E-Paper
Deficiency in service: Consumer panel asks travel portal to pay ₹60K to Chandigarh man
The plaintiff had applied for a tourist visa for two people through the firm; however, one of the applications was rejected twice, following which he requested the firm to cancel the booking and refund the amount, which was denied
The district consumer disputes redressal commission, Chandigarh, has ordered a travel firm to pay ₹60,000 to a city resident on account of deficiency in service.
Anil Grover, a resident of Sector 50, had made a booking through MakeMyTrip India Private Limited on October 21, 2018, for an international holiday package to Dubai from December 2 to December 7, 2018. He made an initial payment of ₹43,000 and applied for a tourist visa for two people through the firm. However, one of the applications was rejected twice, following which Grover requested the firm to cancel the booking and refund the amount, which was denied. The consumer commission was approached on January, 21
The firm had told court that it facilitates confirmation of the booking and would not have any obligation or liability towards visa services. Hence, there was no deficiency in service or unfair trade practice on their part.
The panel observed that trip was purely dependent on the issuance of visa and it was the responsibility of the firm to make fully-refundable bookings and apply for the visa on time. “ (It) ..being a giant travel company needs to design their package and refund policy better, keeping in mind the visa processing time and the possibility of a rejection. The complainants should not be penalised if the trip was cancelled solely on account of visa rejection, which was a pre-requisite for travel,” the commission said, adding that the firm had industry expertise, connections and time to make non-refundable bookings. Thus, it is a case of deficiency in service, it said.
Now it has been ordered that travel firm will refund an amount of ₹44,835 along with interest at the rate 9% per annum from the date of payment and pay ₹10,000 as compensation and make another payment of ₹7,000 as cost of litigation. It has been ordered that decision be complied with within 30 days, failing which, rate of interest would go up by three percent.
