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
False Promises and misleading customers in the name of holiday package (Royals Club International) Open
On *rd October ****, there was a seminar of Royals club international going on in Calangute Goa. A person from Royals club international stopped us on the road, he said Royals Club celebrating its anniversary and giving free vouchers to couples...
Nov 15, 2022 by Sobiya Sultana
Amount not Refunded (Golden Vacations) Open
Had made travel bookings to Sikkim from *th to **th May **** through Golden Vacations - Sahara Building, *nd Floor, Station Feeder Rd, Ward *, Khalpara, Siliguri, West Bengal ******. COuld not avail owing to Covid pandameic. So had this cancell...
Nov 11, 2022 by Ajay Thomas
Hotel Booking Refund Not Recieved (Agoda) Open
I had made a hotel booking from the Agoda app in May ****. While booking, I was informed that the the booking was entitled to a full refund of INR *,***.**. I needed to make changes to the room occupancy, so I was informed to cancel the current...
Nov 11, 2022 by Danica Mary Machado
Tour Advance Not yet refunded ( Amazing Uttarkhand Haridwar) Open
Tour booked in March ****. As requested by tour operator Rs **,*** advance paid . .Then Covid breakout . All tours cancelled . He is not refunding the amount many follow ups but no response ...
Nov 10, 2022 by RAJENDRA KHANAPURKAR
HOLIDAY PACKAGE (THOMASCOOK INDIA LTD) Open
I had booked a holiday for my family(including my parents/kids/wife)in Feb **** from above vendor. As the COVID *st wave pandemic struck we could not travel and accordingly we asked for reimbursement but the company denied and asked us to post...
Nov 09, 2022 by DR GURULINGESH METIPATIL
Cancelled hotel booking not refunded (Agoda Booking) Open
*. I booked a Holiday at Ranthambore Tiger Inn Resortl for dates **-** Oct ***** via a Travel Agency Agoda website with booking ID ********** for Rs *****.** .The condition was that no charges will be levied if cancelled before ** Oct ****. Du...
Nov 08, 2022 by Niangngaihkim Tonsing
FLIGHT TICKET REFUND NOT RECEIVED (Goibibo) Open
I have booked a flight with GOIBIBO on *th August and Cancelled on *th Aug **** within ** hours of booking. GOIBIBO BOOKING ID: GOFLIMTD************** LUFTHANSA FLIGHT NUMBERS: FLIGHT PNR: SYLX*T FLIGHT NUMBER: LH-*** on *th Oct **** (Fro...
Nov 08, 2022 by SriKavya Chavali
REFUND NOT RECEIVED FOR 4 MONTHS AFTER SEVERAL INTERACTIONS (Travolook (Www.travolook.in)) Open
I had tried to make a booking on travolook.in on **JULY**** for myself BHARATH NARAYAN SANGAMESWARAN with reference number REF*********. Payment was done with my debit card for rs **,*** and immediately after debiting the amount, the booking wa...
Nov 08, 2022 by BHARATH NARAYAN SANGAMESWARAN
Not getting refund (Happyeasygo.com) Open
My flight was cancelled by Airlines (Go first). And I have requested for refund. Now it's around *months and I haven't received any refund just assurance from the company. every week they say they will refund me on Wednesday, but nothing hap...
Nov 07, 2022 by Biplav kumar
Flight Refund not received (Happy Easy Go) Open
Dear Sir, I have made ***% refunded flight ticket through Happy Easy go. In case of cancellation , you will get ***%money back. I have cancelled my ticket but they are not refunding my money back. MY PNR - DE*C*Q Airline - Spicejet ...
Nov 07, 2022 by Nikunj Patel
Rohan Dubey (Easemytrip) Open
Hours before reaching the bus stop, I called the bus conductor to enquire on the bus and to my surprise he said he doesn't work with EMT anymore. Upon reaching the bus station and asking around, everyone was saying that Choudhary travels used...
Nov 06, 2022 by Rohan Dubey
Not generating invoice for my taxi rides (Ola) Open
I use ola app to book any cabs or autos to travel from office to home. So, for my last * rides, I'm not able to get invoice and this invoice is important such that I can get reimbursements for my bills. When I reach Ola support, they provide me...
Nov 06, 2022 by NAVEEN N
Insignificant outstanding payment (ZoomCar) Open
I booked zoomcar and paid entire amount of booking and fare. I also Recieved zoomcar mail of acknowledgement of no outstanding amount. Then, after few days they started circulating messages about outstanding payment and their legal team started...
