Closing a deposit account

(i) Closure at customer’s requestA customer is entitled to terminate the relationship with a bank by applying for closing the deposit account if he/she is not satisfied with the services of the bank or for any other reason e.g. transfer/relocating to another place.

(ii) Closure of accounts by bankA banker may close account or stop operation on a customer’s deposit account in any of the following cases, by giving reasonable notice to the customer, wherever necessary:

(a) An Account may be closed on receipt of notice of death of the customer

(b) A oint account may also be closed on the death of anj one of the account holders and fresh account opened in the names of the surviving account holders, to avoid legal problems.

(iii) Stopping of operationsGarnishee order or order of courtsIf a bank is served with an order, to stop payments or not to allow operations in an account, in execution of a decree of a court ,a garnishee order, or by Income Tax authority, the bank would immediately note a ‘caution’ in the account and stop payment of cheques or debits to the account, until the order is lifted in writing by the court, Income Tax department. The customer will be simultaneously advised of such order and the consequent freeze on the withdrawals from the account. It should be observed that in such cases the account operations are ‘stopped’ for temporary period of the court order and the account is not closed.