The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, has directed HDFC Bank to refund Rs 14,270 along with 6 per cent annual interest to a Chandigarh student after a clerical error by bank staff delayed the processing of her Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) for Canada.The commission also ordered the bank to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation towards harassment and litigation expenses suffered by the student.According to the complaint filed by Anupreet Kaur, a resident of Chandigarh, she had secured admission to the “Arts Administration and Cultural Management” programme at Humber College for the September 2022 academic session.To obtain a Canadian student visa, she was required to purchase a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) worth around 10,000 Canadian dollars as proof of funds for living expenses in Canada.On April 13, 2022, she approached the Sector 15 branch of HDFC Bank in Chandigarh and initiated remittance of Rs 6,31,584 to Scotiabank, Toronto, for the GIC purchase.In her complaint, Kaur alleged that the bank employee handling the transaction appeared unaware of the purpose of a GIC and repeatedly confused it with tuition fees despite being given clear instructions and supporting documents from the foreign bank.The amount was debited from her account the same day and was expected to be credited within five business days. However, when the transfer did not go through, she visited the branch on May 6, 2022, and was informed that due to a clerical mistake by bank staff, the remittance purpose had been wrongly marked as “Family Maintenance” and “Study Fee” instead of “GIC Purchase”.As a result, the money was retained in the bank’s Central Pool Account in Mumbai.The commission noted that the original form submitted by the complainant had allegedly been discarded by the bank staff, who filled out a new form incorrectly. Kaur was later asked to permit reversal and re-transfer of funds to rectify the mistake.Due to the reversal and fresh remittance process, she suffered a financial loss of Rs 14,270 because of exchange rate differences and related charges. The funds were ultimately credited to the Canadian bank only on May 18, more than a month after the original transaction.The bank denied wrongdoing and argued that incorrect details had been provided by the complainant. However, the commission observed that the bank failed to produce material proving that the student alone was responsible for the incorrect coding.Holding the bank deficient in service, the commission directed HDFC Bank to refund the loss amount with interest and pay compensation for the harassment caused to the student.