Nov 05, 2022 by Anurag Sharma
Hotel Cancelled after Booking with no information (Agoda Booking) Open
I had booked a Hotel in Dubai through Agoda in September ****, Once in doubt i requested for Confirmation from Hotel itself, After Several reminders No mail was answered from Hotel. I asked for the same, They informed me that my booking got ca...
Nov 05, 2022 by Joney Dua
Outstation Ride The Driver Entered Incorrect Odometer Reading (Ola Cabs) Open
Hello Team, There has been fraud done by OLA cab driver on July **, ****, I tried connecting with them several times but no response. Without even showing driver entered the km and I couldn't do anything about it( as I was loading and unload...
Nov 03, 2022 by Umang Agarwal
Regarding Refund (Happyeasygo.com) Open
I tried to book air ticket from happyeasygo.com on **th October for Imphal to Delhi, but after making the payment ticket was not issued. I have tried calling them, sent email, posted in their social media accounts but no one response. I spent m...
Nov 03, 2022 by Moirangthem tamphasana chanu
Bus Journey Cancelled (Sai Rucha Tours and Travels Red Bus) Open
I have booked my Journey **/**/**, *:** PM via Red Bus from Ahmednagar to Mapusa Goa. I have opted for Sai Rucha Tours and Travels. Below are the detials of the confirmation via email and whatsup Ticket Number: TRBA******** | PNR No: ********...
Nov 03, 2022 by Sadhana Rahul Shelar
Fraud pavitra devbhoomi tour and travels (Pavitra Devbhoomi Tour And Travels) Open
Company name -Pavitra Devbhoomi tour and travels company mail id -pdbtourandtravels@gmail.com company Mr Manoj And Himanshu contact no -**********/********** date of booking -**/**/**** I have paid amount -***** receive only -*****. I had bo...
Nov 03, 2022 by MOHIT KAGRA
Fraud in selling membership (Country Holidays Inn Suites Pvt Ltd ) Open
Resolution demand: *. Refund *. Damages & compensation against mental harassment. *. Apology from CHIS Employees (Mr. Amit Verma, Ms. Deepali, Ms. Kiran, Mr. Balal, Mr. Mukesh) We took the membership plan on ** June **** from CHIS noida ...
Nov 02, 2022 by Anu Sethi
Travalook not refunding booking amount to bank (Travolook) Open
While booking my ticket was not booked but payment of **** was done and deducted from my debit card. After * month , travolook has refunded amount in travolook wallet but not refunding to my original bank account. They are un-ethically using ...
Nov 02, 2022 by Amit Saini
AIR TICKET REFUND (MakeMyTrip India Pvt Ltd ) Closed
I BOOKED * FLIGHT TICKET TO USA DURING LOCKDOWN PERIOD APRIL ****, I PAID RS.******/- FROM MY CREDIT CARD. ALL FLIGHTS CANCELLED , STILL THE COMPANY DID NOT PAY MY MONEY, I HAVE ALL THE DOCUMENTS....
Jan 05, 2022 by DAVIS P A
Ticket was not confirmed but amount got deducted (Yatra.com) Closed
Hi, This is S.R. Chaithanya Reddy. I tired to book flight ticket from Patna to Hyderabad on **st Dec ****, the ticket was not confirmed but my amount was debited into Yatra account. It has been * days i raised complaint to yatra support team. ...
Jan 03, 2022 by Chaithanya Reddy
Didn t receive refund for flight cancellation (Yatra) Closed
I had booked ticket from Ahmedabad to Bangalore, via Go First, planned for *st Jan **** (*:** a.m to **.** a.m) on yatra.com. Unfortunately, after multiple follow ups with yatra, I still didn't receive my refund of INR **** back. The booking ID...
Dec 31, 2021 by Vivek Shah
Cancellation refund (Yatra) Closed
I booked train ticket from yatra app. Amount of Rs **** got deducted from amazon pay but no booking details shared. I contacted yatra chat box but no response given....
Dec 30, 2021 by Pavvi Agarwal
I booked bus in yatra app. bus canceled by bus operator. but refund not received my ticket details:Your bus booking for **-Dec-**** from Visakhapatnam to Chennai is successful. Your booking reference is *************. Bus PNR: AU**********. Op...
Dec 28, 2021 by Matha madhav
Hotel Manager don t allow us to stay (Agoda) Closed
I had booked a hotel from Agoda on **th Dec. "Spot on ***** Hotel Anjana" which was from **st Dec to **th Dec and for which I paid Rs ****. When I entered the hotel first, the hotel manager said that he has not received any online booking and t...
