Passports damaged, Switzerland anniversary trip cancelled, travel agency to pay Rs 4 lakh

Why did the commission award compensation?

According to the complainant, he had booked an eight-night, nine-day European tour for himself and his wife in 2018. He later added London to the itinerary and advanced the departure date. The couple planned to be in Switzerland to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. It was stated that they paid a total of Rs 3,02,971 to the travel agency and handed over the couple’s original passports and other documents for visa processing.

According to the complaint, the couple discovered that their passports were damaged when they visited the visa application centre for their visa biometrics. Subsequently, the couple learnt that their visa applications had been rejected. They then applied for re-issuance of their passports under the Tatkal scheme, but were informed that the new passports could not be issued before the scheduled departure.

The complainant sought a refund of the amount paid, but the company demanded additional money towards the tour and cancellation charges. The travel agency denied damaging the passports and argued that its role was limited to assisting with visa applications. It said that the grant or rejection of visas was entirely at the discretion of the concerned authorities and that its booking terms permitted forfeiture of the booking amount in case of visa rejection.

The commission found that that the complainant had repeatedly informed the company about the damaged passports, including through emails and a legal notice in 2020. However, the company had not denied the allegation until it filed its written version in January 2021.

“A commercial organisation faced with a written accusation that its staff had damaged a customer’s passport would be expected to repudiate it at once. The first denial came in the written version filed in January 2021, nearly two and a half years later. Conduct of that kind is a relevant circumstance and tells against the opposite party,” the order read.

The commission held, on a preponderance of probabilities, that the passports were damaged while in the company’s custody and that the visas were refused on that account.

On the company’s claim for cancellation charges, the commission held that a party could not invoke a forfeiture clause when the tour failed because of its own default.

Holding the travel agency liable for deficiency in service, the commission directed it to refund the entire Rs 3,02,971, along with Rs 1 lakh compensation and Rs 25,000 litigation costs, within 45 days.

Takeaway

Tour operators must take reasonable care of passports and other documents entrusted to them for visa processing. They cannot rely on standard visa-rejection or cancellation clauses to avoid liability when the failure is attributable to their own negligence.

Consumers facing similar grievances may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states (West Bengal: 033–2252–0448) or dial the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.