A district consumer commission has ordered Sri Lankan Airlines to give a passenger ₹3.35 lakh as compensation for a lost bag, mental agony and litigation costs. The commission observed that the passenger was in a different country and the bag lost by the airline led to a lot of problems for him.
The order dated Dec 20, (uploaded Jan 20) was passed by Sneha S Mhatre (president) and DS Paradkar (member) of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, South Mumbai, on a complaint by Vile Parle resident Hardik Patel against Sri Lankan Airlines Ltd.
Patel had booked tickets with the airline for himself and five other family members from Mumbai to Colombo. They flew on Mar 23, 2016. A total of five bags went with the family but when they reached Colombo, only four bags were found.
One bag was lost and they instantly informed the authorities concerned. Besides other valuables, there was an DSLR camera. Patel was told that the moment the bag is found, they will be informed about it.
However, even after 12 hours he was not informed and there was not enough response from customer care either. Later, in an email, Patel shared his number to be contacted once the bag is found but even after reaching Mumbai, there was no response from the airlines.
Airline offered to pay just ₹20,000
The airline approached Patel and offered to pay US$300 (approximately ₹20,000 as per order). Since the compensation was not adequate, he refused to take it and instead filed a consumer complaint seeking ₹4 lakh for the lost bag, besides other compensation.
During the hearing, the commission observed that Patel could prove items worth ₹3.03 lakh for the bag with 8% interest from the date of filing, besides ₹25,000 towards mental agony and litigation cost, to be given in 30 days from the order.
