MakeMyTrip fined for refusing refund of cancelled Europe tour
Ishrat S Banwait
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 19
MakeMyTrip India Private Limited has been asked to pay over Rs 1.50 lakh to a consumer for refusing refund of a tour he never took.
City resident Sanjeev Gaba was planning a tour to Switzerland and France but his visa application was declined. On informing the travel firm, they refused to refund the money paid to them.
In his complaint to the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Gaba stated that he had approached the firm for planning his tour and paid a sum of Rs 1.24 lakh towards a package for five nights and six days in Switzerland and France. He added that he was assured that in case the tour was cancelled due to any reason, his money would be refunded.
It was averred that the complainant provided every document as demanded and also applied for tourist visa of Switzerland under the instructions and directions of the firm. However, the visa to Switzerland was not granted to the complainant. He thus sought refund but the firm refused to pay.
In its reply, MakeMyTrip stated that in the ‘user agreement’, it was clearly mentioned under head “Visa obligations of the user” that the travel booking done by the firm was subject to applicable requirements of visa, which is to be obtained by the individual traveller and opposite parties are hence not responsible for any issues and is also not liable to refund for the untravelled booking due to any such reasons.
It was also stated that the visa application of the complainant was rejected by Swiss Embassy and thereafter, he sought refund from them but since the amount paid by the complainant has been paid to the respective vendors, hence no refund or adjustment is possible. The firm added that the opposite parties had already provided confirmed air tickets and hotel bookings and the denial of visa is not under their domain.
The forum observed that as per records, the complainant’s visa processing was done by the opposite parties. They were well aware of the commencement date of the tour package in question and that the Swiss Embassy had rejected the complainant’s visa application. The judgment reads, “It is totally an illegal move of the opposite parties to collect the booking amount for a tour programme where no visa was granted to the person concerned.”
The forum in its order stated that there was nothing on record to show that the complainant was ever apprised of the terms of the ‘user agreement’ or at any point of time his signatures were obtained on such document. “There is nothing on record to show that the complainant was ever intimated about the non-refund policy,” the order reads.
The order further reads, “Moreover, how can the confirmed air tickets be issued when there is no clarity whether the person concerned would be successful in getting visa.”
The firm was thus directed to refund Rs 1.24 lakh and pay a compensation of Rs 20,000, along with litigation cost of Rs 7,000, to the complainant.
