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
Charge extra money for my luggage while travelling (Laxmi Holidays) Open
On ** jan **** i booked tickets from red bus website and i got ticket in laxmi holidays bus (HR**Z ****). When i board in the bus they told me that my belongings os not a luggage u have to pay extra for that because i packed soem items in a pla...
Jan 15, 2023 by Padma norboo
Room n bathroom not properly cleaned (The Viraat Inn Gaya) Open
The worst Standard Room no *** was provided. Room n bathroom both weren’t cleaned. Water leakage in bathroom reported but not rectified. Telephone instrument was far away from bed. To get hot water, reception to be called. Room n bathroom bot...
Jan 14, 2023 by Subodh Kumar Gupta
Refund not provided (Goibibo) Open
Booking was done in Namahstay (Arambol, Goa) for * people for two rooms for two days. We arrived around midnight to check in with our bags where we found out that there is no caretaker/ manager/ owner or even a security on the location. Ultima...
Jan 13, 2023 by Yayati Jadhav
Gotogate Refund not recevied (Gotogate) Open
I purchased a one-way ticket dated March **, ****, from New Delhi to Atlanta on March *, ****, along with the standard support package. My flight had a stop in Doha and Istanbul, after inquiring if I needed a transit visa, I cancelled my flight...
Jan 13, 2023 by Hemant Choudhary
Booking not confirmedamount got deducted (Agoda) Open
I had booked a hotel room for Jan. **th & **th **** at JS Residency Kodaikkanal. The full payment for the booking, Rs.**** was done on *th Dec. **** through my google pay no. ********** (screenshot attached)....
Jan 12, 2023 by Sreehari c n
Complaint against Doberois courtyard p ltd want my refund (Doberois courtyard p Ltd) Open
I want to Raise complaint against D- Oberois Courtyard P. Ltd. This co. Cheated us by selling membership of holiday package worth ***** with False information and promises.. All the information given by sujata ma'am and S Roy was false with wro...
Jan 09, 2023 by Darshil nolkha
Bad service and don t like service Our money is going waste due to such service (Kingsdell Hospitality And Services Private Limited) Open
Dear sir/ Mam On September *, ****, we have taken company's plan of **,*** Rs. for * years. I paid * thousand rupees while taking the plan and did a debit card EMI of Rs ** thousand for two years.They have also signed an agreement from u...
Jan 09, 2023 by Akshay Sudhakar Mahajan
Refund not received (Oyo) Open
I had booked a hotel in Varanasi for *st Dec, ****- **th Dec, **** (booking ID: **ZC****) I had prepaid in advance an amount of Rs. **** to confirm the booking. I was still denied check in to the hotel and was informed at the last moment....
Jan 04, 2023 by Taniya Roy
ACT OF FRAUD BY AGODA (Agoda Booking) Open
I booked a flight with Agoda and secured the deal on ***** including the travel insurance. As soon as I entered my credit card details they changed the payment currency and removed the travel protection plan and did not even ask for the confirm...
Jan 02, 2023 by Prakhar Garg
No refund of my flight booking from Travolook (Travolook (Www.travolook.in)) Open
I booked a flight from Goa to Ahmedabad last december,**** from travolook and the ticket got cancelled due to some issue from their side. till now I have not been refunded and they make excuses every time. it has been * year and I am a middle c...
Dec 30, 2022 by Nihar Modi
Bus reservation was completed and the journey was not successful (MSRTC Bus Conductor s Unethical Behavior) Open
I made a reservation of an msrtc bus and the bus went off to the journey without informing. When I tried to apply for refund redbus people did not cooperate with me neither did the msrtc people cooperate when I filed a complaint against the bus...
Dec 27, 2022 by Nilima Ohol
Fraud by MMT for Atlantis Aquaventure Water park tickets (mmt make my trip) Open
Hello, I have drafted an email to MMT explaining everything in detail. Here I am attaching that email which will help you understand the matter in detail. """ I am writing here to complain about the fraudulent activity undertaken by MakeMyTr...
Dec 27, 2022 by Jay Garg
False Promises and Fake company (Taj India Resorts) Open
We have purchased their membershop by paying ***** rs and we are promised * star ans * star hotels whereas at the time of booking either no hotels are available or their tie up has ended. False promises and fake selling....
Dec 26, 2022 by Akash Jain
Late running of train (Indian Railway ( Irctc) ) Open
I am writing to request compensation for the significant delay I experienced on **/**/**** while traveling on ***** Kanyakumari- Kollam memu from Kulitturai to Trivandrum central. I am entitled to compensation for delays of more than on an...
