Tour Travel Complaints - Travel Agent Complaints

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

Money deducted, Ticket not booked

No Refund

Booking canceled

Customer care not responding

Bad hotel booked

Misbehavior by staff

Fraudulent Booking agents

Fake Club membership sold

Train canceled without knowledge

Booking dates changed

Room was not clean

Cab did not arrive on time

Cab driver canceled the trip

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

Undue Delay with Fight Ticket Refund (Cleartrip) ^Open

I had cancelled my flights Delhi to Goa return when the Indian government announced a lock down and cancelled all domestic flights for the forseeable future. This time frame included the dates for which I had booked. Initially, Cleartrip promis...

Jul 06, 2020 by Rajit Singh Lamba

Amount not refund for cancelled ticket (Happy Easy Go) ^Open

I booked ticket through happy easy go app. But booked ticket for worng date. After discussion with airline, it was decided to cancel my ticket and refund amount. Airline refunded amount to happy easy go. But happy easy go has not refunded my am...

Jul 05, 2020 by Akash Rajput

Fraud by Travel Agency (Darjeeling Sikkim Travel Services) ^Open

I booked a tour package from *-** Jun **** for Darjeeling & Sikkim from aforesaid company. (Mr. Abhishek Chakraborty). I was asked to deposit advance of *****/- for the aforesaid tour package which I paid on *th Feb ****. Due to COVID-** the to...

Jul 05, 2020 by Frank Mathews

Not received adequate of credit vouchers refund (Goibibo) ^Open

I have booked flight tickets on **.**.**** through goibibo app vide ticket PNR I*UCPZ and travel dated **.**.****. I have booked the above ticket with cancellation protection and paid extra charges for the same (copy of ticket attached) . Afte...

Jul 05, 2020 by Manish Kumar

Not returning zero cancellation fee whose services they have suspended (Make my trip) ^Open

I have paid inr **** for zero cancellation fee for flight booking Due to pandemic they have suspended their service but they are not returning amount I have paid How can they loot publicly without providing service I would need refund for ...

Jul 05, 2020 by Sulochan Naik

Refund not given (Make my trip) ^Open

I got a mail from make my trip on dated **.**.**** that" The flight has been cancelled by the airline". But till date refund not made....

Jul 05, 2020 by Amrita Sinha

Refund my Flight Ticket Amount (CLEARTRIP TRAVELS PVT LTD) ^Open

My ticket booking on cleartrip was MAA to CCJ on June **th for indigo, then because of indigo flight cancel on that date, they rescheduled my travel to *st July. Again the flight cancel on July *st, I proceeded to refund my ticket. I Got mail f...

Jul 04, 2020 by Sajeesh