Travel Complaints
There are various modes of transportation in India be it through air, sea or land. Indian transportation, due to its immense population, is one of the most widely used in the world.
For traveling within India people generally prefer to rent a car or travel via train or bus as they deem convenient. Ola and Uber are prime examples of this. These startups have skyrocketed and are one of most used traveling apps in the India.
Meanwhile, many people prefer to travel via plane as it saves times. For this they either book the ticket through the website directly or look for agents to do the same.
Apart from big names there are some private travel agencies in Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata etc, which try to lure customers by offering them lucrative discounts. Travel agent frauds are quite prevalent in India. The most common travel agent/agency complaints include refund not provided, hotel denying check-in, fake promises etc.
Travel complaints have a sense of urgency and responsibility attached to them because no one wants to board a late flight or wants to stay in low-quality hotel.
We all want our travels and trips to be smooth right from the beginning. And if something does not go as per our expectations, the mood gets spoiled!
Therefore, it brings a significant responsibility on the shoulders of the travel companies to solve the issues faced by their customers. One should only book their hotels/flights via trustworthy sites to avoid getting duped. However, sometimes even these reputed travel companies commit an error.
In this article, we have covered the common travel complaints that are faced by customers and how you can resolve them.
But first lets check out the famous travel companies in India
Famous Travel Companies in India
1. Make My Trip
Make my Trip is one of the leading online travel companies in India. In 2000 it was founded by Deepak Kalra and had its headquarters in Gurugram, Haryana.
They have more than 14 company-owned travel stores in India and have over 30 franchisee-owned travel stores in India. They also have offices in Dubai, Phuket, Bangkok, New York, Kuala, and Lumpur.
2. Yatra:
Founded by Manish Amin, Sabina Chopra, and Dhruv Shringi in 2006, Yatra.com is the pre-eminent Indian online travel agency. It is based in Gurugram, Haryana. According to the sources in 2012, Yatra became the second-largest online travel service provider company in India.
3. OYO:
Oyo rooms, popularly known as Oyo hotels and rooms and stylized as OYO, is the fastest and largest growing hospitality chain in India. They worked on the franchising and leased system, which fortunately turned out to be the best for the company. Founded by Ritesh Agarwal in 2013, OYO gained much popularity right from the beginning.
4. GOIBIBO:
Subsidiary of Make My Trip Limited, Mauritius Ibibo, is a travel organization in 2006 by Ashish Kashyap. In 2013 Goibibo made it among the top five most trusted e-commerce brands in India.
5. HappyEasyGo:
Happy Easy Go is one of the emerging online travel company founded by Boris Zha in 2017. In 2019 it became the second-largest online travel booking platform in India and had more than 10 million customer bases all over the world. It has its headquarters in Gurugram, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hong Kong, and Singapore. During late 2018 HappyEasyGo established its hotel business.
6. Thomas Cook:
Thomas Cook (India) Ltd has its headquarters in Mumbai and caters to all the travel related requirements from visas to foreign exchange. They established themselves in India in 1881 and expanded its business to all the nearby countries.
7. Clear Trip:
Clear Trip earlier was known as Clear Trip Travel Services Private limited is a universal online travel company established in 2016. It has its headquarters in Dubai and Mumbai. In India, they started with a vision of making travel simple by bridging the gap between the Indian hospitality and travel sector. It was founded as an air and hotel aggregator by Stuart Crighton, Mathew Spacie, and Hrush Bhatt.
8. Travel Guru:
Travel Guru is India’s leading and growing travel website. It offers flights, holiday packages, and hotels at the best prices; they aim to make your trip smooth and convenient.
9. Travel Triangle:
Founded by three IIT graduates Sanchit Garg, Prabhat Gupta, and Sankalp Agarwal. It is India’s first fully stacked Holiday Marketplace that connects verified travel agents and travelers. It was founded in 2011 and competed with companies such as Thrillophilia. It is a platform that is trusted by many.
