Man wins Rs 10,000 after bus operator’s last-minute boarding point change leaves him stranded

‘Change in boarding point, bus left without complainant’

• Upon notice, the redBus appeared and filed their joint written statement, but no one appeared on behalf of Vijay Tour and Travels.
• Hence, Vijay Tour and Travels were proceeded against ex parte order.
• The respondents escalated the complaint with the operator, who informed the answering respondents that the complainant was informed regarding a change in the boarding point and since the complainant did not arrive on time at the boarding point, the bus left without the complainant.
• Further, the respondents are an online ticketing platform, and it only provides with operators.

• It does not operate any buses or offer transportation services to the user/customer.
• The answering respondents also do not act as an agent of any operator in the process of providing the abovementioned technology platform services.
• Further, all the facilities about the service are provided by the respective operator and answering respondents have no control over such information provided by the operator.
• There is no deficiency on the part of the answering respondents, and they prayed for dismissal of the present complaint.

Bus left from stop before time

The complainant booked ticket on line through redBus India Pvt Ltd from Khatu Shyam Ji to Panipat on April 26 and paid Rs 1993. The journey was on April 28.

According to the complainant, on April 28, he called over the phone to the assistant to ask the pick-up point in Khatu Shyam Ji, but the assistant said that the bus is not allowed to come to Khatu and that he was supposed to come in Ringas, which was 30 km away from the Khatu Shyam Ji.

The complainant took all his belongings from the guest house and boarded the taxi for Ringas with his wife. After reaching, when he again called the assistant, he said that “I ran off the bus five minutes ago. When he contacted redBus Pvt Ltd, the complainant informed redBus India through an online application, but there was no proper answer from the service provider.

redBus refunded 50% ticket price

Then, he registered his complaint in the National Consumer Forum, and after that, redBus Pvt Ltd was ready to return him only 50 per cent of the ticket and further told that the remaining 50 per cent would be returned by Vijay Tour Travel, but Vijay Tour Travel were not ready for this.

Due to this, the complainant has come to this commission with the prayer to direct the respondents to release the claim amount of Rs 1993 and to pay an amount of Rs 50,000 as compensation on account of mental pain and agony, along with Rs 1769 as litigation expenses.

The redBus contended that on the date of travel, the complainant contacted the answering respondents through the customer support service regarding a change in boarding point; however, since the complainant did not reply to the query of the customer support agent, and further, the complainant did not arrive on time at the boarding point, the bus left without the complainant.

Significance

This judgment clarifies that online platforms like redBus aren’t liable for third-party operational failures. It holds operators accountable for promised service locations. Crucially, it establishes that mere refunds are insufficient for harassment, awarding Rs 10,000 for mental agony to reinforce consumer protection

Consumers facing similar grievances may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states (Haryana contact: 1800-180-2087) or dial the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.