NOLA Rocks!

A quaint city with loads of history and distinctive influence of Europe, Caribbean and Africa, New Orleans (NO) of Louisiana state (LA)- NOLA as affectionately called by the local population- is a charming place for visitors.  Located in the south-central shore of United States, this place is the favorite landfall point for many of the strongest cyclones and hurricanes which develop in the Gulf of Mexico.  The most famous in the recent history was Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which wrecked havoc of epic proportion.  More recently, the Cyclone Isaac in September of 2012 also caused some damage, and people were evacuated from homes.  My colleague was telling me that she opted for the option of evacuating to Houston rather than staying put at the risk of staying without power for days, low food availability and flooding.  At the time of cyclones and hurricanes, one big worry of the residents is whether the roof of the house with hold!  Apparently, there is also a phase of law and order issue during such times. 

It was a short flight from Houson, but it was late and when I landed at the Louis Armstrong airport it was past midnight.  The airport is quite close to the city center, and there are options of taxi which commute for a flat fee of $33 to anywhere in the city center and airport shuttle which charge $20 but hops from one hotel to another, so if you are the last one out you may be have been sitting in the (comfortable) mini-bus for over an hour for the short ride.  Both options are easy to locate and are efficient means of transportation.  

I was delighted when my cab stopped at my designated hotel- Astor Crowne Plaza on Canal Street & Bourbon.  It looked aesthetic and in the heart of the city.  It was past 1 am but the surrounding was abuzz with activity.  Burly and loud people speaking in heavy Southern drawl could be intimidating initially, till you can relax, lower your guard and start forgetting that you are an outsider.  I realized soon that everyone quickly becomes an insider in New Orleans.  
   
Next morning, my work took me to The U.S. Customs House.  The huge building with solid exterior of grey Massachusetts marble and cast-iron entablature spanned a full block.  As I stepped inside, I was immediately impressed by the collection of old marine gadgets displayed all around, the intriguing inner corridors with huge doors enclosing the office spaces.  It had a jail-house ambience and an overall spooky feeling inside.  Indeed, my colleague said that there are confirmed stories of ghosts residing in the building, and the presence have been felt by many who stayed back late.  I later learnt that this is one of the oldest and most important federal buildings in the southern United States and one of the major works of architecture commissioned by the federal government in the nineteenth century.  It is now designated as a National Historic Landmark.  The grand Marble Hall in the center of the building was described as “the finest business room in the world”.  Audubon Butterfly Garden & Insectarium, the largest free-standing American museum dedicated to insects, is now located in this building.
New Orleans was founded as part of the French colony of Louisiana in 1718.  New Orleans was given to the Spanish in 1763 following the Seven Years War.  The Americans gained control of the colony following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.  New Orleans’ economy in the nineteenth century was similar to other southern cities- based on selling cash crops such as sugar and tobacco. By 1840, newcomers whose wealth came from these industries turned New Orleans into the third largest metropolis in the country.  In today’s world, port and maritime activities, engineering industries and most importantly tourism constitute most of the city’s economy.  Port of New Orleans on Mississippi River is one of the busiest in the country, moving 500 million tons of cargo every year.  The city has created a wonderful niche for itself as a convention city.  The New Orleans Convention Center is one of the largest venues available in United States for trade shows, hosting very large exhibition and conferences on themes ranging from automobiles to funerals.  The show on the latter theme was organized by National Funeral Directors Association, and my colleague was telling me that with coffins and tombstones lying all around, it was not an event for the faint-hearted!  The reason for my visit too was WEFTEC, which is America’s largest water related trade show organized by the Water Environment Federation and had over 1200 exhibitors.  Each such event brings over 10,000 visitors to the city for an average of three days; thereby keeping the hotels, shops and restaurants and other tourism establishments busy for several days in each month.  The heritage French architecture; exotic French, Spanish and local Louisiana cuisine; art; Jazz music and most importantly the “wildness quotient” of the city is a magnet for business visitors and tourists alike. 

New Orleans is a small city of 907 sq km and little over 300,000 population, which shrinks after every large natural disaster and grows again within a few years.  But if Calcutta’s city center of Dalhousie-Esplanade area was curved out as a separate city, there would be many similarities with New Orleans.  The most striking similarity is about the heritage architecture and the ornamental iron castings which adorn the balconies of the French era houses in the famous French Quarters area.  I spend a large part of my weekend daytime in taking pictures of the houses and the balconies in particular.  The intricate craftsmanship of the iron castings used in the balconies was a visual treat to my eyes, particularly in the curved balconies of the houses on corner plots.  The designs were mostly neutral, such as a bunch of grapes with leaves.  And having documented the iron casting designs in Kolkata extensively in the last three years, I can now say with authority that the repertoire of designs of the iron castings found in Kolkata is much larger than what is found in New Orleans.  The style of casting is similar but I did not find any design which is common between Calcutta and New Orleans.  However, the iron casting used in Marble Palace owned by the Mullick family in Calcutta (designed by the French architect Antonio Rinaldi and completed in 1785) is very similar to the style of casting used in New Orleans.

