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Case filed against 11 travel agents for money refund to customers
Pune: A case has been filed in consumer court against 11 private travel agencies for not refunding customers post cancellation of tour due to coronavirus pandemic
Pune: A case has been filed in consumer court against 11 private travel agencies for not refunding customers post cancellation of tour due to coronavirus pandemic.
As per information provided by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, Pune, the travel agencies owe ₹2.50 crore to customers.
The cases have been filed against agencies based in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar and those operating online.
“We have received complaints from around 200 consumers whose money has not been refunded by travelling agencies. As none of them replied to our notices, we have filed a case against them in consumer court, Pune and the hearing will be conducted on February 26,” said Vijay Sagar, president, Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, who added that the legal notice was sent to all on October 27, 2020.
On request of anonymity, owner of one of the travel agencies said, “Many customers are facing this issue since last couple of months. Many agencies that unable to pay money back to consumers because their money is stuck in pre- hotel and lodging bookings. There are others who are using consumers’ money as their cash flow.”
“We are regularly receiving complaints. Some travel agencies promised to return money, but failed to do so,” Sagar said.
“We had planned a Europe trip via Kesari Tours Private Limited which was cancelled due to pandemic. When we asked for a refund, the company deducted ₹25,000 as administrative charges and gave us a credit note saying that the tour will be planned in December 2021. We cannot reschedule our trip so we are asking for a refund of ₹4.4 lakh and since there was no reply from the company, we ask help from Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat,” said Chandrahas Kulkarni.
The Pune office of Kesari Tours Private Limited did not respond to calls and texts despite repeated attempts.
