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 yet processed (Happyeasygo.com) Open
It been * months since i have been chasing for the refund and all i get to hear is that it is under process.I had booked flight in April and due to covid the flight got cancelled. The airline refunded full amount long back but i have got no inf...
Jul 10, 2020 by Tejenderjeet Singh
Refund not received for cancellation of flight (Clear Trip flights ) Open
Dear Sir I have booked flight to kozhikode from Kolkotha on November *th. Due to the cyclone flight cancelled and we have requested for refund of the same. I have booked the ticket through cleartrip. I am attaching the E-ticket for your inform...
Jul 10, 2020 by suja.c.a
Not issuing ticket from credit shell (HAPPYEASY GO) Open
I booked a flight from Hyderabad to Port Blair **th March - PNR (FL**KM). It was cancelled due to lockdown and the credit shell was issued to happy easy go . So now i need to travel from Hyderabad to Delhi . But Company has no option to all...
Jul 10, 2020 by Tanuj Bhatia
Goibibo is not refunding my cancelled flight tickets amount (Goibibo) Open
We have booked * flight tickets for **th april to travel from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam. All flights got cancelles from **am on **th March due to covid-** pandemic. The airline has issued refund (to agent-GPIBIBO) on my request. But Goibibo is...
Jul 10, 2020 by Pratyusha Boppana
Refund not recieved fake assurance (Cleartrip) Open
I had three cancelled bookings with cleartrip in march **** * with vistara rs. **,*** and * with spicejet rs.**, *** total... When the flights got cancelled due to covid vistara sent the full refund to cleartrip in mid-march and since then the...
Jul 09, 2020 by Awsaf jeelani
Due to the COVID-** Lockdown my Qatar Flight (PNR: JK*QAN) was cancelled by Qatar Airlines itself. I did my booking in January *, **** through the infamous ClearTrip (TripID: ************). I requested for my refund, but I only got the generic ...
Jul 09, 2020 by Deval Kaushik Shah
CaseId RE Status of refund Happyeasy Go (HAPPYEASY GO) Open
Dear Team I booked flight ticket from HappyEasy Go on Jan'** before lock down from LKO-CCU and back but while lockdown my flight was cancelled by the airline company and as per the written statement (attached with this complaint) by the airlin...
Jul 09, 2020 by Bikash Mukherjee
Refund from www makemytrip comon flight cancelled by the airline (Makemytrip india Pvt Ltd) Open
I had booked flight for my wife Mrs Anupriya Chauhan Naithani, Age -** yrs, from goa-bangalore-dehradun.. Air Asia flight for Goa to Bangalore and Indigo flight from Bangalore to Dehradun .. the travel date was ** Jul **. The above booking was ...
Jul 09, 2020 by Priyank Naithani
Extra charged for hotel stay (Hotel Chandela Inn) Open
As per hotel's tarrif , it's mentioned as **** per day which should be equivalent to ** hours. I checked in the hotel at *:** PM on *th July ** and checked-out at *:** PM on *th July . Ideally this should be considered as * nights stay and appl...
Jul 09, 2020 by Chanchal Deshmukh
Ola drived refused to come (Ola) Open
Today i had booked a cab from Tata Medical Centre, Kolkata. When i called the driver, he told me to come on the other side of the road as he was dropping another passenger. I requested him to come to the hospital itself as there was a patient w...
Jul 08, 2020 by Himansu mitra
Cancelled airfare not refunded by Goibibo (Goibibo) Open
I have cancelled my ticket for my trip from Mumbai to Istanbul due to COVID pandemic on **th March ****. The airlines refunded the full amount and told me to contact the travel agent, in this case Goibibo, to get it back to my original payment ...
Jul 08, 2020 by Nandana Roy
Refund not received (Goibibo) Open
British Airways tickets were booked for * from Mumbai to New York and Back (**th May onwards and *rd June **** Return) Goibibo ID no. TUAJZDZ*T. Due to COVID **, flights got suspended. Had asked the agent to cancel the booking with full refund....
Jul 08, 2020 by Nand Kishore Pandey
Flight Ticket (Cleartrip) Open
I booked a flight ticket on June ** **** from Delhi to Jammu on vistara airlines to travel on July * **** On journey date when I was supposed to get my seat no. from airport counter they declined my request stating that I don't have a PNR and ...