 

 

The architecture of the old houses otherwise is typical but not hugely impressive.  None of the houses are too big.  The other points of similarity with Calcutta include proximity to river (Mississippi), narrow roads, lots of people merrily crossing the road, much higher proportion of honking than is normally found in American cities, plenty of shops, several poor people, passion for food and trams.  Calcutta can learn much from New Orleans in preserving trams as a means of public and tourist transport.  Here the trams are single compartment, heritage-looking but modern interiors, noiseless, high-speed, moves on dedicated tracks in selected stretches and integrated with bus transport under the common umbrella of Road Transport Authority (a common bus-tram combination ticket can be purchased).  The stops provide safe boarding and aligning facilities for passengers, and tickets are collected by the driver (often a lady) in a ticket vending machine, which even prints a ticket for change due if any and which can be used for any future travel.  I really hope and pray that Calcutta learns from New Orleans, Frankfurt and other such cities which have proudly preserved and used trams as clean and efficient means of urban mass transit. 

 

 

The “wildness quotient” of the tourist part of the city deserves special mention.  Several people have told me, “this is New Orleans- you can pretty much do what you want”.  I got a taste of this when in my very  first morning, I saw a girl breaking out in to a full-throated, trance-like “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” song and dance as she was passing by an Iscon Group singing along the sidewalk. 

 

But the full magnitude of this statement will not be evident until one visits Bourbon Street during the weekends- the main artery of the French Quarter area and the magnet for tourists seeking all-time nightlife high.  And this was a normal weekend- the revelry index shoots many times higher during the carnival season climaxing during Mardi Gras in February-March.  My hotel- Astor Crowne Plaza- was at the entry point of this road; so I could soak up the life of Bourbon Street over the full seven nights of my stay.  When the city’s streets were designed by the royal engineer in 1721 and the streets were being named after French royal houses and Catholic saints, Bourbon Street paid homage to France's ruling family, the House of Bourbon.  In 1788, a major fire destroyed 80 percent of the city's buildings.  The Spanish rebuilt many of the damaged buildings, which are still standing today.  For this reason, Bourbon Street and the French Quarter display more Spanish than French influence.  Chances are, you will be greeted by a jazz and brass band playing at the corner of Bourbon and Canal Streets.  This “To Be Continued” jazz and brass band was formed by a group of young boys in 2002, and became immensely popular.  The upper end of Bourbon Street near Canal Street is home to many of the French Quarter's strip clubs. These include Rick's Cabaret, Temptations, and Larry Flynt's Barely Legal Club.  Among the other tourist attractions are bars, restaurants and souvenir shops.  

 

A part of this street also caters to New Orleans' thriving gay community. Cafe-Lafitte-In-Exile is the oldest gay bar in the country. I got some pictures of weirdly dressed people in this area. 

 

It is fun to walk in Bourbon Street in the evening- the crowd is in celebratory mood, many walking with a super-large container of drink.  We came across two girls, young and good-looking,  who wore practically nothing but body paint of the logo of the wildly-popular New Orleans Saints team and were walking the Street to collect tips.  Needless to say, tips were raining on them and they were also happily posing for photographs.  We could also see the Mardi Gras spirit in action- the custom of throwing trinkets from the balconies to the people passing below.  Some girl groups were quite insistent about the "Throw Me Something Mister", and the men on the balconies negotiated well and managed to have some of the girls flash before they showered the girls with trinkets.  To capture the full spectacle, one needs to visit on the date of Mardi Gras which is 46 days before Easter.  During the 12 days preceding Mardi Gras, more than 60 parades and hundreds of private parties, dances and masked balls are annually scheduled in the metro area. Fat Tuesday is a legal holiday in New Orleans, a day when half the town turns out in costume to watch the other half parade!