10. Travelocity India:
It is rated as one of the best online travel portals in the world and perfectly caters to the local needs of the people by launching specialized programs. In India, they cater to both business and leisure requirements.
Types of Travel Complaints
1. Tickets canceled, but money is not refunded:
One of the significant problems that are being faced by customers of major travel companies is that they cancel the tickets, but money is not credited to their bank account. This is the most common issue faced by almost all the consumers in cities like Pune, Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru.
During COVID-19 times, many have reported on the internet that they have booked tickets, and they got canceled due to the pandemic. However, the companies did not refund the amount. Either they are saying that they have refunded the amount, or instead, they are offering a credit voucher.
2. No refund for flights canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic:
Due to the global pandemic, suddenly, flights were canceled. It was reported by customers of many major travel companies that they did not get their refund; however, the airlines did return the full booking amount. Many customers were upset because the travel companies did not inform them about the refund from the airlines.
3. Partial refund for the flights canceled due to COVID-19:
Many customers reported that they did not receive the full amount of flights they booked pre-corona. However, airlines have refunded the entire amount, but travel companies did not credit the whole amount; instead, they deducted a certain amount without giving any valid reason.
4. No refund against booked packages:
Many planned trips in June assuming that pandemic will end, but in the wake of current times, still, the tourism industry is on hold.
As people booked packages for traveling and now are requesting for a refund, but many companies are simply denying it.
However, many customers are disturbed with it because, in these uncertain times, they are struggling so much to get their refund.
5. Unable to connect with customer care service:
Many customers from significant travel companies face this very issue when they contact the customer care, they are not entertained, or their complaints are not correctly handled.
Many faced this particular issue while they were contacting the customer care, and their complaints were not appropriately welcomed or they were not able to connect with them.
6. Fraudulent booking agents:
Many travel companies have their booking agents, but some fraudsters just dive in and cheat people.
Many customers from significant companies, including Make My Trip and Yatra complained that they had been cheated by fraudsters in the name of these companies, and they have demanded a refund from the company.
7. Rescheduling of flights due to COVID-19:
Due to Corona pandemic, many people had to reschedule their flights, but travel companies are not helping them or are not considering their request.
8. Over billing by travel companies:
The most common types of complaints regarding Ola and Uber include over billing issues and not returning the left item in the cab. But you can try contacting the customer care number of Ola which is 098842437 and customer care of Uber which is 1300091272.
How to resolve travel complaints?
1. File support ticket/send an email:
You can always contact travel companies through their official website by going to their contact us section and by sending them an email. Customer service emails of some leading travel companies are:
Yatra- support@yatra.com
Make My Trip- care@makemytrip.com
Happy Easy Go- cs@happyeasygo.com
Clear Trip- customersupport@cleartrip.com
Goibibo- travel@goibibo.com
Travel guru- service@travelguru.com
2. Call Customer support:
One of the perfect ways to directly come in contact with the travel company is by contacting it through phone call for customer support. All these well-known travel companies have a 24*7 working customer care number which helps in resolving complaints as they value customer feedback. The customer care number of some of the leading travel agencies and hospitality companies in India are :
Cox and Kings Customer Care Number - 1800 209 0400
Thomas Cook Customer Care Number - 1800 209 9100
Club Mahindra Holidays Customer Care Number - 044 6695 3435
Expedia Customer Care Number – 800-319-4834
Yatra Customer Care Number - 0124 3040500
Goibibo Customer Care Number - 1800 208 1060
Makemytrip Customer Care Number - 1800 102 8747
Travelguru Customer Care Number - +91 92111 77444
Oyo Customer Care Number - 093139 31393
RedBus Customer Care Number - 1860 121 2102
3. Report to the airlines/hotel directly:
As we have seen above, many customers have reported that the airlines and hotels have issued a refund, but the travel companies have not refunded the money in the bank accounts. It is always better to contact the airlines or hotels directly if the companies don’t issue a refund by time. You can contact the airlines and hotels by calling them on their customer care number or by sending the email.
