Grievance Redressal
In line with the RBI Fair Practices Code and the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021
1. Channels for the customer
| Channel | How it works |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp - 8333000111 | Customer messages in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada or English. The assistant answers balance, due date, payment link and receipt queries at once; a complaint it cannot resolve becomes a ticket with a case number sent to the customer. |
| MySMSquare app / customer portal | In-app complaint form; the customer sees the case number and its status. |
| Phone - customer care | Agent records the complaint as a ticket while on the call. |
| Branch / field staff | Complaint recorded by staff in the app as a ticket for the concerned department. |
| Email - nodalofficer@smsquare.info | Recorded as a ticket by customer care. |
2. Ticket and acknowledgement
Every complaint gets a unique case number (format CASE-YYYYMMDD-XXXXXX), sent to the customer immediately on WhatsApp/SMS. A second ticket on the same open topic is not created - the customer is told the existing case number. Each ticket carries the loan, category, owning department, escalation level, status and a full timeline of actions.
3. Escalation matrix and turnaround (TAT)
| Level | Who | Resolve within (target) |
|---|---|---|
| ESC1 | WhatsApp assistant / customer-care agent at first contact | Same day |
| ESC2 | Department owning the category (Accounts, Collections, Operations - NOC/RC, Credit, Customer Care) | 7 days |
| ESC3 | Department head | 15 days |
| ESC4 | Business / functional head | 21 days |
| GRO | Grievance Redressal Officer (Nodal Officer) | 30 days - final reply |
If the complaint is not resolved, or the reply is not satisfactory, within 30 days, the customer may approach the RBI Integrated Ombudsman (https://cms.rbi.org.in). The final reply informs the customer of this right.
4. Grievance Redressal Officer
| Name | Bhargav |
|---|---|
| Designation | Operations Manager |
| Phone | 72078 27111 |
| nodalofficer@smsquare.info |
5. Co-lent loans (HFCL)
SM Square is the primary point of contact for the borrower. Complaints on HFCL co-lent loans are flagged, shared with HFCL within one Business Day, and resolved jointly where HFCL's action is needed. HFCL's grievance contacts are given to the borrower on request.
6. Regulatory escalations and corrective action
- Ombudsman / RBI complaints are handled directly by the GRO, with a reply within the timeline set by the Ombudsman.
- Each such case gets a root-cause note and a corrective action (process, system or training), tracked to closure.
- Monthly review by management of volumes by category, ageing, TAT breaches and repeat complaints; quarterly report to the Board.
- Recurring issues are fixed at source - for example, automatic receipt confirmation on WhatsApp for payments already credited.