Booking app to pay Rs 21,000 for not refunding cancelled flight ticket

Complaint before commission

According to the complainant, he had booked return flight tickets between Chandigarh and Srinagar through Paytm by paying Rs 6,484 for the return journey scheduled for April 7, 2020. However, the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown led to the suspension of flights.

He alleged that the ticket amount was never returned despite repeated emails to Go Airlines and the booking platform. Alleging deficiency in service, he approached the consumer commission seeking a refund, compensation and litigation costs.

Go Airlines, in its defence, denied the allegations of deficiency and said that it had introduced a “protect your PNR” policy allowing passengers to use the fare amount for future bookings. It further stated that after the validity period expired, it processed the refund and transferred the amount to the complainant’s travel agent.

On the other hand, Paytm argued that it had attempted to refund the amount twice by sending refund links to the complainant, but he failed to claim the money before the links expired. It further said that the delay in receiving the refund was attributable to the complainant.

Relief granted

The commission observed that Paytm could have obtained the complainant’s bank account details and directly credited the amount. The commission also noted that even after the complaint was filed, Paytm chose to contest the case instead of releasing the refund.

The commission also took note of Paytm’s stand that they had tried to refund but due to a technical error the refund could not be completed.

The commission held that it was Paytm’s responsibility to ensure the refund reached the consumer and that its failure to do so amounted to a deficiency in service.

The commission therefore directed Paytm to pay the refund amount and also awarded Rs 10,000 as compensation for harassment and Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs.

“Since complainant was unnecessarily harassed by the opposite party No.2 and he was forced to file the present complaint, therefore, the opposite party No.2 is further directed to pay compensation of Rs 10,000 and litigation cost to the tune of Rs 5,000 to complainant,” the order read.

Takeaway

The ruling underscores that online travel booking platforms cannot evade responsibility for refunds once they have received the money from airlines.

Aggrieved consumers may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states (Himachal Pradesh helpline: 1800-180-8087) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.