Consumer forum directs MakeMyTrip to pay Rs 10 lakh to group of travellers

HYDERABAD: A district consumer forum here directed MakeMyTrip, an online travel company, to refund Rs 4.48 lakh and pay an additional Rs 5 lakh as compensation to a group of travellers for collecting booking amount even before the visa was granted. Apart from refund and compensation, Rs 20,000 was awarded towards cost of the complainants.
Vijay Mor and Vishal Gupta booked a tour package to South Africa offered by MakeMyTrip and paid Rs 2,05,500 and Rs 2,42,800 respectively. The tour was scheduled between September 21 and 30, 2017 with seven of them travelling to South Africa.
Four days prior to the departure, the complainants said they received an email from the travel firm that all their visas were rejected though they had submitted the necessary documents to MakeMyTrip by September 4, 2017. Asserting that they had to incur a huge loss and face disappointment due to last minute cancellation, they filed the complaint against MakeMyTrip for luring customers with false promises.
MakeMyTrip representatives, however, contended that they cannot be held liable for rejection of visas as the complainants had failed to submit satisfactory proof of funds. They further said the company offered to refund against both the booking IDs which, they said, was rejected by the complainants.
During the trial, Hyderabad III consumer forum noticed that the brochure of the firm clearly stated that ‘visa included’ for processing a consumer’s travel documents. “This clearly means that visa will be processed by them and it is their responsibility that documents submitted should be properly checked prior to submission to the embassy,” said the forum.
“They were well aware of the commencement date of tour package and it is illegal to collect booking amount before the visa is granted. They are in this business and should be more aware of the requirements instead of wrecking consumers’ dreams of going on exotic holidays. Since the disaster could have been averted with a more professional approach, they are directed to refund money and pay compensation as well,” it said.