In Brief
A company applied to Bank of India for credit facilities exceeding Rs. 40 crores and requested a 50% waiver of processing and appraisal fees. The bank debited Rs. 27.41 lakhs from the account for fees and charges before sanctioning the loan. The consumer later obtained credit from other banks and filed a complaint seeking full refund. The Supreme Court held that bank circulars on fees, while ideally to be communicated, cannot bind a consumer unaware of them; however, an experienced business customer cannot claim ignorance. The bank was entitled to recover fees for work undertaken. The Court set aside lower orders directing full refund and allowed the appeal, directing the bank to refund only Rs. 9.16 lakhs that it had expressly agreed to refund."
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