Kingfisher's refund cheque of Rs 12,975 bounces

A communication goof-up between Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines and its banker saw a cheque of Rs 12,975 bounce, much to the embarrassment of the country's largest private carrier, which promptly arranged a bank draft for the recipient.
A cheque issued by the airline drawn from its account with Axis Bank at Mumbai's Nariman Point branch as ticket refund to one Suresh Gulabrani on April 4, 2009, bounced.
When contacted a Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson said, "The particular bank account from which this cheque was issued in a non-operating account (not used for regular and daily transactions of the company)...we have already issued that written instructions to our bankers to make a demand draft in the name of this guest and effect the refund immediately."
He said the carrier had an arrangement with Axis Bank whereby "cheques issued against refund from this account are payable at par anywhere in India".
"Consequently, the Axis Bank branch in the city where the refund cheque may be presented has to follow a pre-agreed standard operating procedure (SOP) and contact the branch from where the account is maintained. In this case the pre-set SOP appears not to have been followed," he added.
14/05/09 Rediff

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Categories: Kingfisher May 2009