Jul 08, 2020 by Devansh Singh
Haven t received a refund from MMT since almost 5 months (Makemytrip india Pvt Ltd) Open
I haven’t received a refund payment that was initiated on **th March,****. After multiple calls and emails, with no answer, and random messages saying I am not liable for a refund, ** days after my refund has apparently been processed is just...
Jul 08, 2020 by Manvi Bhandari
Not gotten Refund by Clear Trip while taking follow up since May 2020 (Clear Trip) Open
Hi On * March I booked a ticket from Cleartrip. Journey schedule date was ** May **** from Mumbai to Delhi. But due to Covid** Flight was cancelled.This thing we can understand as it is an epidemic ERA. Since May **** I have taken follow ...
Jul 07, 2020 by Nazmul Huda
Wrong Refund Received (Goibibo) Open
I booked Indigo Flight on Goibibo for IXE-BLR(PNR-ULI*VG) and BLR-ATQ(PNR-YQKF*E) on ** Jun **** for Rs.**** combining both after getting all type of discounts.Later my flights were cancelled by Indigo due COVID-** issue and i was given option ...
Jul 07, 2020 by Amandeep Singh
Goibibo not refunding amount processed by Airlines (Goibibo) Open
I booked a two way ticket through GoIbibo website for seychelles with travel date *rd may and return date *th may worth *.*L. The flights got cancelled, i tried contacting the goibibo team but they did not repond so i contacted airlines dire...
Jul 07, 2020 by Abhishek Yadav
Didn t refund the money (Cleartrip) Open
Tried to book a flight ticket but not booked the ticket..till now i didn't recieve my money back.**days are over.please rfund my money back....
Jul 07, 2020 by Jaimon pm
Refund not been done (Goibibo) Open
Hi i have booked a flight ticket from chennai to Colombo on March due to covid ** my flights got cancelled and i initiated for the full refund on **/*/** . i have got my partial payment of ***** but i haven't got my remaining ***** kindly help...
Jul 06, 2020 by premkumar R
Flight ticket not refunded for more than a year (Make my trip) Open
My mother is yet to be compensated for her loss when her flight from Amsterdam to Bangalore in April **** was cancelled after the jet airways airline ran out of money and was grounded in mid-April. We have already made several requests to ...
Jul 06, 2020 by Harshini Shivashankar
Denied room at 3 am (Oyo) Closed
I already booked through Oyo. They called and said the booking has happened but the hotel denied to give the room to me at * am in Nellore. I need compensation for how much I suffer. I didn't get a proper solution from Oyo. The messages detail...
May 16, 2019 by Anoop
Fraud tourism company (aflac tourism) Closed
The company will steal money from you and provide you with anything. I have looted **** rupees and they do it on an everyday basis. Please beware. They target freshers and loot them systematically. They will also dupe you of **** and **** rupee...
May 15, 2019 by NAMIT DEY
Overcharged by the hotel (Oyo) Closed
We stayed at Oyo ***** Sanman Regency, Mysore on the **th of May to the **th of May **** and occupied * rooms. Booking was done under the name Prasad Khade, booking ID SFCP****. We were charged **** INR for each room for * night and **** INR in...
May 15, 2019 by Prasad Khade
Denying to refund after taking double payment (Oyo) Closed
I prepaid my hotel booking for my family to avoid any inconvenience. But at the hotel staff said they don't honour Oyo payment. I called Oyo executive they said to pay at the hotel the money will be refunded. Whenever I called they said refund ...
May 15, 2019 by SHUBHAM RAJ
Refund not received nor initiated (Yatra.com) Closed
I had made an initial payment for booking via Yatra.com and I requested cancellation the very next day due to my personal decision. These customer care people keep playing with us....
May 14, 2019 by Naveen R Kumar
After cancelling flight amount is not refunded (Via.com) Closed
Refund after the cancellation of flight not yet given. I have done the booking of Go airline flight through via.com on ** March. I cancelled it on the same date but still not received refund though the amount of **** rupees suppose to get back ...
