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
Non refund of payment (Goibibio) Open
Dear Sir/Madam, As I have Booked Flight ticket from Mangalore to Pune through travel app Goibibo. The agency has confirmed ticket via Bangalore as Mangalore to Bangalore through Indigo Airline and Bangalore to Pune through Go Air Airline. Now ...
Oct 03, 2021 by Naveena Shetty
Refund amount not got however asked to wait same for 7 to 10 business days (Travolook Www Travolook In) Open
I have made a payment through upi to travolook .in for booking a flight ticket to delhi from kolkata. They charged me and then cancelled my ticket stating the same vague reason that the flight ticket price has changed.I called them and saw the...
Sep 30, 2021 by Arindam Roy
Vacation Package Fraud (Wonderland Vacations India Private Limited) Open
Bough vacations package from them. Now they not even picking my calls for booking....
Sep 30, 2021 by Narender Kumar
RedBus India Bus Services (Redbus.in) Open
I had scheduled bus via RedBus Trip Code: **** Departure: **:** PM Sep **, **** The scheduled arrival time was **:** PM ** Sep But it got delayed by * hours When I reached out to customer support they suggest to take an alternative at *:** ...
Sep 29, 2021 by Mahima Raj Gupta
TRAVOLOOK NOT REFUNDING MONEY DEDUCTED TOWARDS BOOKING OF MY AIR TICKETE (TRAVO LOOK TRAVEL AGENCY) Open
I was booked an air ticket through TRAVOLOOK on **.**.**** to travel round trip to Chennai - Hyderabad. They debit the ticket amount of Rs.**** for the booking. Within ** minutes I got a call from Travolook travel agency and told that my boo...
Sep 29, 2021 by S. MOHAMMED SABIR
Money paid still its showing in pending status in apps (Ola Cab ) Open
Dear Sir, this is to bring to your notice for the below mentioned mail regarding the pending payment of Rs.***,for which i had travelled on **th septerber ****.As there was some problem with connectivity and therefore i was not able to make ...
Sep 27, 2021 by SHAHNAWAZ ALAM
Refund has not credited to my account (Travelook) Open
I had initiated the flight booking from Bangalore to Pune on *th September. After booking I received a message to wait for ** min for confirmation of the booking. But then it got cancelled and received the mail for refund which would be in the...
Sep 22, 2021 by Anupam Kumar
Train missed due to unprofessional driver (Ola Cab ) Open
I have booked a cab on **.**.****, for my wife and kids up to Railway station. But, due to very unprofessional and irritating behavior of Ola Cab Driver, they missed the train. He took a round- round and very long route in his overconfidence...
Sep 17, 2021 by Aditya Prakash Pathak
False promises made while selling and no refund (Taj India Resorts limited ) Open
This company sold me a five year membership with the promise of luxury properties and great service. Now when I asked to make bookings in Goa, delhi, etc they are providing cheap and useless hotel options which have no reputation. I asked for a...
Sep 15, 2021 by Varad Aggarwal
Extra payment taken for room at last moment (Oyo hotel g s residency) Open
Booked hotel through oyo at price rs*** including rs*** paid online,when reached hotel they denied payment through oyo and took payment of **** for the room and stated that it includes tax and all and they will give the bill also,but during che...
Sep 13, 2021 by Atul kumar singh
Flight ticket cancelled and not refunded (Travolook) Open
The flight was booked for surat to bangalore for * th may. The company travolook cancelled the ticket after payment and said the amount will be refunded. It has been * months the money has not been refunded....
Sep 12, 2021 by Samarth Mehta
Credit Shell not refunding (Cleartrip) Open
Cleartrip is not refunding credit shell for Trip ID:************. However Spicejet has refunded to them on ** April ****. pls see attched screenshots SpiceJet has refuned Rs. *****/- amd Rs.*****/- Cleartrip has refunded only Rs. ***** and n...
Sep 11, 2021 by Saurabh Srivastava
Refund not initiated (Travel Look) Open
I had book one air ticket from Leh to Mumbai on **th of July **** Date of travel was-*rd of Aug **** They had canceled my tickets and told me that they will refund my amount within *-* days and now every time when I call their executive the...
Sep 10, 2021 by Mayank Chandalia
Travolook in not refunded my money (Travolook Www Travolook In) Open
I booked a flight from travolook. It was roundtrip . I got a call from lady saying due to some error the booking could not be done and I will get back my refund. I am attaching all evidences over here. They are scammers. They said i will g...
