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
Money deducted no ticket generated refund not processed yet (Travolook) Open
I booked a flight ticket on *st Oct through travolook. The payment got processed through cashfree payment gateway but did not recive any msg or mail regarding ticket confirmation. Later after ** mins got a call from a lady saying that payment g...
Oct 06, 2020 by Akshay Takey
Refund not given (Cleartrip) Open
Indigo has given the refund to cleartrip on July and August and i have not yet got the refund into my account even till date (Oct *th). Cleartrip has closed all customer support options and is giving a standard computer reply that there is no b...
Oct 06, 2020 by Joel Jose
Services not delivered (WWICS Immigration Consultants) Open
I visited wwics mohali in **** in regards to student visa but due to gap i could not apply thereafter i got a call fromm Yuvraj sobti employee of wwics mohali that I should apply undr skilled cateogry.I had scored *.* bands in general ielts and...
Oct 06, 2020 by Shubhneet
Refund Not Initiated (Travolook in) Open
I have booked a ticked on travolook.in on **-**-**** from Hyderabad to Bangalore. The payment was debited from my account but i have not received any flight confirmation. After a half n hour i got a call from travolook customer team that my tic...
Oct 05, 2020 by Amit Goyal
Replacement of External Hard Disk Drive having S N (WD My passport) Open
I had mailed it about Hard Disk Drive replacement on **.**.**** but till today there is no reply from Company side. The External Hard Disk is under warranty period. Unable to contact to the customer care number. ...
Oct 05, 2020 by Dharmendra Kumar Behera
BUS BOOKING (UNIVERSAL TRAVELS REDBUS) Open
I booked * rd oct **** for * tickets from chennai to tirukadaiyur... But the ticket was booked *th oct ****. I have all screenshots for booking *rd oct.. Redbus is not responding for the issue and the travels also not responding.. Kindly refund...
Oct 05, 2020 by Vijayanandham T
Outdated refund of automatically cancelled train (IRCTC) Open
I book a ticket for the train and the train automatically cancelled then it was declared by railway department that refund will be given when the lockdown opens after * months till * months but since it was window ticket we waited for the offic...
Oct 05, 2020 by Shital Ruprao Damle
Refund not received by makemytrip (Makemytrip india Pvt Ltd) Open
I booked round trip flights via makemytrip. Due to pandemic i rescheduled the flights through airlines as makemytrip could not be reached for rescheduling via phone. The flights however got cancelled by the airlines and they have refunded the a...
Oct 05, 2020 by Manisha Bhteria
Ticket fraud (Travolook) Open
I have booked a flight from jammu to delhi , they send me a mail that booking process has been started, but after a hour i got a message that the flight has been cancelled from the airline, and refund had been initiated but no refund is credi...
Oct 04, 2020 by rohit singh
My flight cancelled by airlines due to covid** report. I want my refund ...
Oct 04, 2020 by nafees ahmed
Travolook Money deducted but no ticket confirmation yet (travolook in) Open
This is the first time i was booking a flight ticket from Travolook and had this horrible experience. The flight ticket from BOM-VNS return and money got deducted at **:**:** IST from my HDFC credit card of Rs ****. ...
Oct 03, 2020 by Alka Katiyar
Ola overcharged me (Ola Cabs Indore) Open
Hi team, I took an Ola ride on ** Sep from Devi Ahilya International Airport (Indore) to my home address which is ** kms away. The estimated fare at the time of booking was INR *** (after applying the coupon code). Upon dropping, the invo...
Oct 03, 2020 by RITWIJ JAIN
Refund Not Received from Cleartrip over 4 Months (Cleartrip) Open
Had to reschedule my Indigo flight from Kolkata to Pune with PNR #DJ*UUJ, trip id# ************. The reschedule happened on **-May-** and generated refund of Rs.**** and the same is refunded by concerned airline now lying with Cleartrip over * ...
Oct 03, 2020 by Partha Pratim Sinha
Refund pending from Goibibo (Goibibo) Open
This is regarding my payment to goibibo regarding seat booking for PNR LPGW*U. The payment was done on the goibibo app for seat booking for *** rs. Seat booking failed but payment was received by Goibibo. Airlines mentioned that they have not r...
Oct 02, 2020 by Pritish Anand
Full refund not provided (Easemytrip) Open
I booked round trip air tickets through easemytrip to travel to delhi on March **. My total ticket cost was around Rs **,***/-. PNR UZD*MB. But due to Corona Pandemic I had to cancel the plan. Communicated the same to AirVistara and they were v...
