Loan Recovery Agent Harassment: RBI Rules and What to Do

Under RBI’s rules, recovery agents cannot call you before 8 am or after 7 pm. They cannot threaten or abuse you, shame you in public, or harass your family, friends or referees. If an agent does any of this, complain in writing to the lender’s grievance officer. If the lender does not resolve it within 30 days, go to the RBI Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in. Threats of injury or of ruining your reputation can also be reported to the police as criminal intimidation under Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Missing an EMI is a civil default. It does not take away your right to dignity.

What RBI’s rules say about recovery agents

RBI does not stop a bank or NBFC from recovering its money. It controls how it is done. Two sets of instructions matter today.

• The August 2022 circular on regulated entities employing recovery agents applies to banks, NBFCs and other entities regulated by RBI. It bars intimidation or harassment “of any kind, either verbal or physical”. It bars calls before 8:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m., persistent calls, threatening or anonymous calls, false or misleading representations, and inappropriate messages on mobile or social media. It also bars acts meant to publicly humiliate or intrude on the privacy of the borrower’s family members, referees and friends. RBI said breaches “will be viewed seriously”.
• The 2008 guidelines for banks require the bank to give you the recovery agency’s details. The agent must carry a copy of the bank’s notice, the authorisation letter and an identity card. Banks must have a grievance mechanism for recovery complaints. Banks should not hand a case to an agency while your grievance about it is still pending, unless they have proof that you keep filing frivolous complaints.

Microfinance loans have their own RBI directions and are outside the 2022 circular.

New rules coming from 1 January 2027

On 6 August 2026 RBI issued amendment directions for banks, co-operative banks, NBFCs, housing finance companies and all-India financial institutions, applying from 1 January 2027. They keep the 8:00 to 19:00 window and add more: notice of the recovery agency’s details at least one day before the first visit in person, recording of recovery calls kept for six months, and the grievance officer’s name, email, phone number and address on every recovery communication. Until then, the 2022 and 2008 instructions guide your complaint.

Step by step: what to do when agents harass you

1. Collect proof. Save call logs with times, message screenshots, and names of anyone who visited. Ask any visiting agent for the identity card and authorisation letter, and note the agency’s name.
2. Write to the lender’s grievance officer. Email or write to the grievance redressal officer named on the lender’s website. State the loan account number, dates and times of calls, what was said, and ask for action against the agency. Keep the complaint number.
3. Wait 30 days, then go to the RBI Ombudsman. If the lender rejects your complaint, does not reply in 30 days, or replies unsatisfactorily, file free at cms.rbi.org.in under RB-IOS 2026. File within 90 days after the lender’s reply period ends or its last reply, whichever is later. See our RBI Ombudsman guide.
4. Go to the police for threats. If an agent threatens injury, threatens to harm your reputation, or abuses you to provoke you, give a written complaint at the police station. Criminal intimidation is punishable under Section 351 of the BNS: up to two years under Section 351(2), up to seven years where the threat is of death or grievous hurt under Section 351(3), and an extra term of up to two years under Section 351(4) where the threat comes anonymously. Intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace is Section 352. If the police refuse to register an FIR, see what to do when police refuse an FIR.

Illegal loan apps: a different problem

Many harassment cases come from apps that are not linked to any RBI-regulated lender at all. Such apps often grab your contacts and photos and then send shaming messages to your relatives.

• Check before you borrow. RBI now publishes on its website a list of digital lending apps reported by regulated entities. If the app is not linked to a bank or registered NBFC, avoid it.
• Report the app. RBI’s Sachet portal, sachet.rbi.org.in, takes complaints about unauthorised entities. RBI has also asked people to report such apps and the bank accounts linked to them to law enforcement.
• Report the crime. Call 1930 or file on cybercrime.gov.in, especially if money was taken by fraud or your photos or contacts are being misused. See cyber fraud: what to do in the first hour.

Defaulting does not take away your dignity

A loan default is a civil matter. The lender can sue or use the lawful recovery routes open to it. It cannot use fear. Your right to live with dignity under Article 21 does not end because an EMI bounced. Harassment does not cancel the debt either, so complain about the conduct and, separately, discuss repayment with the lender in writing.

Example: Arjun in Indore misses three EMIs. An agent calls him at 10 pm, then calls his sister and manager calling him a fraud. Arjun emails the NBFC’s grievance officer with screenshots, and when there is no reply in 30 days, files with the RBI Ombudsman.

Frequently asked questions

Can a recovery agent call my parents or my office?

RBI bars acts that publicly humiliate or intrude on the privacy of your family, referees and friends, and bars harassment of any kind. Calls meant to shame you before relatives or colleagues are exactly what the rules forbid.

Will a complaint stop the lender from recovering the loan?

No. A complaint is about the method, not the debt. The lender can still recover through lawful means.

Can I complain to the RBI Ombudsman directly?

No. You must first complain to the lender. The Ombudsman route opens after a rejection, no reply in 30 days, or an unsatisfactory reply.

Quick quiz

Learn bank complaints, RBI remedies and your rights against harassment in the Certificate Course in Everyday Law for Every Indian (₹349).

Sources

• RBI circular RBI/2022-23/108 dated 12 August 2022: Outsourcing of Financial Services, responsibilities of regulated entities employing recovery agents
• RBI guidelines on recovery agents engaged by banks, 24 April 2008
• RBI Responsible Business Conduct amendment directions dated 6 August 2026 (effective 1 January 2027)
• Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: Sections 351 and 352
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Section 173
• RBI press release of 23 December 2020 cautioning against unauthorised digital lending platforms; RBI press release on the digital lending apps directory (2025)
• Constitution of India: Article 21

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 29 October 2026.