A social media post by Vinay Shanker Prasad has brought renewed scrutiny on refund delays at Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited, with allegations that depositors are being issued unjustified “deficiency intimations.”
In his post, Prasad stated that both he and his son received identical deficiency notices despite submitting all required documents accurately through the official portal. The notices cited discrepancies such as mismatch in Aadhaar name, incorrect account number, membership number, and even society name.
He maintained that all details were entered exactly as per official documents, including passbooks and certificates, terming the objections “baseless.” The duplication of notices, he argued, suggests that such intimations may be generated without proper verification.
Prasad further alleged that these repeated objections are delaying refunds, even as the society maintains that payments are being processed.
The post highlights growing frustration among depositors, with calls for greater transparency and a more robust verification and grievance redressal mechanism to ensure timely settlement of claims.
This report is absolutely accurate. In Darjeeling alone, numerous depositors—myself included—face the same repetitive errors on both the original and the new resubmission portals. Despite claims that the new portal facilitates smoother claims, it appears to be a stalling tactic. Common errors, such as ‘membership number mismatch’ or ‘data not yet submitted by the society,’ seem designed to delay the return of our principal investment.
While we have already lost years of potential market returns, simply recovering our original capital has become an exhausting ordeal. The government should station dedicated officials in every state to facilitate physical verification. The current digital-only approach is a ‘cumbersome hurdle’ that effectively excludes the elderly and rural depositors who lack the technical literacy to navigate these glitches. We need physical helpdesks, not more ‘goli’ (empty promises) and dysfunctional websites.”
We need accountability and a human point of contact, not a screen that says ‘Error- ‘ every time we ask for our own money- with messages that says- This is not matching and that is not matching’ even while we are writing all details accurately from the certificate itself”