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
Refund Not Received Data Missing from their MyTrips Page (Make my trip) Open
Booked International Flight in January **** for trip from BLR-ROME on *st May and return on **th May. The Flight was cancelled on April ** **** at behest of one of their employee as Jet Airways stopped their service. They kept me on hold regard...
Sep 25, 2020 by Sharat KN
Refund of my Bus Ticket (Mango Travels ) Open
I had booked a ticket from Satna to Bhopal on *-**-**** on PAYTM , and when i reached bus stand at reporting time the Bus was overloaded as there is no social distancing and anything else in the bus , and it was full in gallery also and when i ...
Sep 24, 2020 by narendra Vishwakarma
Partner Investment Fraud (Drivezy) Open
I had a partnership agreement with drivezy invested * lac and bought * vehicles but after January **** they had not made any payments nor have returned to my queries on ending the agreement. ...
Sep 24, 2020 by Syed Nasir Hussain
Refund from Travel agency (Via.com) Open
I booked my ticket from via.com but covid problem my ticket cancelled by airlines but not any notification and refund still have * month I too many tries to contact via agency through email and customer care but no any response. ...
Sep 23, 2020 by Mahendra Kumar
Uber driver misleaded and charged double (Uber Cab) Open
I booked a cab(Uber) for my uncle on **/**/**** at *:**PM. The drived ended the trip within * mins and took my uncle to some other place and told him your booking was made for wrong destination. When my uncle called me the driver asked for char...
Sep 23, 2020 by santosh kumar roul
GOIBIBO NOT REFUNDING AMOUNT RECIEVED FROM AIRLINES (Goibibo) Open
I had booked ticket from GOIBIO. My flight was canceled from GOAIR Airlines for PNR M*C**W . I approached the airline for the refund, they refund me ₹**** and through mail they said that refunded money to travel agents account. Goibibo. I h...
Sep 23, 2020 by PRAJIT VERMA
Double payment to Uber driver (UBER) Open
After completing my ride from Bengaluru Airport to Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy,Bengaluru with Mr.Ashok N (Mob No. **********), I made payment of Rs.***/- thru Phonepe which is deducted from my account. However, he said that he has not receiv...
Sep 22, 2020 by Nikhil Bhat
Cancelled Flight Due to Covid but not got refund (Ixigo) Open
I booked indigo flight on **-Feb-**** for booking date: **-April-****. And cancelled on **-March-****. I got it from indigo as a Credit Shell but not got refund from ixigo. Now if i try to utilise the credit shell indigo guys are saying bookin...
Sep 22, 2020 by Bitu Kumar Nirala
Refund not credited back in card (Travo look) Open
We have booked a flight ticket through the site but they cancelled the ticket without intimating and after I call them they said they will refund the money ...... Now they are not picking up calls and money has not yet come . Please help ...
Sep 21, 2020 by Ravi shah
YOHO TRAVELS not refunding for Andman Package (YOHO TRAVELS) Open
SIR/MADAM I Sanjeet Kumar,I have booked a Andman Package from YOHO TRAVEL on **th Feb **** through Bajaj Finserv and I have Amount of Rs.***** which is advanced payment so that amount for booking could not increase and due to medical and busy...
Sep 21, 2020 by Sanjeet Kumar
Tickets not received (Travolook in) Open
Hello I have book my flights from visakhapatnam to surat today I.e ** sep **** for ** sep. I have made payment of **** but I did not receive my tickets and when I am calling them than they are not picking up my phone.. please help me.i am in ne...
Sep 20, 2020 by Sunil kumar jain
Fast Tag Excess amount deducted for return trip (Hdfc Bank) Open
I am regularly crossing Vanagaram toll Pour, Chennai, Tamilnadu. The following dates return trip taken full amount instead of reduced amount for return journey. **-**-**** Payable Rs.**/- Paid Rs.**/- extra paid Rs.**. **-**-**** Payable...
Sep 19, 2020 by Alwys Robinson
Refund not received Make My Trip (Make my trip) Open
We have not received a refund from make my trip though all the airlines have refund the money. *. Spice Jet : N*YZ*C Rs **** *. Indigo : NPBGTH Rs **** *. Vistara : VW*XB* and VVWEN* Rs ***...
Sep 19, 2020 by Vishal Dhalani
Refund has not received from goibigo (Goibibio) Open
I Have Made Booking For My Flight Tickets To nagpur-delhi and delhi-nagpurThrough GOIBIBO, Flights Got Cancelled Due To COVID , I Got Confirmation From The Airlines That They Have Given Full Refunds For All My Tickets To GOIBIBO, However I hav...