Oct 02, 2020 by Poola Jeelan Basha
Refund not received (Cleartrip) Open
I booked and cancelled my stay at Indore Marriott from ** to ** Aug. Haven't received the refund yet. I am getting no response from them at all. Customer care number is switched off. Email they are not responding. In App support center is ...
Oct 01, 2020 by NITESH CHANDRA
Ticket not booked but my money deducted from account (Travolook in) Open
Dear sir, Today I booked air ticket from patna to Nagpur, on travolook.in during process my money deducted from my account but ticket no get to me. ...
Oct 01, 2020 by Vikash chandra sinh
Cleartrip Full refund is given for my trip (Cleartrip) Open
Hi Sir, I purchased Visakhapatnam → Mangalore round trip (*th Apr to **th Apr) from cleartrip in March. But due to COVID ** lockdown, it got cancelled. Indigo Team confirmed that they refunded the full amount to Cleartrip. I Paid ***,*** ...
Oct 01, 2020 by Satya Gottumukkala
Nonrefunding (IRCTC) Open
I had not received paid amount to IRCTC on ticket booking on dated :- **/**/**** I had faced a lot of traveling problem and got harres. I got mentality harries. Kindly solve my query otherwise . I will file an FIR against IRCTC. or complet...
Oct 01, 2020 by rasna devi
Urgent Attention Required Trip ID Cleartrip Fraud (Cleartrip) Open
Hi Sir, I purchased New Delhi to Bali round trip (**st July to **th July) from cleartrip in February under their Freedom fare scheme which states that if I cancel my ticket they would refund the full amount within * days. But As you know thi...
Sep 28, 2020 by Sheena Marwaha
Worst room service (India Today Media Plex) Closed
Oyo property **** corporate park (Grater Kailash, Delhi has worst service, bed sheet are very dirty even not changed the sheets after last guest checked out this property. so many hairs stick on pillow as well as bed sheets..rooms are badly sti...
Dec 19, 2019 by Amardeep sharma
Denied rooms at the time of check in (Oyo) Closed
Myself Rochelle Britto- journalist @Economic Times. This email is regarding my grievance with Oyo. Below is the brief history of the terrible issue faced by me: *- booked an Oyo for a trip to Port Blair- Havelock from **-** December and @...
Dec 18, 2019 by Rochelle Britto
I am a victim of a travel agency fraud (Lakshmi Tour And Travels ) Closed
When i was searching in justdial web site for cab booking from bangalore to mysure and ooty. on **.**.**** i got one call from Named Mr Srinivas from Lakshmi Tour and travels from Peenya *nd stage. and he promised to boo hotel and cabs for me....
Dec 17, 2019 by Dilip Kuma Moharana
Hotel Booking fraud by PayTM (PayTM) Closed
I have booked hotel at Saibala Inn in Chennai through PayTM Hotels. Paid money Rs.**** from PayTM wallet. Booked on **rd Nov **** and Paytm confirmed the booking from **rd Nov **** to **th Nov ****. Before reaching the hotel I received call fro...
Dec 12, 2019 by Gopalakrishna K V
Incorrect Information provided by company (Captureatrip India Private Limited) Closed
This Capture A trip Travel company don't have ethics and values. They don't no how to treat with customers. Last Month on Nov ** i booked a package with them for KedarKanth for * days i.e.,from Nov ** Evening to Nov ** Morning (Delhi - Delhi)...
Dec 03, 2019 by Sainath Reddy
Overcharged for flight ticket cancellation (Happyeasygo India Private Limited ) Closed
I had cancelled a flight ticket bearing Trip Id: ****************** (Goa to Delhi, ** Nov, Air Asia). The total cost of the ticket was INR *,*** . Ideally, I should have received INR **** (airline cancellation penalty of INR **** and HappyEasyG...
Dec 03, 2019 by Varnana choudhury
Nonrefund of charges (Easemytrip.com) Closed
I booked a flight tkt on **.**.**** through Easemytrip.com paying Rs.*,***/-for journey from Visakhapatnam to New Delhi on **.**.**** by Air India AI-*** (ETD Vizag **.** Hrs ETA New Delhi **.** Hrs). But I got a call from Air India in the eve...