 

 

New Orleans was the birthplace of Jazz.  It was considered an expression of freedom, of jubilation.  The music form evolved from within, and quickly flourished through the creative geniuses of Buddy Bolden, Nick LaRocca, Louis Armstrong and several others.  One of the more distinguished aspects of New Orleans culture is the jazz funeral- a practice which traces its roots back to Africa.  The city has many jazz clubs- some of the more famous ones are House of Blues and Bombay Club in French Quarter area.  We heard that there is another area- the Frenchman Street- is quaint and vibrant with jazz music.  This was our chance to see another part of the city outside the routine French Quarter, so we hopped in to a cab and after a short ride reached what looked like a residential neighborhood.  The street was lined with several restaurants, clubs and pubs- each advertising the live performances scheduled during the week.  It was Monday and relatively quiet.  We checked out the Blue Nile Club, but they did not have a performance on that day.  But we found that Maison on 508 Frenchman Street rocking with music and bustling with clients.  We managed to get a table and settled down.  The tables were full, the music was soulful, the musicians were lively and the crowd was discerning- applauding every piece of good performance.  At times, the young lady who was the lead musician stepped down from the dais and walked up to the tables to collect tips- the guests contributed generously.  The good food and drink tasted even better in the cheerful ambience.    

  

 

No discussion on NOLA is complete without a note on food and drink.  The cuisine here is distinctive and robust, unlike most places in U.S.  The food follows two broad likes- Cajun and Creole.  Cajun is country-style food, a combination of French and Southern cuisines and consists of heavy, one-pot dishes, like Jambalaya (sausage, vegetables and a variety of meats and/or seafood) or crawfish étouffée, served over steaming rice.  Creole food is created in New Orleans with European and African roots.  The French influence is strongest, but the essence of Creole is found in rich sauces, local herbs, red ripe tomatoes, and the prominent use of seafood, caught in local waters.  It is associated with the old-line kitchens of New Orleans, where generations of traditions are carried on today.  The most popular one is Gumbo- okra simmered for hours in a stock made as rich as possible using a variety of meats, onions, celery and bell peppers. Served over rice, variations include seafood gumbo with shrimp, oysters and crabmeat, or chicken gumbo with andouille sausage.  Both foods make liberal use of chopped green peppers, onions and celery.  The other popular dishes are Red Beans and Rice, Po Boy (long, submarine-style French bread piled high with meat such as roast beef, catfish or oysters), Shrimp Creole (freshly peeled shrimp), Muffuletta (sandwich filled with salami, ham, provolone and olive spread).  Alligator meat is quite popular- supply chain assured from the swamps surrounding New Orleans.  I passed the incitement to try it- I am told it is tender and tasty.  I loved all the places we ate in, but I remember with particular fondness the Red Fish Grill on Bourbon Street- a traditional, family-owned restaurant serving authentic and fresh New Orleans cuisine with style and pride.  The food in Farmers Market was fun too.  The coffee shops and confectioners are also very much part of the food experience.  Café Du Monte on Decatur St. across Jackson Square is the pilgrimage among the coffee shops, being the original French Market coffee stand serving cafe au lait and beignets (fried dough coated with powdered sugar) since 1862.  Praline (almonds coated with cooked sugar and cream) reigns supreme among the confectionery products.  Being endowed with a traditional Bengali sweet tooth, I simply loved the Pralines.  Much like food, the drink options in New Orleans is also wild, robust and cheerful.  Hurricane is one of the most popular.  It is a sweet, juice-filled bright red rum drink and served in a tall glass.  Apparently, the drink derived its name from the shape of the iconic glass resembling a hurricane lamp.  The other popular drink (apart from beer) on Bourbon Street is named Hand Grenade.  The proprietors keep the ingredients of this neon green drink a secret, only calling it the most powerful cocktail on Bourbon Street.  It comes served in a custom plastic yard glass, tinted green and shaped like a grenade at the bottom.        

 

 

 

Overall, New Orleans is a complete fun city, with loads of character.  It embraces the serious travelers and revelers with equal warmth.  The mix of fun, food, architecture, music, art ensures there is something for everyone.  Very few cities in U.S. can match up with the unique personality of this quaint city.  The waves of history have etched indelible marks, and have enriched the city and its population with something new, something better and something different.  NOLA just rocks!  

 

 

 

                        

 

Uphill Battle for Consumer Justice- Annulling Life Insurance Policy sold through fraudulent means

Frustration: High value 20-year payment term Endowment Policy mis-represented and sold as Single Premium by Birla Sun Life to 85-year old lady; needed to be annulled to avoid severe financial loss

Method Employed:
Step 1- Email to Customer Service & Grievances Cell. Email to grievances@birlasunlife.com returned; "mailbox full"!! No response to complaint in three weeks. Attitude no different from thousands of other grievance cases- as seen from consumer websites on the internet
Step 2- Email to CEO, highlighting deficiency in Corporate Governance, which allows Agents to mis-represent and resort to fraudulent means while selling policy; seeking his attention and intervention. No response for two weeks.  Step 3- Strongly-worded email to CEO, directly accusing him to be "directly or indirectly complicit in the fraud-misrepresentation-cheating-misgovernance perpetrated and perpetuated by your Agents.", as demonstrated by his inaction and silence to such serious allegations with documentary evidence. Blind-copy of email to full Board of Directors- Birla Sun Life; selected Directors of Birla Group of Companies; Chairman & CEO of Sun Life International- Canada; Global Fraud Investigation Head- Sun Life International; Asia-Pacific and India Heads of Sun Life (Sun Life is a 26% shareholder in Birla Sun Life).

