the documentation and verification process. The company shall impart appropriate training programmes for employees at all levels to handle clients with disability. Further, the company shall ensure redressal of grievances of persons with disabilities under the Grievance Redressal Mechanism.
5. Brief description of the Policy:
The policy framework lays down requirements related to grievance assessment, registration of complaints, escalation of complaints, redressal, resolution of complaints and periodic review of records.
6. Objective of the Code:
The purpose of the policy is to ensure that:
All customers are always treated fairly and without bias.
All issues raised by customers are dealt with promptly and on time. Customers are made completely aware of their rights so that they can opt for alternative remedies if they are not fully satisfied with the response or resolution
7. Principles of Grievance Redressal:
- Customers will be provided with information on how to raise their grievances over phone, on website or through any other means.
- The process to raise a complaint/ escalation/ grievance would involve only relevant investigative questions without any kind of hassle to the customer.
- Resolutions would follow the simple principle of ensuring an effective resolution. The responses would be consistent with RBI guidelines at all times as applicable to mitigate impact on customer on account of the grievance.
- The Company is committed to remain quick and consistent at all times in providing necessary information or process requested by the customer.
8. Responsibilities of Board:
- To lay down the appropriate grievance redressal mechanism within the organization which ensures that all disputes arising out of the decisions of Company functionaries are heard and disposed of at least at the next higher level.
- Periodically review the functioning of the grievance redressal mechanism at various levels of management.
- Review of consolidated report of such periodic reviews as shall be submitted to the Board at regular intervals, as may be prescribed by it and calibration of this Policy.
9. Registration of complaints:
The Company shall enable registration of complaints by Customers through multiple channels. The various channels available to customers are as follows:
- Website: Online through the links indicated below or by directly contacting the Grievance Redressal Officer. https://sampathi.in/grievance-redressal-policy
- E-mail: Customers can send an email for redressal of issues to email id: support@friendloan.in
- Call: you can call us at: 044-4344 4546 – (Monday to Saturday, 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m (excluding Sundays, public holidays, and bank holidays)
- In Person: Registered / Corporate / Administrative Offices: Customers can speak to the officials-in-charge at the Company’s offices for resolution of their issues or register their grievances at the Office Complaints Register.
- Grievance Redressal Officer: Customers can reach out directly the Grievance Redressal Officer over phone and/or email which is provided in the below section.
10. Recording and tracking of Complaints:
- All the complaints received by the company shall be maintained in the Company’s Complaint Management Register/CRM and shall be recorded and tracked for end-to-end resolution within the prescribed timelines.
- Complaint MIS is published to the management on a monthly basis.
- A consolidated grievance report shall be placed before the Board periodically.
- Root Cause Analysis shall be undertaken for recurring complaints and corrective actions implemented.
11. Resolution of Complaints:
The Function Heads are responsible jointly and severally for resolution provided by their teams and for closure of customer issues.
12. Customer Rights:
Customers are entitled to:
- Fair and courteous treatment.
- Timely acknowledgement and resolution.
- Transparent communication.
- Escalation where dissatisfied.
- Confidential handling of personal information.
- Access to RBI’s grievance redress mechanism after exhausting the Company’s internal process.
13. Time frame for response:
The turn-around time for responding to a complaint is as follows:
- Normal cases (other than the one mentioned below): 10 working days.
- Fraud cases, Legal cases and cases which need retrieval of documents (including old records): 10 working days.
- Instalment-related cases: 10 working days.
- Cases involving 3rd party (other Banks or financial institutions or dealership or supplier or if customer out of country): 15 working days.
In case of complaint, where resolution needs additional time, the Company will request the customer, seeking additional time indicating the expected timelines by which the issue would get resolved.
14. Resolution and Escalation of Complaints:
The Company is committed to providing prompt, fair, transparent, and effective resolution of customer complaints. Customers may register their complaints or grievances relating to any aspect of the Company’s products, services, lending practices, customer service, recovery practices, credit information reporting, or any other matter connected with the Company’s operations through the following grievance redressal mechanism.
Level 1 – Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO)
Customers may lodge their complaints with the Company’s Grievance Redressal Officer through any of the following channels:
Grievance Redressal Officer: Rajesh P
Phone: +91 70102 49180
WhatsApp: +91 70102 49180
Email: grievanceofficer@friendloan.in
Registered Office Address:
Bascon Futura SV IT Park, 12th Floor,
New No. 10/2, Old No. 56L, Venkatnarayana Road,
Theagaraya Nagar,
Chennai – 600017, Tamil Nadu, India.
Business Hours: 9.30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Saturday (excluding Sundays, public holidays, and bank holidays).
