Hyderabad: The Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission fined MakeMyTrip Rs 10,237 for failing to repay a passenger’s fare and provide travel insurance.
The Commission ordered MakeMyTrip to reimburse complainant Thandra Karnakar, after he cancelled his flight. The company has to reimburse the ticket cost of Rs 4,058 plus Rs 179 for insurance, plus interest at the rate of 12% per year from the date the flight was booked till the date the refund was made.
MakeMyTrip has also been compelled to pay Rs 1,000 in fees and Rs 5,000 as compensation. Further, the company has been granted 45 days to abide by the ruling.
Karnakar, a Secunderabad resident, complained to MakeMyTrip’s manager on July 15, 2021.
According to the complaint, he paid Rs 4,058 through MakeMyTrip for a ticket from Patna to Hyderabad on April 18, 2021, as well as Rs 179 for travel insurance from Reliance General Insurance. The departure for Karnakar was set for May 6, 2021. He, however, needed to cancel the flight owing to a personal situation.
He called Reliance General Insurance to get a refund, and they directed him to MakeMyTrip. On the other side, MakeMyTrip advised him to contact Reliance alone because it was not their responsibility.
Karnakar requested MakeMyTrip for the insurance policy information so he could claim it from Reliance. But he received no response from MakeMyTrip. Karnakar was later informed that Reliance handled both his travel insurance and their refund policy.
Later, he complained to the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission after feeling cheated.
Notices were given to the opposing parties. But throughout the proceedings, they were not present for the hearing.
The Commission concluded after detailed consideration that Karnakar earned the appropriate compensation.
“The plaintiff had severe mental torment in this regard, in addition to physical agony as a result of their actions. The transaction caused the complainant harm, and the opposing parties willfully betrayed the faith that their clients had placed in them by defrauding the complainant and failing to provide the promised level of service. We believe that the opposing parties are jointly responsible for refunding the price of the airline ticket charges, as well as any applicable interest, costs, and damages,” the Commission declared.