Result: The deafening silence of three weeks shattered. Within 24 hours of last email; calls started pouring in from the Office of Chief Grievance Redressal Officer & Compliance Department. From the documents produced by them from BSLI record, it was proved beyond doubt the Agent had forged income document to justify this absurdly high value premium policy. This was pointed out immediately, which further damned the company and it was left defenseless. The Policy was declared void ab initio, and entire premium was refunded immediately, with 11.5% penal interest. Both cheques delivered at home within two weeks.

The sequence of correspondence (chronologically) is below. Most names and certain numbers have been disguised to protect privacy. The clinching email dated August 1 is marked in Blue.

================================================================

July X, 2012To

The Head- Customer Response & Resolution
Customer Care Unit
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited
One Indiabulls Centre, Tower 1
15^th Floor, Jupiter Mill Compound
841, Senapati Bapat Marg
Elphinstone Road, Mumbai 400013

Dear Sir:

BSLI Bachat Endowment Plan Policy Number XXX dated XXX, 2011 sold based on misinformation; request for redress

In July 2011, my 85-year old grandmother, Mrs. XXX, was approached by your company, initially through telemarketing, and then by Insurance Advisor Mr. Rahul Bhattacharya of your corporate Agent ACS Advisory Services Limited (Advisor Code XXX), to subscribe to a BSLI life insurance policy.  He convinced this old and ill widow to invest her life’s savings in the high-value Endowment Plan.  He assured her that with an one-time premium of Rs. Y lakh under the above Policy, she or her chosen inheritor will get an assured return of about Rs. YYY lakhs.  He also suggested that she be the Owner/Proposer, while the undersigned being her only grand-daughter be the Life Assured.  In good faith on your company’s goodwill and out of love and affection for me, she agreed to make this huge investment.  Since she was given an impression that this is a one-time payment, her age did not seem to matter. 
 

Mr. Bhattacharya then got the Application signed by her, rushed to my office and obtained my signatures.  He also arranged for a medical test for me at my residence with utmost haste.  Since my grandmother was convinced by him, and the same impression was conveyed to me, I did not see the need for detailed scrutiny from my end and followed his advice in every step.  When the policy papers reached Mrs. XXX, she was extremely ill.  She used to stay alone at her residence, and I could visit her very occasionally in view of my family and professional commitments.  She told her caregiver to store the document safely and she informed me that the Policy document has arrived.  Neither she nor I suspected any wrong-doing; therefore none of us thought it was necessary to go through the fine-print of the policy within the 15-day look-in period or even beyond.  At that time, her health was of more immediate concern.
 

Mrs. XXX (Client ID: XXX) has since expired on XXX, 2012.  Her death certificate is attached.  This month, I am shocked to see a notice from your company intimating that the premium of Rs. Y lakh for the above Policy is due for payment between July-August of this year again.  I then dug out the Policy document and went through the details.  I realize now that the premium to be paid is on an annual basis, which is completely contrary to what your Advisor Mr. Bhattacharya told my grandmother.  The amount of premium is even above my total annual income.  My grandmother’s assumption and purpose of doing this Policy was as a gift to me through a Single Premium Policy, and this was clearly explained to your Agent.   
 

Based on the above situation, I now appeal to you for redressal- either through refund of the premium paid by Mrs. XXX as the Owner/Proposer of the above policy, or by providing me with her Death Benefit.  I am sure you will realize and appreciate the following while considering a favorable consideration of my appeal for redressal:

1.                  A lady of age 85 years will never voluntarily agree to pay premium for 20 years, as no one expects to live for 105 years or beyond.  So evidently she agreed based on mis-information regarding her continued payment liability.  Even from your company perspective, there seems to be no rational basis for you to assign a 20-year Policy to an 85-year old lady.  

2.                  Your Agent/Advisor got the blank form signed by us and filled it up with fabricated information in his own handwriting.  I note in the policy document that your Agent’s Advisor has arbitrarily indicated the income of Owner/Proposer and Life Insured as YY lakhs and YY lakhs respectively.  No proof of income was asked for.  I wish to state that both incomes indicated are inaccurate.  The income of both the Proposer/Owner and the Life Insured are less than VV lakhs.  Income Tax returns can be provided to prove this if necessary.  Your Agent/Advisor filled up this information and other parts of the form on his own without our consent and concurrence.  On what basis did he sell the Policy with an annual premium which is above the annual income of both the Policy Owner and the Life Assured?  Are there no guidelines either from you on a corporate level or from IRDA regarding not signing up customers for policies with premiums above their annual income?