Dec 24, 2021 by Amit Mandal
Refund not processed (Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited) Closed
I opted for Club Mahindra blue studio membership on ** Oct **** and made a downpayment of INR *****. I later found out that many important terms and conditions were concealed from me and I requested for cancellation and full refund through ema...
Dec 23, 2021 by Drishan Sengupta
MMT Premium Honeymoon Package not honored (Makemytrip india Pvt Ltd) Closed
Dear team, I have an issue with my honeymoon package due to which I am being embarrassed now by friends and family. I have been chasing MakeMyTrip customer support from August **** for a resolution on my Honeymoon Package Booking ID NL*...
Dec 19, 2021 by Ashish Goyal
Money deducted twice from zestmoney (Yatra) Closed
When I was completing my payment in Yatra booking flight ticket after the payment my zestmoney account shows twice money is deducted from my account for one ticket I’ve been sending mails to Yatra support but didn’t receive proper response ...
Dec 18, 2021 by Yelleesha
Refund for Cancellation (Yatra.com) Closed
I have booked a flight from Yatra and I couldn't travel, hence got the booking cancelled from Airline Side. Airline confirmed that the refund has been processed from their side but Yatra still have not processed my refund....
Dec 17, 2021 by Jineesh M
I booked a bus from vizag to Chennai in yatra app.but bus canceled by bus operator.but money not refunded. yatra service not lifing my call. ticket details: Your bus booking for Dec **, **** from Visakhapatnam to Chennai is successful. You...
Dec 12, 2021 by Matha madhav
Refund not credited (Easemytrip) Closed
PNR: ********** PNR *: ********** Received refund of only * pnr (cancelled tkt)....
Dec 11, 2021 by Zubair Ahmad Dar
RE YA Bus Booking Query Sales Enquiry Complaint 3 (Yatra bus) Closed
Hi, With reference to above bus booking query no. I already raised concern related with bus booking dates */**/** Mumbai to Solapur. Operator told we don't got any booking for above route from yatra side for me They refused my booking so, I...
Dec 10, 2021 by DHANAJI BHOPATE
CHEAT ONLINE AIRTICKETS SELLER (Cleartrip com) Closed
Trip Id: ************ *-I bought an air ticket Udaipur to Delhi for **th Nov ****, vide trip ID : ************ from Cleartrip.com by paying Rs *,***/ *- I decided to change my date and paid another Rs *,***/ for “a service to pre pone my jo...
Dec 09, 2021 by Sushil Kumar Rajmal JAIN
NO refund from Yatra or Airindia (Air India Yatra) Closed
I bought a ticket which is completely refundable. However, Neither Air India nor Yatra is acting in a way which is fair. They are'nt giving me my refund rather harassing me...
Dec 09, 2021 by Hitaishita Virmani
COURSE NOT DISCONTINUED EVEN AFTER SO MANY AND CALLS (Byju jee) Closed
My Son Deepanshu Have Started Taking Coaching From Aakash Institute Dehradun Rajpur Road Branch On ** JULY **** .But He Decided To Discontinue From The Course Just After ** Days Due To Medical Issue(Injury In The Eye) And We Have Sent An Email ...
Dec 07, 2021 by Pardeep Kumar
I havent received my Refund amount (Yatra.com) Closed
I had booked a Flight through Yatra.com from Blore to Kochi which was an Air Asia Flight. However, Air Asia Cancelled the flight due to Operational reasons and refunded the amount to my Travel Agent ie Yatra.com on **-Dec-****. It has now been ...
Dec 06, 2021 by Rohith R B
Fraud Issue (Easemytrip) Closed
I Had booked a ticket for Delhi to Darbhanga for *rd Nov after having a conversation with EaseMyTrip, but the bus service was a fraud and left the Destination point before time, after that day I have called multiple times to EaseMyTrip but they...
Dec 05, 2021 by Aayush Dev
Bus booking (Yatra.com) Closed
I have completed booking via yatra.com from delhi to manali on * December **** and bus operator stated that he haven't received any booking from yarta.com bus operator denied any booking ...
Dec 02, 2021 by Sumit Choudhary
Pathetic journey with RedBus (Redbus app) Closed
This is regarding my pathetic journey last night with RedBus , let me share you in detail hell experience and I would say it was none less than Journey to Hell. I am very much exhausted due to this and got even sick today. Much much Bad Experi...
Dec 02, 2021 by Paramjeet Singh
"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