Sep 17, 2020 by Yugandhara kale
Travolook is not refunding flight fare (Travolook in) Open
I booked a flight ticket from Travolook where the booking was cancelled but the deducted the amount . I have mailed their customer care numerous time .Every time they respond like it will be refunded in next * days . The booking date was **...
Sep 16, 2020 by Prasun Majumder
Air ticket refund (travolook com) Open
the air ticket was booked from Mumbai to bangalore on *st aug **** , booking got cancelled from the vendor side pnr was not generated from travolook. Transaction id -*********, booking ref -********* pls find the mail confirmation about the ...
Sep 16, 2020 by vishal kumar kv
PNR GGWSHC Goibibo (Goibibo airlines) Open
Due to COVID-** pandemic situation our flight tickets got cancelled and tried to reach out Goibibo to utilized credit shell amount however credit shell option is not available on desktop version under my account. Till now i have sent ** email ...
Sep 16, 2020 by Anirudh Goel
Failed transaction (Make my trip) Open
I was booking a deal on makemytrip from starting i selected the deal then on next step i filled my details (not login) then i was directed to payment when i paid my transaction was failed and money was deducted it was on *th september **** but ...
Sep 14, 2020 by Bhavya kumar
Convince Fee Deducted in Refund (Goibibo) Open
My PNR Number is GFBMFF. I had booked tickets from Goibibo and my travel date was **.**.**** and return on **.**.****. Due to COVID flight was cancelled and I should have been given full refund. Flight company Indigo had given full refund but G...
Sep 14, 2020 by Bhavin Sanghavi
I do cencle my file of visa (Rudraksh Group Mohali (punjab) ) Open
My name is Harjeet Kaur My village : Haryau District : sangrur Sir hm ne Rudraksh group company mohali (Punjab) me apni file lgaei thi ab nahi lgaani sir hm ne apni file cencle krni hai par wo koi response nahi de rhe or phone b nahi chak ...
Sep 14, 2020 by Harjeet kaur
Not funding holiday package amount (Regalia Corporate Service Pvt. Ltd.) Closed
One day, i had received call from Regalia Corporate Services Pvt. Ltd. Hinjewadi Pune. They told me you have got gift. Please collect your gift from our office. I ignored their thing. But, they was regularly taking follow up of me for collect g...
Mar 17, 2020 by Vinod Vitthal Dhome
Mislead and misinformed by Oyo support team (Oravel Stays Private Limited) Closed
I did an early checkout from an OYO hotel in retaliation to lack of hospitality and support that I received. The hotel reception refused to checkout early citing that there is a system issue. Then I called customer support and they post dated m...
Mar 17, 2020 by Parvaz Bhaskar
Reschedule not happened (Easemytrip.com) Closed
I booked a ticket from easemytrip, then because of Corona virus issue I tried to reschedule with them. I called their customer care so many times but each time they told their. Backend team will call me. But when they called I was traveling so ...
Mar 16, 2020 by Mr SUJIT KUMAR SINGH
Darjeeling Hotel is not refunding money even if cancelled before 12 days (Hotel New Lion Gate Darjeeling) Closed
I have booked * rooms at Hotel New Lion Gate, Darjeeling for * nights (March **-**). Rents per night for the rooms were INR **** and **** respectively. In whatsapp they have asked me to send amount for * night for both the rooms as advance book...
Mar 14, 2020 by Koustav Chakraborty
No refund for cancelled ticket (Yatra.com) Closed
I had booked a flight using yatra.com,delhi Singapore return flight, however the flight was cancelled by me for corona virus scare. Yatra offered a refund of *****, in my favor and I received an email regarding same on **th Feb, **** and it was...
Mar 13, 2020 by Samiullah khan
Improper Services Incorrect information provided by Yatra agent led to loss of money (Yatra Com) Closed
Had booked a flight from yatra. It was to depart from Delhi on *th Feb**** around **AM. Due to corona virus situation flight had to be postponed by about a week. On calling yatra customer care on *th Feb**** at around *PM, we were provided with...
Mar 12, 2020 by Siddharth Singh
Refund not initiated yet (Yatra.com) Closed
Very disappointed with the kind of service that I have received from Yatra.com with regards to my refund. Even after Yatra letting me know on January ** that my refund has been initiated and will receive the same in ** - ** working days, it ...
