Mumbai: Consumer forum asks travel agency to pay Rs 1 lakh for deficient service

A city consumer forum recently ordered a travel booking firm to pay Rs 75,000 which it had promised to pay the customer for their deficient service but had not kept their word. Additionally the firm will now have to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for mental, physical and financial agony it caused him.

The complainant Arvind Sawant had paid around Rs 1.63 lakh to the travel agency based in Kurla for a trip to London, Paris and Florence and additionally Rs 95,000 for other costs that included hotel bookings.

In his complaint to the Consumer Forum he said that though he had made the booking three to four months in advance, the agency did not book the flight from Paris to Florence. Due to this, he had to shell out Rs 56,000 from his own pocket for booking the flight. Thereafter, Sawant found that the agency had not booked the hotel either at Florence. Here again, he spent Rs 17,000 from his wallet. His woes did not end here, as the agency, had changed his airline for the flight from Florence to London, he said. He had to spend over Rs 8,000 for a cab to take him to a different terminal to board the flight.

The Forum observed that the agency despite notice did not appear before it. It recorded in its order that the agency had shown deficiency in service in matters of making accommodation arrangements, reservation for flight journey and by changing flight tickets. It said that complainant had to suffer mental, physical and financial hardships while abroad. Though the agency had given in writing on a stamp paper that they would return an amount of Rs 1 lakh to Sawant, they did not return the amount fully, it said. The agency had paid only Rs. 25,000. Also, that the cheque they had given, did not realise, due to which the complainant had to go to court, it stated.

Declaring the agency deficient in service and indulging in unfair trade practice, the Forum ordered it to pay the balance of Rs 75,000 at an interest of 9 per cent per annum from the time the complaint was filed before the forum and a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for the agony caused. It also ordered Rs 5,000 to be paid as litigation cost.

THE VERDICT

• Forum recorded in its order that the agency had shown deficiency in service in matters of making accommodation arrangements, reservation for flight journey and by changing flight tickets
   
• It said that complainant had to suffer mental, physical and financial hardships while abroad