Sep 08, 2021 by Shivani Kanade
Subject non refund of Rs 6308 Ref by Travolook of flight booking Bangalore to Jaipur I (Travolook) Open
Subject: non refund of Rs ****(Ref ********** )by Travolook of flight booking Bangalore to Jaipur I undersigned booked a Air flight through Travolook (organisation to book flights for various Airlines) by GOAIR on **th July ** for Bangalore to...
Sep 08, 2021 by Dr.Nandlal Girdharilal Agarwal
Airticket not issued (Saifeen International tours travels) Open
I have paid to agency on March **** for going to saudi Arabia...He has postponed my travel telling some reasons...After keep calling & asking him why it takes too much time he said that we need ***** more& I paid that amount also...After * mont...
Sep 08, 2021 by Niroshan
Misrepresentation of hotel on website (Agoda) Open
The hotel I purchased on Agoda website was Magnus Square Business Hotel - Double Deluxe room. On their website, it clearly stated that the hotel has a "Shower and Bathtub", but the entire hotel did not have any rooms with a bathtub. This is cle...
Sep 06, 2021 by Natasha Chaudhary
Incorrect Amount Refunded for Flight Cancellation (Happy Easy Go) Open
I had booked an Air Asia flight from HEG ( Happy easy Go) on *rd July. The flight was for **th July. I paid **** for this booking. On the same day, Air Asia cancelled my booking with full refund. Now according to HEG policy they deduct *** rs. ...
Sep 05, 2021 by Gaurav Mukherjee
Flight Booking Refund (Travolook www travolook in) Open
Hi Team, I Booked my flight from LKO-BLR around * month ago. After successful transaction, Received immediate notification and call mentioning that due to operational issues, This booking is cancelled and you will get your refund in * Weeks ...
Sep 05, 2021 by Vikarant Kumar
Flight ticket (Travo look) Open
I have booked a flight ticket on **-**-**** at *pm for bengaluru to chennai through travolook but it was not confirmed then got an email from them as ticket confirmation is under process and after * minutes got another as flight ticket is cance...
Sep 05, 2021 by Arshad Subhani
Amount refund or Credit shell not given (Www.goibibo.com) Closed
i have booked flight with go ibibo.com on ** june ****, my flight booked for ** july ****. still i am waiting for my refund amount or credit shell code to use another flight booking....
Aug 22, 2020 by diwakar jaiswal
Yatra Flight ticket refund delayed on purpose (Yatra com) Closed
Booked airticket for * family members on *th march ****. Flight from Turkish airlines booked using Yatra.com but flight did not take place on **th June **** due to airline cancelled it, as per policy I opted for full refund both company agree...
Aug 22, 2020 by Carolus D
Colive Colive deposit amount NOT refunded (Colive) Closed
I have vacated from Colive on July ** and my refund is not yet returned. I have logged multiple tickets which had no responses. Customer service is not picking up calls. I also did not receive any proper invoice regarding the payment that they ...
Aug 21, 2020 by Rohit Joseph
Refund from Cleartrip Vistara (Cleartrip) Closed
Dear Sir/Ma'm, We have received only Rs. ****/- as refund out of total booking amount Rs. *****.**/- via Vistara Flight booking done via Cleartrip - Trip Id- ************, even when the Flight is cancelled by carrier itself and we have not ini...
Aug 21, 2020 by Ankit Maheshwari
Refund issues (Goibbo) Closed
i have struggling to get my refund from past * months, GOIBIBO Booking Id: SEA*********** PNR : ER*D*L ***+ TWEETS, *** + MAILS, *** + CALLS, STILL NO RESPONSE...
Aug 21, 2020 by SYDNEY FERNANDES
Refund not done (Goibibo) Closed
Flight cancelled from their (airlines) end not proceed of refund mention no help from airlines nor the Goibibo. Further no response from goibibo also no option to contact them directly . No call numbers nor any official ail given whatever call...
Aug 21, 2020 by Rutuja B
Refund amount not credited (Redbus online booking) Closed
Last year I booked bus ticket on Phonepe , redbus ticket not confirmed but amount was debited from my account, yet not refund that amount....
