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 of cancelled flight (Goibibo and Goair) Open
PNR No. GFNKWR I booked flight ticket in GoAir through Goibibo website. for Ranchi-Bangalore-Cochin trip. Paid Rs.****/-. Later the flight cancelled by GoAir and issued full refund of ****/- as cash to agency Goibibo (email attatched) and told...
Jul 25, 2020 by JERIN C JOSE
Refund issue by Goibibo (Goibibo) Open
My return flight has been cancelled by Airlines and issued as a refund on ** June **** to travel agent as it was booked over Goibibo. American airlines has sent confirmation to me over email and refund receipt also available on their portal. G...
Jul 24, 2020 by PRASHANT PADOLE
Refund not provided (Goibibo) Open
I have booked flight tickets thru goibbo PNR U*NQKL & PNR F**EMS travel dates *th April **** and **th April **** due to lockdown travel was banned .Airline first offered credit shell I have spoken to the airline and requested refund as iam not ...
Jul 23, 2020 by Shanmuga Anand
Ticket refund (APSRTC) Open
Hi I'm booking ticket vij to tirupathi on June ** ticket was not booked payment deducted from my account. I'm booking through APSRTC app only I got message like ticket not booked you money refund * to ** working days one month over no response....
Jul 23, 2020 by Dharmarao suragani
Amount not refunded (Goibibo) Open
I had booked air tickets for travel to Singapore and back by Singapore Airlines via Goibibo in May ****. Due to Covid-** pandemic, Singapore Airlines cancelled the flights and returned the full booking amount. This information was not shared by...
Jul 22, 2020 by Ipsita Roy
Non refund (Makemytrip) Open
I have made a transaction by purchasing a ticket to my native place via googlepay vide Upi transaction no ************ which i have got the receipt of but makemy trip neither acknowledge nor did they issue me a ticket .Now their contact system...
Jul 22, 2020 by Sujit Nayak
Travel agency not refunding money back (Holiday Junctions) Open
We booked Europe trip for December *, ****. But got plan cancel email from travel agency and was assured that we will be getting our money refunded back and they will give us extra travelling coupon to aboard our expenses for next travel. But i...
Jul 22, 2020 by Abhishek Tiwari
Customer support intentionally MISLED into ticket cancellation (Goibibo) Open
I had booked an airindia flight before lockdown started, and on **-**-****, when I asked Goibibo customer support if I can get a refund, they replied by saying that AirIndia is not offering any refund on cancellations. But immediately after tha...
Jul 22, 2020 by Ankit Das
Given a offer when I went to claim they said to iqnore the offer (Airtel ) Open
From the company I got a sms that your wallet have been credited with rs ** ,to claim it download the app.When I downloaded there was no sach thing ,then I called the customer help line number and they said to iqnore it.I know it's a very small...
Jul 21, 2020 by Md Mosaraf Hossain
No Refund for flight cancelled due to (Goibibo) Open
I booked a flight for Bengaluru-Bangkok sector (PNR - T*KI*H, ********-********). But due to Covid** pandemic, entire air travel was shut. It's been more than * months but Goibibo is not refunding my amount. ...
Jul 21, 2020 by Aakash Aakash
Refund Complaint against Goibibo (Goibibo) Open
I had booked air ticket for two persons from Pune to Leh (travel date ** July ****) and Leh to Pune (travel date ** July ****) on ** Jan **** through goibibo(PRN No:N*MTNJ) of GoAir airlines of Rs.***** Due to India china dispute and Corona pa...
Jul 21, 2020 by Niraj Walunj
Didn t get my refund back (Make My Trip) Open
Respected Concern. I have a flight on ** March **** to Australia via Singapore from Hyderabad. Due to the ongoing situation of COVID-**, the airlines have cancelled the flight and requested for the refund. As I contacted the scoot airlines the...
Jul 21, 2020 by Srujan Chetllapelli
Traansaport Related Issue (Red Bus) Open
I booked a ticket for **th July from Mahalaxmi travels via redbus for * pm as I had to reach in someone’s funeral by **th night. I reached the boarding point ** mins prior to the boarding time and was told by the driver to wait there and the...