Dec 24, 2022 by Koushik Mohan
Overcharging Destination Change without Customer s Direct Consent (Ola) Open
I booked ride from Mumbai Airport to Nerul, the driver took long route despite asking multiple times to take the correct route, this caused overcharging. Another scam that the driver did is he did not end the trip when I got down at my desti...
Dec 23, 2022 by Pradeep Ketkale
Charging exorbitant amount and providing a terrible or no service (RedBus India) Open
I paid **** INR for a trip from Bangalore to Kochi on **nd by Jabbar Travels through redbus. They not only charged such an exceedingly high amount (which was not high on other sites when I checked later) and then the bus was delayed by *.* hou...
Dec 22, 2022 by Abel Augustine
Money deducted and flight ticket not booked no response by customer care till 8 days (Happyeasygo) Open
I booked ticket on happyeasygo but entered wrong mail id by mistake. It showed *** error that no booking is done. Amount was debited. No confirmation given on phone number. Customer care all contact no were switched off and on mail id they resp...
Dec 22, 2022 by Afsheen Azad
Cancellation refund not paid (Thomas Cook INDIA Limited ) Open
I have booked the swiss tour package with Thomas cook and they made me pay ****** in advance. I did inform them about my special case with regards to the visa. unfortunately, the visa got rejected. I tried to be reasonable and was willing to bo...
Dec 22, 2022 by Santosh Turumalla
Booked Villas are not allotted (Agoda app) Open
I had a bad experience with Agoda for the booking that I've made with Booking ID ********* on **th/December ****. I made a booking via Agoda app to Fragrant Nature Backwater Resort & Ayurveda Spa Paravoor for * premium lake view villas worth...
Dec 22, 2022 by Sharan raj
Refund not initiated of the ticket that we never received even after booking in full payment (Make My Trip) Open
I had booked * tickets to Ferrari world general admission through Make My Trip app on **nd November ****. I did not receive any QR code (ticket) to enter the Ferrari World Theme Park. I wasn’t allowed to enter the same even after doing a f...
Dec 20, 2022 by Akash Rai
Credit shell point (Yatra Com) Closed
I have made booking from yatra com having PNR ILKR*J (indigo) which i cancelled and indigo provided credit shell points of Rs ****, but on yatra account, they are saying there is no refund, neither i see any credit shell points option. There is...
Apr 03, 2022 by Vivek Kumar
Price escalation by agoda (Agoada) Closed
Agoda has given me hotel room at INR***,*** while the actual cost was INR***,*** and are now not giving me the price difference as per the policy...
Mar 29, 2022 by Rahul chopra
I Havent recieve Notification Of Ticket not confirmed (Easemytrip) Closed
I Have Booked * Train Ticket For My Workers to go to Work Place . Today My Ticket Is Unconfirmed And my workers are Waiting For train On Station . What To Do. I haven't Recieve Any Ticket Cancled Notification From Easemytrip i m going to Poli...
Mar 25, 2022 by Deepak Kumar
Easy refund is not made (Ease my trip) Closed
My booking Ref no. EMT******** for date **/**/** which I cancelled on **/**/****. Liberty General insurance has confirmed me that claim has been settled for ****/-. The amount will be paid by ease my trip only. Which is not provided to me t...
Mar 23, 2022 by Pramod kumar mishra
MakeMyTrip not refunding gift cards for cancelled Europe trip (Make My Trip) Closed
This is with regards to the refund gift cards for my cancelled Europe trip(booking ID NL*************) with MMT that was supposed to happen in Feb ****. As per the update received from my relationship officer(Sapna Sharma), the trip got cancell...
Mar 22, 2022 by Swapnil Dev
Refund amont not processed (Travolook Com) Closed
Hi , I booked a ticket from kolkata to bhubaneswar on **th February ** and the reference number is REF********* but it was canceled by travolook due to ticket amount changed, when contacted they told me the refund amount will be credite...
Mar 18, 2022 by Santosh Dash
Flight ticket refund Domestic (Yatra Com) Closed
Booked On: ** Jan'** | Booking Ref No. ************* PNR: *XNOCJ From: Bangalore Departure : **-**-**** **:** PM To: Hyderabad Arrival :**-**-**** **:** PM Total Numbers :* Total Amount :****.**/- Really bad experience with this kin...
