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
Forged Booking Vouchers and Not Returning Mney (Universal Travels) Open
Universal Travels Registration Number **AAGFU****FIZV , Partner Kapil Gupta +************ took INR ****** to book land package for my family to Maldives and issued forged booking vouchers wherein resort denied entry after i landed Male airport....
Apr 07, 2023 by Mohit Chandna
FLIGHT TICKET REFUND (Make My Trip) Open
I had purchased tickets from MakeMyTrip from Kochi to Edmonton for approx **,***/-, Unfortunately I was not able to travel and they suggested I keep the tickets as an open ticket which is valid for * year. Having gone ahead with this, Now when ...
Apr 01, 2023 by John Thomas Kuruvilla
Worst service (Red Bus) Open
I have made a booking from Siliguri to Kolkata on Mar **. Bus time was mentioned as *:** pm Siliguri junction. I was at Siliguri junction opp to Bharat petroleum where buses usually stop and informed that driver as well about my location. He sa...
Mar 31, 2023 by Murali Naga Prasad Kakarla
Universel Travels Kapil Gupta cheating and taking money in name of flight booking and neither doing (Universel Travels ) Open
I had intiated a flight booking from Bangalore to Houston and return through Universal Travels on **th Mar through the reservation person Kapil Gupta. He asked me to send him Rs***** in advance and rest on **th March so he could block the ticke...
Mar 30, 2023 by Payal
Air India cancelled flight and have not refunding my money (Air india) Open
I booked ticket with Airline (Air India) Ticket Number : ************* Record Locator : JR*KUO Flight was cancelled at the last moment by the Airline. I had done this booking via travel agency booking.com. I contacted Air India and boo...
Mar 29, 2023 by Rajesh Kumar Singh
Refund not credit (Paytm Travel) Open
Sir my name is lakhwinder singh , booked a bus ticket from mukerian to delhi on ** March ****, but bus operator can't connect to me and can't share any details , I try many time to connect with them I am present at boarding point but they left ...
Mar 29, 2023 by Lakhwinder Singh
Refund not credit (Paytm Travel) Open
Sir my name is lakhwinder singh , booked a bus ticket from mukerian to delhi on ** March ****, but bus operator can't connect to me and can't share any details , I try many time to connect with them I am present at boarding point but they left ...
Mar 29, 2023 by Lakhwinder Singh
Refund not credit (Intrcity smart bus) Open
Sir my name is lakhwinder singh , booked a bus ticket from mukerian to delhi on ** March ****, but bus operator can't connect to me and can't share any details , I try many time to connect with them I am present at boarding point but they left ...
Mar 29, 2023 by Lakhwinder Singh
Not getting refund (Sai Consultancy Vadodara) Open
There is overseas consultancy named "Sai Consultancy" in Vadodara, Gujarat. I had approched them regarding work visa for Canada. But by chance the Visas got rejected. The as per an agreement made with them that if the visas get rejected then ...
Mar 29, 2023 by Aaron Macwan
Refund and damages (Redbus app) Open
The bus left me without picking me from boarding point during odd hours of day. Neither I received any call from driver/bus operator nor they picked up my call....
Mar 29, 2023 by Sumeet Atloye
Flight ticket refund (Cleartrip) Open
I booked a Chennai to Detroit flight ticket through Cleartrip on **rd March around *.** pm. Unfortunately I got a mail from college which I have to join stating that I can enter USA only after April **th. So I went into Cleartrip app checked al...
Mar 27, 2023 by Sivashankar
Travel Fraud by The flower of holiday travel agency (The flower of holiday) Open
I would like to share a very bad travel experience with an agency called “the flower of holiday”. They cheated rupees ***** (**k) for Uttarakhand trip. Initially provided **k for complete package which includes hotel plus ac tempo travele...
Mar 27, 2023 by Chakra Sudarshan Sahu
Unprofessional biker unaccountable support (Rapido bike) Open
Actually its about not valueing someone's time. My bike was booked at *:**Am. Which gives plenty of time to reach my office whuch is around * km away from my place. The app showed * min to reach my location and the rider took arund ** min...