Jul 21, 2020 by Monika Srivastava
Refund for ticket PNR ECTCFX on GoAir flight 807 from Jaipur JAI to Bengaluru BLR vide MMT ID o (Make my trip) Open
I had booked the tickets through SBI credit card on **.**.**** for the tickets PNR ECTCFX on GoAir flight G*-*** from Jaipur (JAI) to Bengaluru (BLR) vide MMT ID NF************** on ** Feb '** at **:** hrs and the same was cancelled by Goair i...
Jul 21, 2020 by M L INDULEKHA
Not paying my hard earned money (Traveltriangle) Open
I Have Made A Travel Booking On *Nd March **** For My Trip To Mauritius On **Rd April ****, My Booking Id Is *******. For This I Have Paid Rs.**,***.** Amount To Travel Triangle Agent. But Due To Covid-** Global Outbreak, I Had Told Travel Tria...
Jul 20, 2020 by Rajat Sharma
Mono net pink saree (Jio fab) Open
The saree we ordered wasn't as expected. Poor quality. And not well finished. The is colour is soo vibrant that one cannot wear it. We asked for the return but they told we cannot take back the saree because you had a discount of Rs *** being y...
Jul 20, 2020 by Indhu sree
Refund from Cleartrip (Cleartrip) Open
My flight was booked from Budapest to Delhi for **st March on Polish airlines through cleartrip. I got a mail on **th march from cleartrip saying flight is cancelled. Though the airline mention it on its website also that incase the flight is ...
Jul 19, 2020 by Nitin
Regarding refund of my booking money deducted by oyo even after cancellation (Oyo) Open
Dear sir I booked a room in AGRA at **-**-**** with oyo application by **********. Hotel named ZAKI HS was listed in safest hotel . Deduction was done online but when I went to the location of hotel . There was no such rooms & hotel . I cal...
Jul 19, 2020 by Dr SHAILENDRA KUMAR
Payment of Refund not received (Happyeasygo.com) Open
I have cancelled my PNRs SMV*KA and WM*KHD through IndiGo portal and they informed me that they have already processed the refunds in two parts, one on *th of April, **** and the other on **th of July, **** to the agent wallet. I have made the ...
Jul 19, 2020 by Ankita Bhowmik
It s been more than 3 months but I haven t received my money yet (Travel Triangle ) Open
My Travel Triangle Booking ID is *******. In fact my trip was scheduled for March **-**, ****, but it was later canceled due to the growing number of cases of Covid-** in India. I have been requesting a refund for more than * months, still no r...
Jul 18, 2020 by Abhijit Das
Bad cab service (Make My Trip) Closed
Reference ID:[******-******] Cab Issue Incident date ** Aug. Complaint logged on **th Aug Last contact on ** Aug Escalated to Mr. Deep Kalra on ** Aug Dear Sir, I feel sorry and pained to bring a very small issue to your notice. I am...
Aug 27, 2019 by Sushil
Wrong hotel booking and no refund (Makemytrip) Closed
I booked a hotel in Oyo ***** Tag House Pune for **th Aug to **th Aug but was not allowed to check in because the hotel had ended its contract with Oyo. However, Makemytrip made me stand and wait for alternative hotel for *.* hours and never ca...
Aug 26, 2019 by Sandeep Padhi
Bus got cancelled (Redbus) Closed
Ticket no: TN*N******** I was at boarding point wherein till waiting for * hours bus had not arrived . Bus did not come there. I also called redbus at that time to get bus contact no. I contacted bus too telling about bus cancellation for no...
Aug 26, 2019 by Nikhil
Bus has cancelled without any information (Redbus.in) Closed
I have booked bus on **th August from Pune to Ahmedabad for **th August. and the ticket number is TN*H******** and PNR is ********. The bus suppose to reach Pune - Wakdewadi- TVS Showroom by **:**pm but its didnt come even *:** pm and we have ...
Aug 26, 2019 by Mehu Bhalala
Bus left without stopping at pickup location (Msrtc Redbus) Closed
Booked bus of **:** pm from Hinjewadi phata pune to Borivali Mumbai Shivneri came at *:** pm and left inspite of waving hands at it. Red bus operators and msrtc operations did not receive calls and slammed call on my face. Poor service. No r...
Aug 25, 2019 by Poonam sawant
Our payment has not been made by Oyo Rooms as a partner (Amora Hotel) Closed
We were in partnership with Oyo rooms and they blocked our payment of *,**,*** Rs. Now it has been two months and they not giving payment and neither NOC of contract discretion....
