How do I complain about loan recovery agent harassment?

A loan recovery agent harassment complaint can be made against a bank, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), a housing finance company or a loan app, and against the agency it engaged. The lender remains responsible for what its recovery agents do. Owing money is a civil matter: the lender can remind you, demand payment and take legal action, but it cannot threaten, shame or use force.

RBI rules on recovery agents: what is not allowed

The Reserve Bank of India has required since 2022 (now carried in its Responsible Business Conduct Directions for each type of lender) that lenders and their agents must not:

• call or visit before 8 am or after 7 pm;
• use intimidation or harassment of any kind, verbal or physical, against the borrower or guarantor;
• harass or publicly humiliate your family members, referees, friends or co-workers, or intrude on their privacy;
• send threatening or anonymous calls, or inappropriate messages on mobile or social media;
• make false statements about the debt or about what will happen if you do not pay (for example, that you will be arrested at once).

The Supreme Court has also condemned the use of muscle power to recover loans or seize vehicles; repossession must follow the loan agreement and the law.

New RBI recovery rules from 1 January 2027

On 6 August 2026, the RBI issued amendment directions titled "Conduct of Regulated Entities in Recovery of Loans and Engagement of Recovery Agents" for commercial, small finance, regional rural and co-operative banks, all-India financial institutions, NBFCs and housing finance companies. They take effect on 1 January 2027. Key points:

• Contact only between 8 am and 7 pm, unless you ask for another time; requests to avoid a particular time are generally to be honoured.
• Dues may be discussed only with the borrower or guarantor.
• Visits at a place you choose; home or workplace visits only if you choose none or miss two successive appointments. No visits during bereavement, medical emergencies or marriage functions.
• The lender must tell you the recovery agency's details one day before the first visit, and inform you if the agency changes.
• Agents must show an ID card and an authorisation letter carrying the grievance officer's details, and must have completed the prescribed training and certification.
• Recovery calls are to be recorded and kept for the period the directions prescribe; you should be told the call is recorded.
• No posting of your details or recordings on social media.
• Locking of a phone or device financed by the loan only if the agreement allows it, not before 30 days overdue, with incoming calls, SMS and emergency SOS always available, and release within one hour of payment. Wrongful locking attracts compensation of ₹250 per hour.
• The lender's recovery policy must provide compensation for losses caused by recovery action that breaks these rules.

Until 1 January 2027 the existing rules above continue to apply.

Loan recovery agent harassment complaint: step by step

1. Stay calm and ask for identity. Ask the caller or visitor for their name, agency, the lender's authorisation letter and the loan account number. Do not hand over cash without a receipt.
2. Keep evidence. Record calls (note the date, time and number), take screenshots of messages, save voicemails, and write down the names of anyone visited or contacted. Ask relatives and colleagues who were contacted to save the messages too.
3. Write to the lender. Email the grievance redressal officer or nodal officer (their details are on the lender's website and must appear in recovery communications). Describe each incident, attach evidence, ask the lender to stop the conduct and to confirm the amount due. Keep the complaint reference number.
4. Complain to the RBI Ombudsman. If the lender does not reply within 30 days, or rejects the complaint, file under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026 (in force from 1 July 2026) at cms.rbi.org.in, by email to crpc@rbi.org.in, or by post to the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre, RBI, Chandigarh. Filing is free; the helpline is 14448. File within 90 days of the lender's final reply or the end of the 30-day period. The scheme covers banks and larger NBFCs; the Ombudsman can award up to ₹3 lakh for harassment and loss of time. See banking complaints in Odisha.
5. Go to the police for threats or abuse (below).

Police complaint against a recovery agent in Odisha

Harassment can be a crime under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), for example criminal intimidation (Section 351), intentional insult to provoke a breach of the peace (Section 352), defamation (Section 356), extortion (Section 308), wrongful restraint, trespass, or stalking and insulting the modesty of a woman (Sections 78 and 79). Call 112 in an emergency. Otherwise give a written complaint at the police station with your evidence and ask for an FIR; see how to file an FIR in Odisha. Keep a copy with the receipt stamp.

Loan apps sending messages to your contacts

Many complaints in Odisha involve instant loan apps that copy a phone's contact list and send abusive or morphed messages. RBI rules do not allow lending apps of regulated lenders to access contacts or photos, and the RBI publishes a directory of digital lending apps used by regulated entities on its website. If the app is not linked to a regulated lender, it is likely illegal:

• report cyber harassment or fraud on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in; see cyber crime complaints in Odisha;
• report an unregistered lender on the RBI's Sachet portal;
• warn your contacts not to pay anyone who messages them, and do not pay amounts beyond what you actually borrowed without written accounts.

Dealing with the debt itself

A harassment complaint does not cancel a genuine debt. Ask the lender in writing for a statement of account, and explore restructuring or a one-time settlement in writing. If the lender files a case, a cheque bounce case or a SARFAESI notice has its own procedure and deadlines. A settled account may show as "settled" in your credit report. If you cannot afford a lawyer, see free legal aid in Odisha; information on related work is under consumer matters.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• RBI press release: amendment directions on recovery of loans and recovery agents (6 August 2026)
• RBI Complaint Management System (Integrated Ombudsman)
• Salient features of the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
• RBI Sachet portal: report unauthorised deposit-taking and lending

General information, not legal advice. Every matter turns on its own facts and documents, and the law and official procedures change. Check the current position with the concerned office, or take advice on your own facts, before acting.