The Company shall acknowledge the complaint and endeavor to resolve the same as expeditiously as possible. A final response or resolution shall ordinarily be provided within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the complaint.
Level 2 – Escalation to the Principal Nodal Officer
If the customer is not satisfied with the resolution provided by the Grievance Redressal Officer, or if the complaint remains unresolved within the prescribed timeline, the customer can choose to escalate the complaint to the Principal Nodal Officer of the Company by referring to the earlier complaint reference number and formally write, mail to:
Principal Nodal Officer: Vijayakumar Vaidhynathan
Phone: +91 76038 19889
Escalation Email: principalofficer@friendloan.in
Registered Office Address:
Bascon Futura SV IT Park, 12th Floor,
New No. 10/2, Old No. 56L, Venkatnarayana Road,
Theagaraya Nagar,
Chennai – 600017, Tamil Nadu, India.
+91-44-4344 4546
The Company shall review the matter and communicate its final decision within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the escalation.
Level 3 – Reserve Bank of India Integrated Ombudsman Scheme
If the complaint remains unresolved within 30 days from the date of its initial submission to the Company, or if the customer is dissatisfied with the final response provided by the Company, the customer may lodge a complaint to CEPC/ CMS Channel.
Where the Company’s loan asset portfolio crosses the threshold of Rs.100 Crore, the aggrieved customers may prefer to complain under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, personally or through an authorized representative (other than an Advocate), and subject to the eligibility criteria prescribed under the Scheme.
A complaint can be filed for any deficiency in service, including delay, non-service, incorrect charges, or non-adherence to RBI guidelines.
You may refer to Clause 10 of the Scheme for the process to be followed and you may note that a complaint is maintainable only if: (a) it has been raised with the Company first (b) No response is received within 30 days or the response provided by the Company is unsatisfactory or the complaint has been rejected wholly/ partially (c) complaint is preferred within prescribed time lines and complained matter is not pending before any Court or a Tribunal. All complaints preferred are scrutinized basis maintainability criteria.
Customers may submit their complaints through:
the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (vide email sent to crpc@rbi.org.in or in physical form addressed to: Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre (CRPC), Reserve Bank of India, Central Vista, Sector 17, Chandigarh – 160017) or
through the RBI Complaint Management System (CMS) – https://cms.rbi.org.in
Toll-free No: 14448 (Available in Hindi, English, and 10 regional languages)
And complaints have to be preferred within 90 days from the date of reply from the Company (or 30-days wait period expires)
Grounds for non-maintainability of a Complaint are covered under clause 10(2) of RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026. The Ombudsman/ Deputy Ombudsman concerned may reject the complaint, if the same is not maintainable under the scheme.
You may note that the proceedings before the Ombudsman are summary in nature and not bound by formal legal procedures and the Ombudsman concerned may:
• Facilitate settlement through conciliation
• Issue advisory to the Regulated Entity
• Conduct hearings (physical/virtual)
• Pass an Award if complaint is not resolved
A customer may, if not satisfied with the decision of the Ombudsman’s rejection/ decision or an award issued, can prefer an appeal. He must prefer his appeal within 30 days from the receipt of the Award/ rejection.
The Appellate Authority concerned is the Executive Director in charge of the Department of Reserve Bank of India administering this Scheme within 30 days from the date of receipt of the Complainant’s letter of acceptance of the Award.
It may be important to note that this is an Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism and the customer is at liberty to approach any other court/ forum/ authority for the redressal at any stage. Once done, however, then the customer will not be able to approach RBI Ombudsman in such cases.
Similarly, the Company aggrieved by the Award may prefer an appeal within 30 days from the date of letter of acceptance of the Award.
For further information regarding the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, customers may visit the Reserve Bank of India’s official website at www.rbi.org.in.
15. Internal Review Mechanism:
- All employees of the company will be up to date on the grievance redressal mechanism.
- The customer grievance policy will be displayed on the company website and on the noticeboard of all Branch Offices.
- All customer complaints or grievances will be updated in the internal CRM software, and tracked until closure as per the process.
- Management will periodically review the customer grievance tracker to ensure timely response/closure of customer complaints.
- Sampathi Credits Private Limited will review the policy on a yearly basis, and will amend the policy on as and when needed basis.
16. Review:
The Company further submits that the details of Grievance Redressal Officer are promptly published on the Company’s website.
Additionally, the Company also has a Board approved Grievance Redressal policy as required under the RBI regulations governing financing activities undertaken by NBFCs and a review of compliance with this Policy and the functioning of the grievance redressal mechanism would be done by the Management regularly and otherwise as it deems appropriate.
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