Missing EMIs does not take away your rights. RBI rules say banks, NBFCs and their recovery agents must not threaten, humiliate or harass you – and the lender is responsible for what its agents do.
Loan Recovery Agent Harassment Helper
Know what recovery agents can and cannot do under RBI guidelines, and create a complaint letter to your bank's grievance officer in minutes.
What recovery agents MAY do
- Call or visit you only between 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, unless you have agreed otherwise.
- Show an identity card and an authorisation letter from the bank or NBFC when they visit.
- Remind you politely about overdue payments and explain the amount due.
- Give you a receipt for any payment collected on behalf of the lender.
- Send you written notice before the lender repossesses a vehicle or property, as per the loan agreement and law.
What they may NOT do
- Threaten, abuse, intimidate or use force – verbally or physically.
- Call your family, friends, colleagues or contacts to shame you, or share your loan details with them.
- Send obscene or threatening messages, or post about you on social media.
- Call repeatedly or at odd hours, or visit at inappropriate times such as during a bereavement.
- Pretend to be police, court officers or government officials, or show fake legal documents.
- Take away property without due process.
Based on RBI fair practices and outsourcing guidelines for banks and NBFCs. Not legal advice. The letter below is created in your browser – your details are not sent to our server.
Create a complaint letter to your bank
- If you are threatened with violence or someone comes to your home, call 112 and file a police complaint. Threats and intimidation are criminal offences.
- Keep call logs, screenshots, recordings and names. Send the letter by email to the grievance officer listed on the lender's website and keep the acknowledgement.
This tool gives general legal information, not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the facts of your case and the law can change. For more details, do consult a lawyer or a subject-matter expert.
Your draft complaint letter
Draft – review by an advocate recommended.
Date: 24-10-2026
To,
The Grievance Redressal Officer / Principal Nodal Officer
________
Subject: Complaint against harassment by recovery agent – Loan / Card account ________
Sir / Madam,
I, ________, residing at ________, am a customer of ________ holding the above loan / card account.
On 22-10-2026, a recovery agent acting on your behalf (________) harassed me as described below:
________
This conduct violates the Reserve Bank of India's directions on fair practices and the conduct of recovery agents, which prohibit intimidation, threats, calls at odd hours, contacting family or friends to shame a borrower, and the use of abusive language.
I request you to:
1. Immediately stop the harassment and instruct your agents to communicate with me only in a lawful and courteous manner;
2. Share the name and authorisation of the agency engaged on my account;
3. Take appropriate action against the agent / agency; and
4. Send me a written reply within 30 days.
If I do not receive a satisfactory reply within 30 days, I will escalate this complaint to the RBI Ombudsman (https://cms.rbi.org.in) and take any other action available to me under law.
Yours faithfully,
________
Explain this result
Banks and NBFCs remain responsible for the agents they hire. RBI rules require agents to be courteous, to contact borrowers only between 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, and never to threaten, humiliate or harass borrowers or their families.
Complain first to the lender. If it does not resolve the matter within 30 days (by 23-11-2026 if you send the letter on 24-10-2026), you can complain free of charge to the RBI Ombudsman.
Frequently asked questions
At what time can recovery agents call?
RBI guidelines allow calls and visits only between 8 am and 7 pm, unless the borrower has agreed otherwise.
Can recovery agents call my family or office?
They must not contact your family, friends or colleagues to shame or pressure you, or disclose your loan details to them.
I have not repaid my loan. Can I still complain?
Yes. A default allows the lender to recover dues lawfully – it never permits harassment, threats or humiliation.
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What recovery agents cannot do
- Call or visit before 8 am or after 7 pm.
- Use threats, abusive language or physical force.
- Shame you in front of family, friends, neighbours or colleagues, or contact them to pressure you.
- Send inappropriate messages or post about you on social media.
- Refuse to show identity and the lender’s authorisation letter.
What you should do
- Record everything: dates, times, numbers, names, call recordings and screenshots.
- Complain to the lender in writing using the letter above. Address it to the grievance redressal officer.
- Escalate to the RBI Ombudsman if the lender does not reply in 30 days or the reply is unsatisfactory. Check with the RBI Ombudsman checker.
- Go to the police if there are threats of violence, intimidation at your home, or criminal intimidation online.
Loan apps
If the lender is an app, check whether it lends through an RBI-registered bank or NBFC (the app must name it). Unregistered apps are illegal – report them at sachet.rbi.org.in and to the cyber crime helpline 1930.
Still owe the money?
Your rights against harassment do not cancel the debt. Talk to the lender about restructuring or settlement – and understand how a settlement affects your credit report first.
This is general information, not legal advice. For more details, do consult a lawyer or a subject-matter expert about your own case.