3.                  In your Policy Brochure, it is clearly written that Monthly Base Premium for this Policy is Rs. 400-5000.  How did he sign up the customer for a Monthly Base Premium of Rs. YY,YYY as written in his own handwriting in the Application Form?

4.                  There is no explanation in your Policy document or in your Brochure about what happens if the Policy Owner/Proposer dies.  I am wondering if I am even entitled to the Death Benefit for the Policy in this case, since the Owner/Proposer has died.  I request your views on this.

5.                  Under no circumstance, I am in a position to continue with the Policy by payment of annual premium of Rs. Y lakhs, if this be the appropriate eventuality according to you.  The premium amount is above my entire annual income, as stated in point (2) above.

6.                  With the name of Aditya Birla Group associated, your prospective customers have a high degree of trust on your Advisors and Agents.  The Advisor from your Corporate Agent completely misused this platform of trust in this transaction.

I hope that in keeping with BSLI’s Vision “to be a leader and role model” and Mission “to help people mitigate risks of life, accident, health, and money at all stages and under all circumstances Enhance the financial future of our customers” and valuing your corporate Value of Integrity, you will kindly agree to refund the premium paid (with interest if applicable) and allow me to exit from this Policy, unless you ascertain that I am eligible for Death Benefit in this case on account of death of the Owner/Proposer.  Such a gesture will reinforce my trust in the company and help me to consider future investments with the Group.  I also urge you to issue strict guidelines to your Agents and Advisors to avoid such incidents of misrepresentation in future.

I look forward to your urgent reply.   

Regards,

ZZZ

Encl: Death Certificate of Mrs. XXX   

 

 From: UUU
To: Jayant Dua  
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 12:00 AM
Subject: Fw: BSLI Endowment Plan Policy Owner died- appeal for redressal & corporate governance issues

Dear Mr. Dua:

Greetings from Kolkata. While I await feedback on my 1-week old appeal below through the established grievance redressal and complaint escalation process, I am writing to you with my concern (expressed in detail in my letter attached) regarding the corporate governance issues associated with the case. Being associated with the Birla Group for nearly two decades, and in your current capacity as the Chief Executive Officer and member of Board of Directors of Birla Sunlife Insurance, I think you should be aware and will be concerned about the actions of your agents (the actions of a particular Agent in our case is illustrated in my letter) which tarnish the brand equity of one of the most respected corporate entities of India. Some of the serious corporate governance issues in this case are:

a) mis-representation of the benefits of the Policy (annual premium policy sold to a client who wanted single premium policy with an objective of gift)

b) impractical terms (20-year annual premium Policy sold to an 85-year old lady)

c) mis-representation of facts in the proposal form (writing inflated and unsubstantiated income to justify high value annual premium Policy)

d) selling products beyond the stipulated range of value mentioned in product brochure (monthly premium of Rs. YY,YYY against maximum of Rs. 5000)

e) lack of clarity in Policy Terms and Conditions regarding eventuality of death of Policy Owner (if Life Assured is a different person)

f) insensitivity and apathetic attitude regarding the concept of grievance redressal. The email to grievances@birlasunlife.com on July 9 was returned, with a message: "The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Please try resending this message later, or contact the recipient directly."

I hope you will take due note of the above and take corrective actions as necessary.

Please feel free to contact me for any clarification, if needed.

Warm Regards,

ZZZ

Kolkata

 

From: UUU
To: Jayant Dua
Cc: "customerservice@birlasunlife.com"

Bcc: Full Board of Directors- Birla Sunlife; Members of Board of Directors- Aditya Birla Nuvo (holding company of BSLI); Chairman- SunLife Financial- Canada; Heads of SunLife Financal- Asia Pacific & India operations; Global Head- Fraud Investigation, Sunlife Financial (in U.S.)
Sent: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 1:32 PM
Subject: BSLI indulging in fraud, mis-representation, cheating, corporate mis-governance

Dear Mr. Dua:

I note, with deep regret, your and (therefore, predictably) your organization's lackadaisical attitude towards consumer grievance and corporate governance issues. I have received no response whatsoever from your Customer Response Unit, with whom a formal grievance was lodged dated July 9.  The email to customerservice@birlasunlife.com received an automated acknowledgement and the copy to grievances@birlasunlife.com was returned by postmaster@birlasunlife.com saying that mailbox is full! In view of such unprecedented "grievance handling" opening scenario, I filed the same grievance online, which was acknowledged with a registered token number BSLI-P-2012-XXX dated July 10. Simultaneously, you have chosen to ignore my allegation regarding gross violation of corporate governance issues by your Agents and my appeal for redress regarding the harm caused to us. By your silence, you have amply demonstrated that you are directly or indirectly complicit in the fraud-misrepresentation-cheating-misgovernance perpetrated and perpetuated by your Agents. No wonder that the consumer complaint websites on the internet are choked with hundreds (if not thousands) of complaints by anguished customers. One would expect a large company with brand equity of Aditya Birla Group and a joint venture of one of the largest financial services company of the world to react with alacrity to such serious issues of corporate mis-governance. But evidently, that’s not what you and Birla Sun Life India believes in. And extremely ironically, you also seem to head the "Policyholder Protection Committee" of your company!