Mar 27, 2023 by Shailja Sharma
Ola Cabs Postpaid Scam (Ola) Open
*. I travelled using Ola Cabs on **th Dec **** (CRN **********) - Bill amount INR *** paid through Ola Postpiad - As this was chosen as default payment menthod. *. I travelled again using Ola cabs on **th Dec **** (CRN **********) - Bill amoun...
Mar 26, 2023 by Sharan Kumar
Refund not received for cancelled flight ticket (varafi.com) Open
Hello Sir, I booked a Round trip flight ticket from Varafi.com on **Feb **** for Kolkata (CCU) to Bangalore (BLR). Booking Id: VID********** Booking Time: **:**, Wed **-Feb Booking Amount: Rs *****/- (paid in the name of WINGINTRVLADVSRY...
Mar 22, 2023 by Nilay Pal
Cashback rewards not received as promised by Agoda (Agoda) Open
Hi, my name is Arunachalam. My email id - arun.sharp****@gmail.com. I booked Siloso Beach Resort Sentosa on *-Jan-**** and VGP Golden Beach Resort on **-Jan-****. I was promised for a Cashback Reward of Rs **,***.** after ** days from checkou...
Mar 21, 2023 by Arunachalam
Unsafe Unhygienic rooms in Kerala houseboat (Makemy Trip) Open
Make my trip Issue Ref# *****************. We were given unclean and unsafe rooms(nails popping out on the floor) in the house boat on March **, ****. Shared pictures with the tour manager, customer service representative and vendor. Tried to...
Mar 19, 2023 by Deepika Dave
Didnt get refund (REDBUS AMAZON) Open
I booked my bus on Sunday *the march **** but it don't get canceled, I was trying it from long time but it didnt get canceled, I tried it before *pm on that day so at least I will get my **% amount back but didn't get any posssitive reply from ...
Mar 18, 2023 by vijay khanapure
Cleartrip not returning money after it cancelled my ticket (Cleartrip) Open
I have booked for my Delhi trip starting on DEC ** **** and return on ** DEC**** I cancelled tickets calling Cleartrip (all communication recoreded and got mail too on cancellation). I was supposed to get *****rs and they sent mail and once ...
Mar 10, 2023 by parthasarathi
Transaction done but booking does not go through money not refunded (Oyo) Open
I tried to book hotel from oyo app on ** November ****, for ₹**** , my money was deducted and booking does not go through and never got refunded. It has been more than for months, I have called oyo customer care , emailed them, written to the...
Mar 07, 2023 by Amit Jha
Refund not given (Yatra Com) Closed
I booked flight dated *th July **** bearing Yatra Reference no ************* and Indigo Airline Reference no TRYBGA and PNR - OUH**R In less than * hrs from Date of Booking, I called customer care of Indigo and requested them to make correc...
Jul 17, 2022 by Vaasu Lalsinghani
Yatra not refunding (Yatra com) Closed
On ** May **** I was booking for hotel on yatra.com however due to fault on there website my account got debited of Rs **** but there was no booking confirmation, on numerous follow up with there customer care they finally said that on ** Jun ...
Jul 13, 2022 by Tejushva kumar singh
I had booked hotel but due to some reason I needed to cancel it. It's been more than * days still i didn't get....
Jul 12, 2022 by Manisha
Extra money charged more than it as to be (Rapido auto) Closed
when I booked the auto it showed **rs and when I was dropped at my destination the money was charged extra ...
Jul 02, 2022 by a Sanya
Yatra EWallet Showing false redeemed transaction (Yatra.com) Closed
I cancelled the booking from yatra.com and got the refund in their e-wallet i.e. eCash. But Before doing another booking it was showing false transaction history. I didn't do any transactions using that eCash. Though it is claiming the referenc...
Jun 30, 2022 by Rupali bhore
After booking cancelation didn t get the refund (Yatra) Closed
I Booked one resort from yatra.com and then cancelled the booking. For instant refund I chose , their e-wallet named eCash as an option for refund. But Didn't get any refund. Tried to reach them on phone and mail but no luck. No response from t...
Jun 29, 2022 by Rupali bhore
Yatra deducted service charge after flight cancellation (Yatra Com) Closed
I booked a flight on Yatra with GoAir and charges were ****. On the day of travel GoAir canceled the flight and refunded the amount to Yatra. But Yatra deducted service charge of ***. I had to go through the trouble of booking another flight fo...
