Indo-French couple seeks compensation from Sofitel for theft from their room

On October 31, the last day of their stay, a sum of ₹50,000 was stolen from their room by a housekeeping staff. A complaint about the incident was registered with the BKC police by Mayura’s relative after they left for France on November 15, 2022

MUMBAI: An Indo-French couple, Mayura and Claude Ritzzo, who stayed at a five-star hotel in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC)last year during the Diwali holidays, have filed a consumer complaint against the Sofitel hotel for allegedly trying to cover up ₹50,000 stolen by their staff member from the couple’s room.

Mayura and Claude Ritzzo

On October 31, the last day of their stay, a sum of ₹50,000 was stolen from their room by a housekeeping staff. A complaint about the incident was registered with the BKC police by Mayura’s relative after they left for France on November 15, 2022. The couple has now approached the consumer court to claim ₹50 lakh compensation and damages against the hotel alleging gross mishandling of the matter by the hotel management.

Mayura works with the Accor Group, that owns Sofitel, in France which is why the Ritzzo’s decided to stay in the hotel. “The theft took place on the last day of their stay despite them putting a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on their door, indicating they did not want the staff to enter the room in their absence. They noticed the money missing from the cupboard in their room when they were preparing to check,” stated the complaint.

Even when they first shared this information with the hotel staffers, they tried to downplay the situation, the complainant said. Mayura’s relatives met with the managerial staff after the Ritzzos flew back. “They kept saying that the CCTV footage shows nobody entered our room in our absence. It was my husband who is a former military policeman suggested the security staff to check the room’s key card logs,” said Mayuri.

“When they found out a staffer identified as Prashant Hosalkar had entered the room that morning, they defended him and said he was a trustworthy guy who had worked for the hotel for eleven years,” said Suresh Chandrashekhar, advocate, who is representing the couple in the court.

During the investigation, the couple claims that the hotel staffers hid information including the CCTV footage from the police. It was only after the couple insisted on getting the key card logs so that the police could arrest Hosalkar in December.

After reaching France, Mayura got in touch with senior managerial staff of the hotel on email and WhatsApp. “I found the communication of the staff members very unprofessional and callous. The incident and the legal mess caused us a great amount of mental trauma and physical stress. The seniors met us during our visit to India in February 2023, and offered a compensation of ₹5 lakh, half of which was to be spent ‘in-house’ in the BKC premises of the hotel chain,” said Mayura.

She said, she just wanted them to be professional and apologetic instead of trying to prevent a police complaint, legal action or bad publicity.

In response to subsequent legal notices served by the couple, the hotel’s representative went on to dispute the claims of the complainants and evade responsibility. “They even blamed my clients for the theft, disregarding the fact that they are responsible for the safety of belongings of the guests inside their rooms. They even said that the guests are asking for ‘highly exaggerated’ compensation instead of accepting what they were generously offered. They have repeatedly expressed doubts about the delay in taking the complaint forward despite knowing that the complainants live on another continent,” said advocate Chandrashekhar, adding that the Ritzzo’s are justified in claiming a compensation of ₹50 lakh.

When contacted, a representative of the hotel said, “The team at Sofitel Mumbai BKC is providing its unwavering support to local authorities during the investigation. The safety and well-being of our guests remains our utmost priority.”