Mar 17, 2022 by Anil Kumar.M
Refund not processed (WING IN TRAVEL ADVISORY PRIVATE LIMITED ) Closed
“On March * ****, I tried to book a flight ticket from Delhi to Mangalore on Travolook for ****. Shortly after making the payment, I received an email that said my booking was in progress and * mins later, I received another email saying that...
Mar 17, 2022 by Ronith Krishna M V
Flight Cancelled no Refund (Cleartrip) Closed
I had a booking on **th Feb with boarding time *.** pm. I canceled the flight through Cleartrip app at **.** pm which is outside the * hours window, and hence I was eligible for a refund after a deduction of Rs **** (max). Cleartrip denied the ...
Mar 16, 2022 by Hrishikesh Mishra
Refund not received from happy easy go since last 3 months (Happy Easy Go) Closed
Hi Team, I booked refundable flight from happy easy by paying extra money as it was refundable. I have cancelled flight on Jan ** and it is **th March now and still i did not received my money back. They also charged **** approx for cancel...
Mar 15, 2022 by Hardik Bhalsod
Hotel Booking Refund (Agoda) Closed
In March ****, I reserved and paid ***$ for a room for my colleague in Le Castle River Hotel and apartments, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He was to fly in from India to Cambodia with a transit at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but on **th March **** India cl...
Mar 14, 2022 by Sveta Menon
Senior Citizens left on the street despite having Confirmed booking (Agoda) Closed
Here is the sequence of events: */Feb/** - I had booked the Dubai Marina apartment on Agoda website. **/Feb/** - Subsequently the payment was deducted from my credit card and 'confirmation of booking' receipt was issued. In between I had sen...
Mar 13, 2022 by Melroy Pinto
Yatra is not providing refund of 5957 Rs for the flights canceled through Indigo Airlines (Yatra) Closed
As Per The Attached Evidence, Yatra Has Charged **** Rs. (GHP*NV) And **** Rs. (GP**GN) As Yatra Service Charges And Then You Have Subtracted Them As Well. So If You Have Not Charged The Yatra Service Fees As Per The Invoice Then How Can You De...
Mar 10, 2022 by Mansi Gupta
Yatra Flight cancellation refund is not received (Yatra Com) Closed
I booked a round trip flight tickets of spicejet from Yatra application from Ahmedabad to Udaipur. Flight were scheduled for ** February departure from Ahmedabad to Udaipur and back from Udaipur to Ahmedabad on ** February. Since the return fli...
Mar 04, 2022 by Harsh Sunilkumar Dave
Flight cancellation refund is not received (Yatra) Closed
I booked a round trip flight tickets of spicejet from Yatra application from Ahmedabad to Udaipur. Flight were scheduled for ** February departure from Ahmedabad to Udaipur and back from Udaipur to Ahmedabad on ** February. Since the return fli...
Mar 02, 2022 by Harsh Sunilkumar Dave
Cheated by Cleartrip (Cleartrip) Closed
Cleartrip refused to let me use my open British airways ticket or refund me the money. ...
Mar 01, 2022 by Aditya Mehul Shah
My money got deducted (Yatra Com) Closed
While booking flight ticket from Yatra.com on **th February **** at *.**pm, my amount of Rs ***** got deducted and it showed payment failed so the ticket and PNR number has not been confirmed. Yatra.com have no proper helpline number, and they ...
Feb 27, 2022 by Prastuti Priya Hazarika
Yatra is not providing refund of 5957 Rs for the flights canceled through Indigo Airlines (Yatra Com) Closed
As Per The Attached Evidence, Yatra Has Charged **** Rs. (GHP*NV) And **** Rs. (GP**GN) As Yatra Service Charges And Then You Have Subtracted Them As Well. So If You Have Not Charged The Yatra Service Fees As Per The Invoice Then How Can You De...
Feb 23, 2022 by Mansi Gupta
Wrongful denial of refund (Make my trip) Closed
Dear Sir / Ma'am, I had requested a refund for my booking ID mentioned in the subject line on ** November ****, however, after * months when I called, I have just received a whatsapp message from MMT stating that refund is not applicable. ...
Feb 22, 2022 by Amar Singh
Refund amount yet be receive passed (Travolook) Closed
i have purchased a flight ticket through travolook site on **nd jan **** but same has been canceled by travolook due to some issue at their end, Rs. ****/- has been deducted from my bank account so I have requested travolook for initiate my ref...
Feb 19, 2022 by MANAS RANJAN DAS
"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