new delhi competition watchdog cci has brought under its scanner several private banks and housing finance companies including hdfc and lic housing finance for imposing penalty on prepayment of loans the commission according to a cci official is scrutinising a complaint concerning prepayment penalty from a customer against major home loan players like hdfc lic housing finance and deutsche postbank in contrast public sector banks do not charge penalty for the prescheduled foreclosure of loans the customer has said he should have the choice of repaying the loan before the scheduled period the official said however spokespersons of hdfc and lic housing finance could not be reached the complaint has been filed under section 3 of the cci act that deals with abuse of dominant position by companies although the commission has yet to take a view on the matter if the lenders were found guilty of abusing their dominant position the practice could be banned across the industry the cci he added could also penalise the lenders for adopting such practices to discourage customers from pre paying home loans market leader hdfc for example currently levies prepayment charges ranging between zero and 2 of the amount prepaid by a borrower