Aug 21, 2020 by Siva
Refund or credit shell not available for further booking (Yatra Com) Closed
Hi i have booked my flight ticket from CHENNAI to Delhi through Yatra for * jun **** by indigo airlines( PNR no- JR**MB ) and return flight for delhi to Chennai on ** jun **** by Air Asia airlines ( PNR no-CY**QB) . reference no -**********...
Aug 20, 2020 by DEVENDRA SINGH FARTYAL
Refund not done by Cleartrip (CLEARTRIP TRAVELS PVT LTD) Closed
Paid for booking ticket from IXD to PNQ, amount debited from bank and still cleartrip mailed that ticket not booked and refund will be initiated after * working days but its almost ** days no refund rwceived and even no reply also from cleartri...
Aug 20, 2020 by Anoop Gupta
Refund not recieved even after 6 months (Goibibo) Closed
My flight British Airways from Manchester to new Delhi was cancelled due to corona virus on March ** ****. And till date I haven't recieved any refund , any coupon . Their is no way to contact them , no email is functioning , their number is...
Aug 20, 2020 by Hardeep singh
Harassment over refund (Cleartrip) Closed
Hi team. I have been trying to get my refund back from the cleartrip company which is the thirparty app for booking, i have made the booking in the month of feb for my trip which was due in april from mumbai to Varanasi return but due to covi...
Aug 20, 2020 by Girishchand pandey
Yatra com Regarding a refund from Yatra (Yatra.com) Closed
Hello, It's regarding a refund from Yatra.com. Booked flight before Covid-** via HDFC smartbuy and flight was cancelled due to lockdown. Indigo has issue refund to Yatra, but they are not responding. Travel Date - **th -**th Apr, **** Y...
Aug 19, 2020 by Tanu Shree
Extra Payment of Luggage (Ease my trip) Closed
I booked ticket from dehradun to delhi with ease my trip app on **/**/**** and also paid Rs ****/- for extra luggage as you show in my ticket. But on **/**/**** when i reached at dehradun airport, My flight was of Air India but Air India author...
Aug 19, 2020 by Amit Kumar Thapa
Flight refund not received (Yatra) Closed
Flight ticket booked on **/**/**** for travel in May ****. But flights got cancelled due to covid. But refund not received not credit voucher received...
Aug 19, 2020 by Sankar t
Refund Amount not received even after 6 months (Easemytrip.com) Closed
Ticket cancelled in the month of Nov ****, but still the refund amount not received yet. EMT initially blamed Air vistara, but air vistara team gave full details about the refund initiation process from their end I.e. refunded the amount of ***...
Aug 19, 2020 by Muzahir Qureshi
Refund not processed (Ixigo.com ) Closed
I have booked an Indigo flight with Ixigo on **th May **** (PNR: UD*JXR ). I paid an extra amount as insurance to cover cancellation fees too. The flight was canceled by the airlines due to lockdown, and the airline company also refunded the ...
Aug 18, 2020 by Nupur Neogy
Didn t get refund till now for the flight cancellation (Ibibo Group Private Limited) Closed
My flight , bearing PNR # PCEMKN, from Bangalore to Kolkata on July **, **** , got cancelled by the GoAir airline. GoAir had refunded the amount to Goibibo with the same mode of payment i.e. Credit Card payment, but Goibibo is issuing only Cred...
Aug 18, 2020 by SINGH VIVEK RANJAN
Refund awaited from Yatra com (Yatra.com) Closed
I booked a two way flight from Mumbai to Amritsar which got cancelled due to covid. Booking number was *************. I was refunded <**% of the amount and that too when Indigo refunded the whole amount to them. Need to file a consumer complain...
Aug 17, 2020 by Sahil Sharma
FLIGHT REFUND (Yatra) Closed
I HAD BOOKED TICKET OF WRONG DATE I GOT IT CANCELLED FROM INDIGO ON THE SAME DAY. THEY HAVE REFUNDED THE MONEY ON SAME DAY BUT YATRA HAS NOT YET REFUNDED MY AMOUNT. ...
Aug 17, 2020 by KRISHNA POOJARY
Refund not received from Goibibo for cancelled ticket (Goibibo) Closed
I had a ticket from Doha to Kolkata on **th Ap ** and return ticket on **th June ** in Qatar Airways. I have used Goibibo for booking the ticket. Ticket was cancelled by them but inspite of repeated commitment and promises made by Goibibo no...
Aug 17, 2020 by ANANDA SWARUP ROY
"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