Tour Travel Complaints - Travel Agent Complaints

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

Money deducted, Ticket not booked

No Refund

Booking canceled

Customer care not responding

Bad hotel booked

Misbehavior by staff

Fraudulent Booking agents

Fake Club membership sold

Train canceled without knowledge

Booking dates changed

Room was not clean

Cab did not arrive on time

Cab driver canceled the trip

Charged me more than the estimated value (Ola Cabs) ^Open

I booked an outstation trip from Trichy, Tamilnadu, India to Kattuputhur, Tamilnadu, India on March **, **.** PM. Estimated money showed Rs.****. But the end of the ride the bill came Rs.****. I asked the driver, he said it is a computer genera...

Apr 15, 2019 by Prabu E

Fraud booking of hotel (Goibibo) ^Open

I booked hotel Shivam Howrah through Goibibo and paid online. But when I reached there at night ** pm on **th April **** the hotel management denied the booking and informed that they had no agreement with Goibibo anymore. They demanded extra m...

Apr 15, 2019 by Siba charan jethy

Changed my hotel without any confirmation (Oyo) ^Open

Oyo changed my hotel without any confirmation. I paid for Vardhman hotel and they allow me a pearl hotel. They allow my room to some other person. I want my *** Rs refund. Please help me....

Apr 15, 2019 by Harsh

Female seat reservation (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) ^Open

On **/*/**** I had booked a ticket Belagavi to Pune on Airavat bus as female. As per rules, the seat beside a female should be allocated to female only. But in this Airavat bus ** F****, they allocated the seat beside me to a male passager whic...

Apr 15, 2019 by Uma

Service not provided (Uber India) ^Open

The said driver himself cancelled the cab as I have received a mail from uber that driver was unable to locate my address. I have mentioned my meeting place in front of Dominos pizza. Anyone do let me know that how can a driver cannot locate d...

Apr 14, 2019 by Sanket

Waiting for refund of booking amount (Snow Travel Club) ^Open

This is to bring to your notice that I have been recently pulled into a fraudulent act in which travel company “snow travel club (http://www.snowtravelclub.com/)” has looted INR **,***/- from me towards family travel trip to Tirupati. On th...

Apr 14, 2019 by Sachin

Money charged thrice (Ola Cabs) ^Open

I have been charged thrice for the same ride and the outstanding is still there. I made many calls to their call centre and the slaves of pay cheque wasted my time rather than resolving it. They kept using the same jargon as the concerned depar...

Apr 14, 2019 by Ram narayan kanakapally

Travel agent fraud (Acorn Travels ) ^Open

I bought a travel package for FIFA WORLD CUP from Jignasa Desai of Acorn Travels in December **** for * people. On her demand, I paid her an advance of INR ***,***/-. She issued me fake tickets or maybe tickets that existed on the Aeroflot webs...

Apr 13, 2019 by Aditi Taneja

Hotel cancelled but not giving refund (Goibibio) ^Open

I made * cancellable hotel reservations through Goibibo. Firstly they generated the booking id but the actual reservation not happened for * of the hotels I came to know this when I called the hotels directly. I contacted all three hotels, and ...

Apr 13, 2019 by Navneet Gupta

Cash robbery from the room (hotel midtown) ^Open

Hotel midtown bus stands Amritsar is a very bad hotel. Staff chor h yaha k sare log. Meri wife ke bag se **k nikal liye inhone. Request hai ki is hotel m kabi na ruke. Complaint ki to hotel staff support b nhi kr rha. Chor hai yaha k sare log. ...

Apr 12, 2019 by Pramod kumar

Refund not given despite payment of ticket (Goibibo) ^Open

I try to book my ticket via Goibibo around one month back. Despite payment, they showed in their chatbox payment not received and didn't send any ticket. Somehow I managed to get my ticket from airlines and now when the flight have been cancell...

Apr 12, 2019 by Hiteshi Sharma

Took money but no services provided (Nirmiti Resorts & Clubs) ^Open

We took the membership on **rd Dec **** at Goa. They promised a lot while taking membership and all are fake promises. We were supposed to get the date credentials within ** days and still no clue about the no one responds for it. We are tr...

Apr 12, 2019 by Rashmi A

Bad service provided (Dwarkadish hotel ujjain) ^Open

Ac was not working properly. Water is not provided in the room. No manner in the staff....

Apr 12, 2019 by POPAT SAGAR DINESHBHAI

Refund not given (Goibibo) ^Open

I booked a ticket from Goibibo online. I made the payment and the payment was successfully deducted from my account. The ticket was supposed to confirm in ** mins which didn't happen instead it has been ** hours or more the ticket was visible i...

Apr 12, 2019 by Huzefa Taher

Uber ID disabled for no reason (Uber Cabs) ^Open

From *st April my uber app has been disabled for no reason on my phone. On *th April I sent a message on Twitter, they said we have escalated it to our top management and will revert but no revert from them. On *th April I sent another message ...

Apr 12, 2019 by Deepshikha Mehrotra

Refund not processed for flight cancellation (Goibibo India Private Limited) ^Open

My Flight from Kolkata to London (PNR: REVWFI) has been cancelled by Jet airways. Also, in the mail, it is written that I am eligible for a full refund. Please help me in getting the refund ASAP. My frustration is at a peak as none of Goibibo e...

Apr 12, 2019 by Anupam Sharma

Paid full money but stayed only for 15 minutes (OYO Rooms) ^Open

I checked into Day Inn Oyo Room Chennai on *rd April in Chennai (ID ZOVT****). The hotel and the room nowhere close to the image and reviews that were put on OYO. The staff was unruly and fearing my life I checked out within ** minutes. The un...

Apr 11, 2019 by Vivek Thomas

Refused to refund (Redbus) ^Open

As I was booked my travelling through Redbus last **st March ****. Unfortunately, my booking was cancelled but my money (Rs. *** ) was credited by Redbus. I called Redbus customer team and complaint about this incident but still, they are not s...

Apr 11, 2019 by ROSHAN KUMAR M

Cancelled my return ticket (Goibibo) ^Open

I booked * round trip ticket from Delhi to Singapore (Jet Airways) using Goibibo and total I paid *****. I got confirmed ticket for the same attached is proof from Goibibo side. But just some days before to upward journey they cancelled my retu...

Apr 11, 2019 by Udit Raj Ahuja

Train ticket cancelled but amount not refunded ( IRCTC) ^Open

IRCTC refunded an amount of Rs.**** on *th March **** with details enclosed but not credited to the beneficiary account. Please take necessary action to refund the amount....

Apr 11, 2019 by Boda Sailu