 Kindly allow me to educate you on why you should have looked at this more seriously:

a) The first among the declared "Values" for the Aditya Birla Group is "integrity", if you know what it means. I suggest you take a refresher course on your company's internal Mission, publicly declared Vision and Core Values.

b) Your 26% joint venture partner, Sun Life Financial, has a separate link on the opening page of its website on Corporate Governance. The company proudly declares: good corporate governance is at the heart of what we do every day. It goes on to say: "Our business is based on trust. Trust in our products and services. Trust that we’ll guide the company in a way that upholds the confidence of our customers, shareholders and business partners around the world. Building trust and maintaining our reputation depends on the decisions we make, the values we maintain, our leadership strength and the personal integrity of each and every employee. We take seriously the responsibility inherent in helping our customers secure their financial futures.  It’s why we’ve developed and adhere to guidelines for strong and consistent governance throughout the organization. We have a strong and independent Board of Directors, who regularly review its corporate governance processes and practices...From our earliest beginnings, ethics and integrity have been cornerstones of the way we do business. These qualities are embodied in our core values and in our Code of Business Conduct. Each year, all employees, officers and directors must provide assurance that they have been, and will continue to, comply with the Code." I suggest you read the above paragraph twice over, and consult Sun Life Financial on the sections which you do not understand.

The stipulated 15-day response time for my grievance is now over. As per your premium renewal alert (which I dispute, through the contents of this and earlier emails), the last date of payment of "second premium" is August 24, 2012. I am merging my appeal for redress and complaint about corporate mis-governance, since they are so closely intertwined. I will now escalate my grievance/complaint in every way as I deem appropriate. To start with, I am blind-copying members of the Board of Birla Sun life India and senior executives of Sun Life Financial in this mail, for them to be aware of the serious issues raised herein and take appropriate steps.

 [Respected Members of Board of Directors- Birla Sun life Insurance & Executives of Sun Life Financial:

I raise serious issues regarding fraud-misrepresentation-cheating-misgovernance in Birla Sun life India for your attention and discussion. The issue should have been dealt with at the level of your CEO, but unfortunately he chooses to ignore/condone/perpetuate such issues, thereby forsaking ethics over short-term and ill-gotten growth. This complaint is regarding BSLI Bachat Endowment Plan Policy Number XXX dated July X, 2011 with Mrs. XXX (Client ID: XXX) as the Owner and the undersigned (her grand-daughter) as the Life Insured. The Policy Owner has since expired on XXX, 2012. We have now discovered (after receiving a premium notice and going through her papers thereafter) that the Advisor of your Corporate Agent ACS Advisory Services (Advisor Code XXX) sold the 20-year 20-payment term Policy with annual premium of Rs. YYY,YYY to this 85-year old lady (also ailing, widow and staying alone) based on misinformation and misrepresentation of facts. My grandmother’s assumption and purpose of doing this Policy was as a gift to me through a Single Premium Policy, and this was clearly explained to your Agent. The case is explained in detail in the attachment and forwarded mails; I hereby provide a summary for your quick review:

a) MIS-REPRESENTATION/CHEATING/FRAUD

- of the benefits of the Policy (annual premium policy sold to a client who wanted single premium policy with an objective of gift),

- leading to impossible contractual terms without knowledge of the client (20-year annual premium Policy sold to an 85-year old lady. Did BSLI expect her to live and beg/borrow/steal to pay premiums beyond her annual income till the age of 105?)

- mis-representation of facts in the proposal form (writing inflated and unsubstantiated income in your Agent's own handwriting to justify high-value annual premium policy. Assessed income of both the Policy Owner and Life Insured is less than the value of the annual premium.