4. Send Legal Notice:
Consumers can send legal notices to travel company in case it is unable to resolve his complaint. It is one of the efficient ways to handle the issue legally. Check below to know how to send a legal notice to travel company?
Step 1: Firstly, get a legal notice drafted by a lawyer.
Step 2: Check it properly and make sure it is signed by lawyer.
Step 3: Keep a copy of it for future purposes.
Step 4: Send the legal notice to travel company by registered post.
Step 5: Keep the slip or delivery report for evidence.
5. File consumer forum case:
Consumer forum deals with consumer complaints and you should approach consumer forum if you feel that your rights as a consumer have been violated.
If travel company is not responding to your complaints even after sending legal notice by a lawyer then you should file a case against it in a consumer court.
Here is how you can file a case in the consumer court?
Step 1: Intimate the aggrieved party via legal notice.
Step 2: Draft the consumer complaint
Step 3: Attach all the relevant documents and proofs to support your complaint.
Step 4: Select the appropriate court for filing the complaint.
Step 5: Pay the prescribed court fee that is required to be paid along with the complaint.
Step 6: Submit the case along with the affidavit & fees in the court.
If you feel uncomfortable doing all this yourself, then you should use Voxya to file a complaint against travel company. We will send Legal Notice and prepare Case for filing in consumer court. We, at Voxya, are generally receiving more than 100 travel consumer complaints every month.
Most Common Issue Reported for Travel Complaints
Complaints
Wrong flight tickets issued (Make My Trip) Open
I booked my travel to Australia from MakeMyTrip. My trip included travel from India via Singapore to Melbourne, then stay in Melbourne for * days. From Melbourne to Sydney, then stay in Sydney for * days. From Sydney to Brisbane for * days, the...
May 17, 2019 by Lipi Verma
Refund not initiated (Oyo) Open
I was leaving for Manali from Dehradun. I booked through OYO for the check-in time of **-** for night time with hotel Neelgiri. When I got there the hotel said that there is no booking for us. We were denied there but though there was no paymen...
May 17, 2019 by Abhay Negi
Red Bus left me and my parents stranded at night (Red Bus) Open
I was supposed to be travelling with my family when the bus left us stranded at night and did not even communicate. I tried calling them again and again but the bus operator kept saying stay at the location. I tried calling the red bus again an...
May 16, 2019 by Bhanu Sharma
We booked the hotel looking at the fake reviews and the service was not been used at all (Make My Trip) Open
I m disputing one of the charges made on April **, ****, for the amount of *****.** made to makemytrip company. I have used my card for another charge too but I got the service and as a good customer I will pay for that. I booked a hotel in Dub...
May 16, 2019 by Vandana sarkar
OYO booked a holiday (Thailand) and not providing bills against the amount I paid (Oyo) Open
Sent multiple emails asking bills but not getting any response. I feel they are hiding this from income tax. ...
May 16, 2019 by DHANANJAY KUMAR
Refund not given (IRCTC) Open
My ticket with PNR ********** from NCJ to PNQ was cancelled and no refund was made. The Booking status/current status was TQWL*/TQWL* at the time of booking. At the time of cancellation, the status was TQWL*. As per Irctc rules refund must be m...
May 16, 2019 by Jeyasugilkumar
Incorrect amount refunded (Goibibo) Open
Recently I booked a flight from KNU to IXB. The flight got cancelled by the airline. Goibibo promised to refund all ***** to me and I have mail for that also but they have refunded me only **** INR. They are not refunding my money just mailed...
May 16, 2019 by ATUL DWIVEDI
Fraud by tour operator (REGION HOLIDAYS PVT LTD) Open
I booked a tour package through region holidays paying advance. The party did not pay to hotel or travel agent. I had to pay again. They did not pick up the phone or responded to the message....
May 16, 2019 by SARBADARSHI
Failed train ticket booking but amount deducted from account (Make My Trip) Open
I tried booking a train ticket via makemytrip. But after payment processed responded as time expired. Money deducted from the account....
