Court Orders Easypaisa to Refund Rs40,000 After Unauthorized Transactions

PESHAWAR: A consumer court has ordered Easypaisa Digital Bank to immediately refund Rs40,000 that was allegedly transferred illegally from a citizen’s account, along with Rs25,000 in compensation for mental distress, inconvenience and legal expenses.

Consumer Court Judge Nasrullah Gandapur issued a written ex parte judgment on a petition filed against unauthorized transactions from an Easypaisa account.

The court also ordered Easypaisa Digital Bank to pay Rs25,000 to the government as a fine over negligence in protecting the customer’s funds.

According to the judgment, 10th-grade student Fahadur Rehman had filed the petition under the Consumer Protection Act. He told the court that on February 14, he went to withdraw Rs50,000 for household needs but found only Rs11,000 in his account.

Upon checking his account history, the petitioner discovered that three separate unauthorized transactions had been made from his account. He maintained that he had neither carried out the transactions nor authorized anyone else to make them.

According to the petitioner, his account had not been hacked and he had also received no transaction notifications from Easypaisa. He contacted the Easypaisa helpline for assistance but failed to receive a satisfactory response.

No representative of Easypaisa Digital Bank appeared before the court, following which the court proceeded with the case ex parte. The petitioner submitted documentary evidence, transaction receipts, emails and copies of legal notices in support of his claim.

In its judgment, the court held that Easypaisa Digital Bank had failed to adequately protect its electronic payment system and the customer’s funds.

The court consequently directed the bank to refund the Rs40,000 allegedly transferred without authorization and pay Rs25,000 in compensation to the petitioner, in addition to the Rs25,000 fine imposed on the bank for negligence.