- telling the Owner to inform me about her consent and rushing to the office of the life assured to get the Application Form signed without giving her the time/space to review the terms contained therein

- selling the Policy beyond the stipulated range of value mentioned in product brochure (monthly premium of Rs. YY,YYY against maximum stipulated value of Rs. 5000)

- lack of clarity in Policy Terms and Conditions regarding eventuality of death of Policy Owner (if Life Assured is a different person)
 

b) CORPORATE MIS-GOVERNANCE

- selling policies beyond the annual income of both the Policy Owner and Life Insured. No statement of income or documentation is asked for. This non-requirement ensures that your Agents can continue to sell policies through fraudulent means with the sole objective of pocketing the commission from first premium and knowing fully well that the policy will lapse thereafter.

- stonewalling grievance redressal at the first level. The email to grievances@birlasunlife.com on July 9 was returned, with a message: "The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Please try resending this message later, or contact the recipient directly." As explained above, Customer Care Unit or the CEO did not care to call, clarify or remedy the grievance which was submitted by email and online methods.

- No response within the stipulated 15 day period of grievance redressal mechanism

- The company seem to foster a culture of fraud and mis-representation, as demonstrated by the hundreds (if not thousands) of customer grievance in the various websites. The suspicion that this is done with direct/tacit support from top management is strengthened when the CEO decides to turn a blind eye to direct appeal to him in context of our specific case.

In light of the above, I had appealed for one of the following remedies (listed in order of eligibility according to my initial judgment):

a) allowing me to claim death benefit, in light of the facts stated above
b) waiver of premium till maturity of the policy
c) refund of premium paid by Policy Owner, with interest and compensation as applicable

I also demand that:

a) BSLI terminates the services of the Corporate Agent/Advisor who perpetrated this fraud so ruthlessly and heartlessly on an ailing widow of 85 years, and impose appropriate financial penalty
 
b) BSLI put in place a much stronger corporate governance mechanism to minimize opportunity for Agents/Advisors to perpetrate such misrepresentation/fraud while brandishing the name of one of the most respected business leaders of the country. Your executives, in their scramble for short-term targets, are ruining the brand equity of your company and the long-term prospect of private sector insurance industry in India. Your unscrupulous agents are happily taking advantage of this to defraud customers, pocket the commission and run away. Due to deliberately apathetic customer grievance redressal mechanism, the customers are left financially ruined and anguished.

While I shall move forward with my plans to seek redress from statutory authorities and/or judicial system of the country, I shall look forward to a line of communication from the BSLI Board regarding your view on my complaint.]

 
Regards,

YYY

Tel: +XXX

 

 

From: UUU
To: ajay kanth
Sent: Thursday, August 2, 2012 2:31 AM
Subject: BSLI- fraud, misrepresentation, cheating, misgovernance- now conclusively established

Mr. Ajay Kanth
Senior Manager- Compliance Department
Birla Sun Life Insurance

Dear Mr. Kanth:

Thank you for your call today evening to discuss specifically one aspect of my complain- selling policies beyond the annual income of both the Policy Owner and Life Insured. Thank you also for informing that your Agent had actually submitted "Income Tax Return" for both Policy Owner and Life Assured to substantiate the figures he wrote in the form, and sending the documents from your record by fax to us for authentication. As stated over telephone, this was a big surprise since neither any verbal statement of annual income nor any documentation was asked from us. After receiving the papers from you, our surprise has turned in to shock. I hereby certify that both the ITR-IV documents received from you are forged in terms of content and signature. The facts of the case are as below:

a) For XXX- The PAN number (I could not read the last alphabet in your fax)- YYYYYYY is correct. Rest everything is falsified/fabricated and signature is forged. The date of the Return in your document is illegible, but the year is shown as 2011. I wish to confirm that no Income Tax Return was filed by XXX in 2011. This was because according to Union Budget 2011 (order effective June 1, 2011), senior citizen above 80 years age became eligible to get Rs.YYY,000 income tax exemption. Her income was below that threshold, and therefore she had no tax liability or mandatory requirement of filing Annual Return. However, the ITR-4 copy you provided shows a fictitious Income Tax return in her name with Gross Total Income of Rs. Y,YYY,YYY and Net Tax Payable as Rs. YYY,YYY. In the previous (AY2010-11) year, XXX's Income Tax was filed vide ITR-1 acknowledgement dated June XX, 2010 with Gross Total Income of Rs. YYY,YYY only, and Net Tax payable on that income as NIL. Her income in previous AY2009-10 and AY2008-09 were even less. The facts as stated above by me can be easily verified by you or the investigative agencies through the Income Tax Department, Ward YY(Y), Office of The Addl./Jt. Commissioner of Income Tax- Kolkata, if deemed necessary. The oval stamp shown in your document, without any ward number, is another give-away of the planned fraud/forgery. The stamps that have been used by her Ward in AY2010-11 and previous years is square in shape. The Status code also does not match. Thus, the entire form submitted by your Agent as "income proof" of the Life Assured, along with the stamp and signature therein, is forged, and the Policy was issued by you on the basis of it.

