A Bandra consumer commission has asked a holiday package firm to refund Rs. 3.33 lakhs and pay Rs. 50,000 as compensation to a couple who lost on their foreign trip booked eight months in advance. The firm had cancelled their trip when they refused to pay an additional charge for an alternative flight booking when the Jet Airways flight the firm had booked was cancelled as the airline closed.
In their complaint registered before the commission in 2019, the Andheri-based couple Shirish Shetye and Sandhya Shetye said they had paid Rs. 3.33L to the Vidyavihar-based firm in Sep 2018. The international tour package that was scheduled from May 30, 2019 included food, stay and travel among other facilities. The couple complained that ten days before the tour, the firm informed them that their Mumbai to Manchester flight of Jet Airways was cancelled as the airline had closed and hence, that they would have to pay an additional Rs. 55,000 for another booking. The couple refused to pay the charge as they had paid for the tour nine months in advance. The firm, they complained, cancelled their tour as they refused to make the payment. It also refused to refund their money. The couple said they lost on the planned tour they looked forward to and hence that apart from a refund, they should be paid Rs. 5 lakhs in compensation.
The holiday firm Veena Patil Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. told the commission in its response that the allegations were false. It also said it is prepared to return 25 percent of their amount after cutting 75 percent for cancelling the tour.
The commission held that it was necessary for the firm to refund some of the amount, as per their own terms and conditions, but it did not do so. It said the couple had booked the trip eight to nine months in advance and as per the notifications of the firm, had made preparations for the holiday, from time to time. Only because they refused to pay the additional airfare, it had cancelled their trip. The commission then ordered the firm to refund their payment with 8 percent interest p.a from Oct 2018 and also pay Rs. 50,000 compensation for mental and physical agony caused, within 30 days of its order.