Aug 25, 2019 by Ketan
Cheated on me (Oyo) Closed
They charged me ****rs ,the front desk person refused to check in and the oyo staff put my call on hold for like ** min no resolution is provided...
Aug 25, 2019 by Sakshi bhardwaj
Room not provided many times (Oyo) Closed
I have booked a room in oyo kolkata. My booking is confirmed but when i reached the they room are not available in this price .if room not available in this price so why so me in this app.I have wait * hours but oyo team does not help properly....
Aug 24, 2019 by Aif
Regarding abusive driver (Uber Cabs) Closed
Driver used the abusive language to the women though it was not our fault he was saying to charge ** rs extra as the road work was in progress and he was busy talking the shits with us with loud voice and verbal aggression and he said us to get...
Aug 24, 2019 by Sanskruti
Ola cab driver cancelled the trip (Ola Cab ) Closed
Subject: Re: Sorry, We could not schedule a ride for you The cab was booked for my dad (a senior citizen) to be dropped off at Banaswadi Rly station. Hope the importance of the ride at a peak time in this city is well understood at your end a...
Aug 24, 2019 by Vm jayadeesh kumar
Amount deducted more than estimated bill and none of the tickets were booked money deducted (UPSRTC) Closed
I was booking tickets from UPSRTC on *th of August, I opted for * tickets, and while doing payment to them it was showing a bill of *** but after typing the OTP for transaction I was redirected to home page and my tickets were not booked, inste...
Aug 24, 2019 by Mukeetuzzama
Hotel booking issue (Oyo) Closed
Respected Sir/Madam, I had booked a room dated on **nd August & OYO Executive confirm me Hotel Debdutta at Coochbehar. My Booking IDTXQK****. But after reached on Property, they denied. Because they haven't no room & already inform to o...
Aug 24, 2019 by Munshi Firoz Rahaman
IRCTC ticket amount not refunded after 2 months (IRCTC) Closed
I had booked a ticket which i cancelled on **th june. When the amount was not refunded after * week i raised a complaint. Till date they haven't done anything on that. All they tell me that i should contact my bank. Why should I as a custome...
Aug 24, 2019 by Mrinal Harsh
Hotel reservation was denied (Goibibo.com) Closed
I booked a room online through Goibibo.com at Collection O ***** Friends Colony East, New Delhi on Aug. *, ****. Check-in date was */**/** and check out date was **/**/**. Full payment of Rs **** was made online for the same. On *th I reached t...
Aug 17, 2019 by Jyotirmoy das
Refund not received (Goibibo) Closed
I had done a hotel booking for my family in Chennai date ** to ** July ****. * room, booking ID HTL*XV*RLG and HTLU*VCX*A. The total amount of **** Rs paid to Goibibo. When reached the hotel there was a problem in the hotel. I talk to Goibibo t...
Aug 04, 2019 by Neelkamal chandgothia
Booking cancelled by OYO but money not refunded (OYO Rooms) Closed
I had booked an OYO room on **-**-**** booking ID (KQIE****), KBR Residency, on **-**-**** I got a call from the hotel that there is a water problem so cancel your booking. After that, I immediately called Oyo and told all my problem on that da...
Aug 03, 2019 by Abhishek chowdhury
Issue in refund (Makemytrip (india) Pvt. Ltd.) Closed
On June **, ****, I booked a flight with Makemytrip for departure date Oct **, ****, Dublin to Mumbai and return on Nov **, ****. The booking did not reflect under the details of my upcoming trip. I contacted MMT via chat and they told me to wa...
Jul 28, 2019 by Anthony Raivellur
Cheated by travel agent (Indiaghoomo) Closed
I have a really big story or I should call it a misery. India Ghoomo is the company & Mr Prashant was the agent, I think they found us on tripshelf. But all the discussions happened over phone & e-mails. I have the e-mail which I can share. To...
Jul 21, 2019 by Jagadish Basavaraju
Refund money isn't get (Goibibo) Closed
I booked a train ticket in two times. First time *** Rs the second time *** Rs debited but failed the booking. Refund amount didn't get....
Jul 20, 2019 by Jeslin k john
Not getting response (Rachana geological) Closed
I have booked a bus for my trip to Hubballi on **.**.****, vide ID DUR***VLSR by paying ****.**. I have not received any details in my mail. It is more than ** days. I require all the details. Also, they assured **% deduction which they have no...
Jul 18, 2019 by K. Prabhakara
"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