Jun 22, 2022 by Sahithi
Wrong details entered in Australian Visit visa application and caused us loss of Rs 8500 (Unimoni travels) Closed
I had applied Australian Visa application from Unimoni. I clearly stated i had covid visa waiver.But the HeadOffice staff ganga had not entered previous visa details for covid visa waiver in the visa application and given false information that...
Jun 18, 2022 by Annet Perumpally Lukose
Yatra not refunding booking amount (Yatra Com) Closed
Hi, I am registering this complaint second time. It has been ** days since I cancelled my hotel booking from yatra. Every time they ask me to wait for * days and still there is no refund after so many mails, I have written to them, there i...
Jun 17, 2022 by Monika Agrawal
Yatra com refund (Yatra.com) Closed
Hi all, Its been over * months that I am waiting for my refund from yatra.com I spoke to the customer service agent and received an email confirmation that the refund will be issued within *-** days. I am still waiting for the amount to be r...
Jun 17, 2022 by Poonamjit Kaur Bhatia
Not getting refund from Yatra for my cancelled flight (Yatra) Closed
I have cancelled my booked flight tickets from yatra.com , but I haven't got my refund amount from Yatra . I have confirmed with airlines they have already refunded my amount to Yatra . Please find my PNR number - D**SHD Kindly help in t...
Jun 16, 2022 by Isha
No refund received (Yatra Hotels) Closed
I've booked a hotel room on **th May ****. The hotel refused to book a room by yatra. They said that they have no connection with Yatra. No rooms were booked by yatra But i paid to yatra. Its been * days. I want my refund soon ...
Jun 16, 2022 by Nazrin
Refund not received (Yatra) Closed
Yatra is not refunding my cancellation amount. I cancellation my indigo flight and was supposed to get refund but they’re sending fake emails of refund but not processing it. It is confirmed by indigo that they have already processed the refu...
Jun 16, 2022 by Huma Tanweer
REFUND OF FAILED PAYMENT (Make my trip) Closed
I made a payment through MMT website for a holiday package on **-Jun-****. The payment was made through SBI net banking for Rs. *****. While the bank showed a successful status after the payment, the payment was not captured at MMT end. I have ...
Jun 15, 2022 by Anubhav Nidaria
Refund amount not received (Yatra) Closed
I Booked my flight on June * in yatra due some reasons i cancelled my ticket immediately.Till now i haven't received my refund amount. please help me....
Jun 13, 2022 by Vinay
Amount deduction without ticket getting booked (Yatra Air india) Closed
I had booked flight ticket from bagdogra to deli for dept on **th of june. The transaction amount was dedu ted but ticket not booked. There is no msg from yatra of booking failure or anything. Although I have my e statement frm bank confirming...
Jun 13, 2022 by Tenzin Ngawang
Refund not credited (Yatra Hotels) Closed
I have booked domestic hotel in Delhi from yatra app which I downloaded in Play Store, But due to change in the plan i had to cancel the booking and claimed a refund in bank account and yatra successfully cancelled my booking but it haven't ask...
Jun 12, 2022 by Shivateja
Refund not initiated (Yatra Hotels) Closed
I have booked domestic hotel in Delhi from yatra app which I downloaded in Play Store, But due to change in the plan i had to cancel the booking and claimed a refund in bank account and yatra successfully cancelled my booking but it haven't ask...
Jun 12, 2022 by Shivateja
Refund against cancelled hotel booking (Yatra Com) Closed
REF #************* BOOKING cancelled with in an hour...
Jun 08, 2022 by Gaurav Chawla
Refund not issued (Easemytrip.com) Closed
I had purchased a flight ticket from easemytrip on ** april. The airline cancelled this ticket and told me that full refund will be issued for this ticket however the request should come from travel agent since this ticket is booked on easemytr...
Jun 07, 2022 by Tushar Matondkar
"I was unable to get in touch with anyone in Byjus nor with my counselor regarding my problem for 3 months. But Voxya team helped me solve my issue very soon. Thank you!"
Mamta D
Complaint filed against: Byju's