The District Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on a leading travel portal yatra.com for not fulfilling the commitments made during the booking. The verdict was pronounced by forum president Sanjay Patil, members Nitin Gharde and Chandrika Bais. Nagpur based physician Dr Tushar Pande had booked air tickets for Andaman and Nicobar Islands in December 2016 through the portal.
They also booked hotel through yatra.com and planned their trip accordingly. They were assured of good service and facilities at the islands at the time of booking. However, upon reaching the there, they found that the facilities offered were not up to the mark. Ticket to Havlock was not confirmed. When Dr Pande approached the portal, he was told that tickets could not be confirmed due to heavy rush and there was no wrong-doing on the part of portal.
The portal claimed of making honest efforts to book the tickets but because of the year-end rush, it could not be confirmed. It further claimed that the entire itinerary was followed and good facility was provided to Dr Pande and his family. Not satisfied with the portal’s reply and service, Dr Pande approached the Consumer Forum.
After hearing, the Forum found the portal responsible for the inconvenience caused to Dr Pande, who had to shell out pay extra money for the facilities he had availed through the portal. The Forum ordered the portal to pay Rs 50,000 as damages to the complainant and Rs.10,000 towards cost of the case.