May 16, 2019 by Chingakham Yaipha
Mood spoiler honeymoon travel trip (Holiday Triangle Travel Private Limited) Open
I booked a honeymoon package to Bali from Travel triangle which had various activities included and had mention of the tourist attractions which will be covered as part of the trip. However, few of the attractions were not covered and the guide...
May 16, 2019 by Sachin
GST invoice not provide (Goibibo India Private Limited) Open
I booked hotel tree nova report via Goibibo with booking ID-HTLLSTE*XW. I paid approx ****/- via e-payment, but after my check-out company not providing GST invoice. I tried to contact customer care with service number-********, they are prov...
May 15, 2019 by Amit tailor
Goibibo cheated me not provide hotel and confirm only half amount refund (Goibibio) Open
I have booked the Hotel Green Park, Kodaikanal via Goibibo on Dec **th **** for a three-day stay May ** – May ** (Booked * rooms, * Super Deluxe and * Family room, total -* adults) Booking Id - HTCCQ*VFKU Amount – Rs.*****/-. On May *th...
May 15, 2019 by Singaravelu R
Promised cab service not provided (Goibibo) Open
On April **, ****, I booked a cab through GOIBIBO website from Coimbatore airport to Ooty. But when one and a half hour ago I contacted the driver for confirmation, he showed issue regarding payment from customer care side. I immediately inform...
May 15, 2019 by Priya
Accommodation not provided as per fully prepaid booking (OYO Rooms) Open
This is to bring to your notice an extremely harsh experience with Oyo rooms at Manali which I had to suffer through. I had booked a * BHK Oyo Home ***** under Booking ID: ACTL****(in name of Eshaan Gupta) for * May to ** May. However, to my su...
May 15, 2019 by Sahaj Phalorh
Refund not received (Goibibo India Private Limited) Open
I had a flight from Dubai to Dehradun. It was via flight from Delhi that day I missed my flight because of Air India flight was delay. So they already granted my refund but as per them Goibibo will receive that amount first and they will send m...
May 15, 2019 by Sagar Bhandari
Cab did not come to pick up (Goibibo India Private Limited) Open
I booked a cab from Goibibo for **th April to be picked from Delhi Airport at *.** PM and drop me at Alwar. I had to go to attend some marriage function. The cab no. HR**B**** and driver Amit mobile number was ********** were assigned to me. My...
May 15, 2019 by Satish Chugh
Online booking for which no support was available (Make My Trip) Open
I made an online flight booking from MakeMyTrip with zero cancellation facility for which I paid extra. Then when I had to cancel it no one for available to support me as the customer care site says we provide support only when you log in and d...
May 15, 2019 by JEETENDRA SINGH
Refund not received for flight cancelled by airline (Clear Trip) Open
I had booked a flight with Cleartrip under trip id ************. The flight was cancelled by the airline. Cleartrip refused to adjust the money against a fresh booking. Also, they had informed that the refund would be credited within *-* workin...
May 15, 2019 by KENNETH GOMES
Refund related issue (Zoomcar India Pvt Ltd) Open
Booking id is IDJPS*F**Z*. The booking was on the date of ** March and my refund should have reflected by ** April. I have talked to the bank and they haven't received the refund. It's not received by me. After calling to zoomcar they said th...
May 14, 2019 by Rohit Kabra
Ticket has not been booked (Goibibo) Open
The amount has been debited from my account but the ticket has not been booked. Pdf password- ***********....
May 14, 2019 by Ambresh kumar tiwari
Lawyers & Advocates :
Consumer Forum :
Online Complaints :
Resources :
Take Action :
File online consumer complaint from any state or district. We prepare your consumer complaint for consumer court and consumer forum in state or district or any consumer court and forum in India.
Voxya does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. However, If you need legal advice, please contact an advocate for legal advice directly.
Voxya is an independent platform and it is not affiliated with any Brand, Company, Government agencies or Forums.
All trademarks, product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners.
"Thank you so much to Voxya.com. Legal Notice really worked and Byjus had to refund my amount and cancel the loan. Thanks once again Voxya. "
Ramachal V
Complaint filed against: Byjus