May 13, 2019 by Kamini Chavan
Amount deducted but ticket not booked (VRL Travels) Closed
I and my aged and disabled mother were travelling from Gulbarga to Bangalore. The ticket was booked on *th of April. The amounts deducted successfully also message displayed ticked booked successfully. But neither the email nor SMS received. W...
May 12, 2019 by Mahadevapa
Refund not received after flight got cancelled (Makemytrip) Closed
I had booked a flight for *st April **** in the month of January **** through MakeMyTrip. Unfortunately, the tickets were cancelled by Jet Airways and I was supposed to receive a refund for the cancelled flight. I tried calling MakeMyTrip mult...
May 12, 2019 by Sharon Raj
No resolution of complaint (Oyo) Closed
I have a booking with booking id UMNZ**** on **-**-****. I have checked in at **:** am and check out on **:** pm on the same day but the hotel is showing check-out date on **-**-**** around **:** am. I did complaint on Oyo customer care ** time...
May 11, 2019 by SATISH CHANDRA MISHRA
Not giving refund (Make My Trip) Closed
I booked an international flight from MakeMyTrip but for some reason, I had to cancel it. But in the name of refund they just saying wait for ** to ** hrs from many days. Every day they just tell me to wait and wait. Make my trip not giving my...
May 11, 2019 by Sagar Goyal
Extra charges levied without informing customer in advance (Ola Cabs) Closed
The reference number for the CRN**********. I had engaged ola cab from the airport to my residence on **th May ****. I had chosen the airport package. While booking the cab Ola mentioned that the fare for the airport package would be Rs.*** wi...
May 11, 2019 by G S D BABU
Tour package not completed (Aiwa Travels & Tour Pvt Ltd) Closed
We, * persons, purchased a tour package from Amritsar (Pb.) to Bangkok online from AIWA Travels & tour Pvt. Ltd. Company send us the details of Spice jet booking for **th of April and back for **th April. We send the money as per package online...
May 10, 2019 by SARBJIT SINGH
Charged extra than the estimated fare (UBER) Closed
While I was booking the cab the amount displayed was Rs.***. When the driver arrived he said the destination is not visible and asked me to re-enter. I opened the app again and it entered my destination again (not updated my destination, it's ...
May 10, 2019 by Gungun
After hotel room confirmation room not allotted (Oyo) Closed
My booking Id in Oyo hotel is ONGR****. They confirmed my booking but while check in the hotel told that they are not tie up with Oyo. Oyo assured me to sort my problem but after * hours they denied and at *:** pm after paying **** room is allo...
May 10, 2019 by Parijat Sourav
Ticket not confirmed after paying money (Via.com) Closed
I booked a round trip ticket through travel agent site via.com on *th May ****. After they deducted the amount written on the site they gave me confirmed returned ticket while my forward journey ticket did not get confirmed. The site shows my t...
May 10, 2019 by N khupsianmuang
Extra charges for early check in (Makemytrip) Closed
I have requested an early check in and early check out for my booking but they are asking me to pay extra *** even though I am checking out early. When I talked to customer care they said they cannot do anything it’s between you and hotel....
May 09, 2019 by Shabnam o s
Hotel did not let me check in (Oyo) Closed
The hotel did not let me check in by saying that they have booked that place married. You should make another arrangement. And OYO rooms are not refunding my money. Booking no. QXUV0529...
May 08, 2019 by Shailesh Kumar
Excess amount charged by driver (Uber Cabs) Closed
The driver forced to pay extra for a cab booked by me for my father. I have already raised a complaint on the app but no response even after * days. This is very sad....
May 08, 2019 by Ambreen
Not worth of money (Makemytrip (india) Pvt. Ltd.) Closed
Booking id: ******-******. First of all, this is not a luxury hotel. We stayed in many * star hotels and this good and worth of money but this hotel totally worst. No one welcome staffs and not available guide person so difficult to find our ro...
May 08, 2019 by Lourdu Vinoth
Regarding hotel meal cancellation (Oyo) Closed
I have booked a meal plan from Oyo app but in the hotel, there was no restaurant and they are not refunding meal plan amount....
May 04, 2019 by Mohit bansal
"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