Mar 09, 2020 by Nixon Philip
Fraud and want my refund back (Palmarinha Holidays) Closed
I was in Goa with my wife and in Calangute I was asked to stop and visit Palmarinha holidays resort and they are having some prizes and we were asked to attend the * hour seminar and after that they asked me for the membership and as soon as I ...
Mar 07, 2020 by Ravi Agarwal
REFUND INITIATED FROM OYO BUT NOT RECEIVED (OYO Rooms) Closed
I booked hotel for my Goa trip from OYO on **.**.**** and paid full amount Rs.**,***/- via Google Pay but they cancelled my booking cause i unable to receive their call after few days of booking. I received message from OYO that my booking is c...
Mar 06, 2020 by PRAGNESH RAMANIKBHAI PARMAR
Club Mahindra not refunding (Club Mahindra Holidays) Closed
Bought the membership from club mahindra holidays around January **th. Cancelled within ** days. As per the clause refund should be given in ** days but they confirmed that the refund will be given in ** days. ...
Mar 06, 2020 by Prarit Vashisht
Tatkal ticket booking (IRCTC) Closed
Hello all, It is so bad experience to book tatkal tickets from irctc site.. It shows that tickets are available but while booking it get stuck at payment page and you will get message that payment is pending from bank side.. If you want t...
Mar 05, 2020 by Sneha Prakash
Refund issues (Akbar Holidays Pvt Ltd) Closed
This company has not refunded me a single penny . Have made all false communication about hotels and it being non- refundable. I also have proof of no communication sent to the hotel in Singapore. Now it’s been over a month I have been follow...
Mar 04, 2020 by Anjali Tewari
Fraud Drivers Led Us To miss our bus tickets of 4 passengers to Bangalore (Redbus.in) Closed
I had a bus booking from thrissur to bangalore on **/**/**** ..I was supposed to board the bus at *:** P.M.. i reached the boarding point at *:** P.M (** mins prior mentioned )..i didn't receive any wake up call from redbus team as they have in...
Mar 02, 2020 by K. Nikhil
Refund Not been Given (Myntra.com ) Closed
Hi I Have two purchased with Myntra.com on **.**.**** once i received i Phone them Product is Not Upto Standard please take them Back And Credit same in My Myntra Credit Later two Days i Have received refund of One Shirt never Refund of Iind ...
Feb 28, 2020 by Abid Zargar
OLA CHARGED WITHOUT GIVING SERVICE (Ola Cab Visakhapatnam) Closed
N **TH FEB **** I HIRED OLA CAB ON RENTAL FOR * HRS AND WAS ON MY WAY TO AIRPORT TO PICKUP MY BOSS FROM AIRPORT WHICH IS HARDLY ** -** KM FROM DABA GARDEN (VISHAKAPATNAM ).I WAS ABOUT TO REACH AIRPORT WHICH WAS HARDLY *.* KM,AS MY DRIVER (RONGA...
Feb 28, 2020 by SHAHNAWAZ ALAM
Refund related issues (Akbar Travels) Closed
So this company was told about Coronavirus and it’s impact so like a normal person I was wanting to cancel the trip and written it to the Travel Agency in return they claimed Hotel is not refunding where in the hotel said we have no such book...
Feb 27, 2020 by Anjali Tewari
Refund of the security deposit (Colive Oasis) Closed
I was a customer of colive Oasis. Me and my brother stayed at room number ***. We bought a puppy to our room as there was no rules for pets written in the colive hand book ( I have the evidence for that), as we bought a puppy to our room the ...
Feb 19, 2020 by Anjana B Nair
Refund required for booked travel plan (Travel Triangle ) Closed
Travel plan to phuket,bangkok was booked from *th Feb ****.full amount was paid to the travel agency, we planned for a hassle free trip but it turned out to be the worst nightmare. After booking the travel plan we asked travel agency that I had...
Feb 18, 2020 by Imam Bahadur
Customer care denied to reschedule or cancel the ticket (Red Bus) Closed
I have requested red bus customer care to reschedule my ticket from **th feb **** to **th feb **** due to personal issues but they denied it stating it cannot be rescheduled or cancelled as it has already been rescheduled from **th to **th. Thi...
Feb 11, 2020 by Srija reddy
Dissatisfied with membership Feel cheated (Club Mahindra Holidays) Closed
Club Mahindra -white studio- membership. The company takes a lot of money and the resorts / properties are off located from main tourist destination. They are not listening to the customer grievances and only bother for money. The service is be...
Feb 09, 2020 by Ranjeet kumar
"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