Cancelled ticket: Travel portal to pay patron Rs 63,000

CHENNAI: District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai (north) on Sunday directed online travel services facilitator MakeMyTrip to pay a sum of Rs 63,000 as compensation to a customer whose ticket was cancelled mistakenly by the firm.
V Natraj, of Coimbatore, moved the forum seeking compensation from the website for deficiency in services. Natraj and his friendPramothhadbooked flightticketson July 29,2015 through the Chennai office of the company, to travel from Chennai to New Delhi on August 28 and was charged Rs 12,098 for the same.

However,Pramoth’stravel plan had to be dropped due to personal reasons and a day before their scheduled flight, Natraj cancelled his friend’s ticket through MakeMyTrip’s website, according to the petition. MakeMyTrip, however,cancelledNatraj’s ticket instead, and refunded a sum of Rs 3,799 after collecting a penalty, the petitioner stated, adding that he learned of the cancellation of histicketonly on the day of travel through the airlines’ customer care. Following this,hehadtobook a ticket again on August 28, spending Rs 8,994, Natraj claimed.

On July 14, 2016, Natraj movedtheconsumer forum seeking a compensation from the travel company for the inconvenience.

MakeMyTrip, in their counter petition, said that for proper adjudication of the matter, it is imperative that the concerned airlines also be impleaded to file their version of the incident. While accepting the petitioner’s claim that his ticketwaserroneously cancelled instead of his friend’s, the company stated thatthewrong cancellation was done by the airlines and that they had processed a full refund and the same was confirmed by airlines via an email on October 2, 2016.

The consumer forum bench said, “The opposite parties themselves admitting the wrongful cancellation of the complainant’s ticket instead of his friend’s, proves that they have committed deficiency,” the forum said.

The forum directed the company to pay a sum of Rs 50,000 as compensation, apart from refunding the last minute ticket amount of Rs 8,299 and a sum of ₹5,000 towards litigation expenses.