For recovery of overdue loans, the Reserve Bank of India’s August 12, 2022 recovery-agent circular prohibits calls before 8:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. It also separately prohibits persistent calls and harassment: being within those hours does not make intimidation, privacy intrusions, threats, or misleading claims acceptable. The circular covers specified RBI-regulated entities, not every creditor or every loan.
Who does the RBI recovery-agent circular cover?
The RBI circular Outsourcing of Financial Services – Responsibilities of regulated entities employing Recovery Agents, issued August 12, 2022, applies to these named categories:
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- Commercial banks other than Payments Banks
- All-India financial institutions
- Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), including housing finance companies
- Primary (Urban) Cooperative Banks, State Cooperative Banks, and District Central Cooperative Banks
- Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs)
The circular expressly excludes microfinance loans covered by the RBI’s separate Regulatory Framework for Microfinance Loans Directions, 2022. It should not be treated as a rule governing every creditor or loan. If you are unsure which category your lender or loan falls into, check the applicable RBI directions and ask the lender to identify the entity responsible for the account.
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Under the August 12, 2022 circular, calls for recovery of overdue loans before 8:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. are prohibited for the regulated entities within its scope. The stated limits concern calls; the circular also lists other conduct restrictions that apply independently of the time of day.
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The same circular prohibits verbal or physical intimidation and harassment; public humiliation; intrusions into the privacy of family members, referees, or friends; inappropriate messages by mobile phone or social media; threatening or anonymous calls; and false or misleading representations. It also prohibits persistent calls, without setting a numerical maximum in the cited text. The RBI says violations will be viewed seriously.
How many times can a recovery agent call?
The cited circular does not establish a permitted number of calls per day or week. Instead, it prohibits persistent calls. That means the 8:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. window is not a call quota or a safe harbour for repeated contact: a call made during permitted hours can still breach the conduct rules if it is persistent, threatening, harassing, or otherwise prohibited.
Who is responsible for an outsourced recovery agent?
The regulated entity remains responsible for its outsourced recovery work, including the actions of recovery agents. The 2022 circular states that “the ultimate responsibility for their outsourced activities vests with them” and that they are responsible for service providers including recovery agents. A lender therefore cannot treat outsourcing, by itself, as a reason that agent conduct falls outside its responsibility.
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How do I verify a recovery agent?
Ask the lender—not only the caller—to confirm that the person or agency is authorized to handle your account. RBI’s bank guidance describes bank procedures that include informing borrowers about the recovery agency and requiring agents to carry notice and authorization along with identification. Those are bank-specific operational details in the bank guidance; confirm the current directions that apply to your bank and account.
If the loan is digitally originated or serviced, the RBI’s September 2, 2022 digital-lending directions add specific disclosure requirements: the regulated entity must communicate the authorized Lending Service Provider’s recovery-agent details at sanction, and when recovery responsibilities are transferred to an LSP or the responsible LSP changes. A caller’s assertion alone is not a substitute for confirmation through the lender’s official contact channel.
How can I complain about harassment?
Start with the responsible lender
Record the date, time, number, and nature of each contact, and preserve messages or other relevant evidence. Contact the lender through a channel it identifies as official, describe the conduct, and request a complaint reference and written response. RBI’s bank guidance describes a borrower grievance mechanism and agent training, and says banks should not refer a case to recovery agencies while a borrower complaint is pending until it is finally disposed of—except where the bank is convinced, with appropriate proof, that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious. These procedural details are bank guidance; check the current applicable directions for your lender.
Use the digital-lending route where it applies
For digital lending, the RBI directions require suitable grievance officers and complaint facilities. If an eligible complaint is not resolved within the stipulated period—currently stated in those directions as 30 days—the borrower can lodge it through the RBI Complaint Management System (CMS) under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), provided the regulated entity and complaint are covered by that scheme. The 30-day period is not a guarantee that every unresolved complaint qualifies for Ombudsman review.
How the three RBI rule contexts differ
| Rule context | Who or what it covers | Relevant caller conduct or disclosure | Complaint or verification point |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 12, 2022 recovery-agent circular | Specified banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, cooperative banks, and ARCs; microfinance loans under the separate microfinance directions are excluded. | Prohibits persistent calls and calls before 8:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. for overdue-loan recovery, as well as specified forms of harassment and misrepresentation. | The regulated entity retains responsibility for recovery agents. The circular’s stated limits do not establish a numeric call allowance. |
| RBI bank recovery-agent guidance | Banks addressed by the bank guidance. | Describes bank procedures for informing borrowers about an agency, agent notice and authorization with identification, call recording, and agent due diligence. | Describes a bank grievance mechanism and the restriction on referring a case during a pending complaint, subject to the stated frivolous-or-vexatious exception. Check current applicable directions. |
| September 2, 2022 digital-lending directions | Digital lending by regulated entities and functions performed by their LSPs, including recovery. | Requires disclosure of authorized recovery-agent details at sanction and when recovery responsibility is transferred or the responsible LSP changes. | Requires suitable grievance officers and complaint facilities; eligible unresolved complaints may be taken to RBI CMS under RB-IOS if the entity and complaint are covered. |
What to do if the lender or loan category is unclear
Ask the lender to identify the regulated entity that owns or services the account, the recovery agency’s authorization, and the grievance channel for a complaint. The circulars cover different groups and situations; do not assume that one rule set applies to every loan. For a specific dispute that remains unresolved, a qualified Indian legal adviser can assess the facts and the directions that apply.
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