Dec 03, 2019 by Sharat Kumar Mishra
No intimation on flight timing change (Yatra) Closed
There is no update from the yatra team regarding the flight reshudule details due to which I missed my flight for the reference number ************* and still there are not updated the reshedule details till now in their yatra application ...
Dec 03, 2019 by Alagarswamy
Refund of Airline Tickets cancelled by cleartrip (Cleartrip Private Limited) Closed
Dear Sir / Madam, I am writing to you to raise an issue about Airline Tickets and Fares The issue that I have experienced was: I booked a flight ticket on (**-Aug-****) from Istanbul(SAW) to Sharjah (SHJ) travel date on **-oct-**** time *...
Dec 02, 2019 by Sayeed ahmed
Poor Bus service (Redbus online booking) Closed
I reserved the trip ( sleeper coach non-AC ) by using Redbus. But the bus condition was very poor. The fan was not working in all the seats ( driver said open the window you will get air but its rainy time ). Fully dirty seats causing sneezes....
Dec 02, 2019 by Chandrasekar
Ride canceled by Ola driver (Ola) Closed
The driver of OLA has been late ... Since we called the driver... He said then cancel the ride..... For this the OLA app charged me fees ** ruppes... Since due to unsatisfactory of the situation I suddenly uninstalled and not using the app for ...
Dec 02, 2019 by Logesh
Driver took extra cash (Ola) Closed
It was around * a.m in the morning when I book a cab from Ola cabs app I was not aware they my ride was booked with the payment mode postpaid ,I think it was booked by cash mode and at the end of the ride drivers requested me to give *** rupee...
Dec 01, 2019 by Maher Gupta
Bus booking cancellation mis information (PayTM) Closed
PaytmTravel stop looting people with your buggy app. I want my refund for cancellation of bus booking. Your cancellation policy tab shows **% refund if cancelled between ** Nov *.**pm and *st Dec *pm Cancel and process refund...
Dec 01, 2019 by Hemant kumar
Extra charged amount not refunded (Ola Brewers & Beverages Private Limited) Closed
I used OLA services to travel from vadoara to ahmedabad and they charged extra. Which I later find out and sent a mail. They confirmed through their mail that they charged extra but not refunded. Instead advised me to use the OLA . As I am not ...
Nov 28, 2019 by B Sudarsanamu
GST INOVICE NOT PROVIDED (Cleartrip) Closed
I booked * rooms for * nights through cleartrip mobiles application for hotel LE GRANDE MUMBAI, dated November * to November **, ****, my trip ID is ************. As I given my GST details they are not providing me GST INVOICE, ...
Nov 27, 2019 by Shrikant lakhlani
Ola Harrasing for payment (Ola) Closed
Hi, I had booked auto through Ola using ola money, but later Auto-driver refused for that service and took Cash from me. I had informed the same to the customer service agent who spoke to me and she had a call with the auto driver and confirmed...
Nov 27, 2019 by Jayanthi
Refund not provided (Make My Trip) Closed
Hello i booked rail ticket from Mathura Jun Bhopal Jun .I cancelled the train with certain reason and i paid the amount by debit card ***.when i cancelled the train option of refund reflected clicked on refund it showed that *** amount will be ...
Nov 27, 2019 by Santosh patidar
Inconvenience in oyo hotel (Collection 0 hotel sk elegance) Closed
We checked in hotel at * pm and then we go for shopping and we came in hotel at * pm . When we sleep there was sound in hotel like screaming of boys and girls some boys are running into lobby. We are getting scared we call oyo they connected u...
Nov 27, 2019 by Anoj nikam
Postpaid activated without my knowledge (Ola) Closed
Ola activated postpaid without my knowledge and also some other membership and charged me. I still haven't paid the amount and I don't want to. I keep getting messages asking me to pay the dues. Why should I pay for something that I didn't use....
Nov 26, 2019 by Mathu
Railway Ticket Refund money not received (IRCTC) Closed
Pnr # ********** had booked Goa tickets and had cancelled the same on *-Nov-****. no refund of the amount received from then . I dully got the sms saying it will be refunded. From then i am following on phone to receive UPI trfr ref no. they s...
Nov 25, 2019 by Roopali Agarwal
"Thank you so much to Voxya.com. Legal Notice really worked and Byjus had to refund my amount and cancel the loan. Thanks once again Voxya. "
Ramachal V
Complaint filed against: Byjus