b) The bank statement copy as provided by you is authentic. XXX received some lumpsum payments in April 2011 as her investment maturity proceeds, and she intended to make the single-premium investment in the subject BSLI policy out of the same.

c) For ZZZ- The PAN number quoted- XXX- is correct. Rest everything is falsified/fabricated and signature is forged. The date of return shown in your ITR-4 document for AY2010-11 is December XX, 2010. In reality, her return for AY2010-11 was submitted vide ITR-1 on XXX, 2010. The Gross Total Income shown in your document is Rs. YYY,000. According to the actual document, it is Rs. YYY,YYY. Net Tax Payable is shown in your document as Rs. YY,YYY. As per the real document, this amount is Rs. YY,YYY. The income in the previous year AY2009-10 was even less. The facts as stated above by me can be easily verified by you or the investigative agencies through the Income Tax Department, Office of The Addl. Commissioner of Income Tax, Range XX, Kolkata, if deemed necessary. The oval stamp with floral design shown in your document, without any ward number, is another give-away of the planned fraud/forgery. The stamps that have been used by my Ward is round in shape. The Status Code also does not match. Thus, the entire form submitted by your Agent as "income proof" of the Life Assured, along with the stamp and signature therein, is forged, and the Policy was issued by you on the basis of it.

In view of the above, my allegation of fraud, mis-representation and cheating is now conclusively proved. It is nothing less than a horror story, bordering on unbelievable. If I did not see the documents, I would not have believed that Birla Sun Life India is issuing life insurance policies based on documents forged on Government of India stationery on which the National Emblem is printed, even incorporating stamp of Income Tax Department and forging the hapless customers' signature on it without their knowledge. Since you do not incorporate scanned copy of this document in the Policy, the customer has no way of knowing that such gigantic fraud has been perpetrated. Looking at the meticulousness of the fraud, I hope such incidences are not systemic. The vicarious liability for such acts of its Agents fall squarely on BSLI- reinforcing my point on corporate (mis)governance.

 plan to ponder on my action plan regarding the case, in view of the stunning findings of today's evening. Meanwhile, I hope to hear from you, on an urgent basis, the decision of your company regarding this case. According to me, the Policy has lost the ground on which it is supposed to stand, and therefore the only option left to discuss (among the three originally listed by me) is of refund of premium paid, along with interest and compensation.

Warm Regards,

ZZZ

 

 

From: CGRO
To: UUU
Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 11:52 AM
Subject: FW: Policy Number XXX / Reference ID: XXX

Dear Mr XXX

Please find the email copy below which was sent to you on August 03, 2012.

As discussed, you shall receive the physical copy of the cheque’s in this week itself. Also for your information on receipt of both the cheque’s at my end, I shall arrange to send the scanned copies of the cheque’s to your email id. You may get in touch with me on my direct landline number mentioned below.

Warm regards,

XXX

Priority Handling Team
Customer Service
Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Tel : 022-39961450
(Toll Free): 1-800-270-7000
Timing: 9 am- 9 pm (MONDAY TO SATURDAY)
Website: www.birlasunlife.com

 

 

From: CGRO
To: UUU
Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 4:35 PM
Subject: Policy Number XXX / Reference ID: XXX

Dear Mr XXX,

This is in response to the concerns raised by you and our subsequent telephonic conversation with respect to policy number XXX.

As desired, please find the scanned image of the cheque’s that would be dispatched to our Kolkata branch today. The branch shall receive the cheque’s latest by tomorrow evening. Our branch personnel shall contact you on your contact number post receipt of the cheque’s, to check your availability and shall ensure that the cheque’s are handed over to you.

Further note that I shall send a formal acknowledgement to you vide email, on receipt of the relevant documents that shall be submitted by you on receipt of the refund cheque’s.

If our response is not as per your expectations, you can contact the Ombudsman Office located nearest to you. Please refer to your policy document for further details in this regard. In case we do not receive a reply within 8 weeks from the date of our response, your concern will be considered as resolved.

In case you require any information or assistance, our customer service executives would be glad to help you. Please feel free to get in touch with us at your convenience on the touch points mentioned below.

Kindly visit our website or the nearest branch for assistance in registration of your updated contact information.

It is our endeavor to enhance your financial future by providing you the best services at all times.

Warm Regards,

XXX

On Behalf Of Chief Grievance Redressal Officer
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited.
(Toll Free): 1-800-270-7000
Timing: 9 am- 9 pm (MONDAY TO SATURDAY)
Website: www.birlasunlife.com
Registered Address : One Indiabulls Centre, Tower-1, 15th floor, Jupiter Mill Compound, 841, S.B. Marg, Elphinstone Road, Mumbai - 400 013.