Delhi

East Delhi

CC/11/2019

SUSHIL AGGARWAL - Complainant(s)

Versus

MAKE MY TRIP - Opp.Party(s)

05 Jun 2023

ORDER

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION (EAST)

GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

CONVENIENT SHOPPING CENTRE, FIRST FLOOR,

SAINI ENCLAVE, DELHI – 110092

 

 

C.C. No.11/2019

 

 

	Sushil Aggarwal R/o. 47, Kanchanchanga Apartment, 90, I.P. Extension, Delhi-110092.	…Complainant
Versus
1.         2.	MakeMyTrip India Pvt. Ltd., DLF Building No.5, Tower B, DLF Cyber City, DLF Phase-2, Sector-25, Gurugram, Haryana 122002.   Hotel Park In, 14/7, M.G. Road, Bengaluru-560042.   Also At;   The Park Hotels, JMD Regent Plaza, 2nd Floor, M.G. Road, Gurugaon NCR-122001.	……OP1     ……OP2

 

 

Date of Institution: 14.01.2019

Judgment Reserved on: 05.06.2023

Judgment Passed on: 05.06.2023

 

                       

QUORUM:

Sh. S.S. Malhotra (President)

Sh. Ravi Kumar (Member)

Ms.Rashmi Bansal (Member)

 

Order By: Sh. Ravi Kumar (Member)

 

 

78503207062.  

 

The Complainant has alleged deficiency in service on the part of OP1 & OP2 for not refunding the Hotel booking amount of Rs.4220/- for the on-line booking done by him which was cancelled immediately on account of booking done for wrong dates i.e. 15.09.2018 to 16.09.2018 instead of 05.09.2018 to 06.09.2018.

1. The case of the Complainant is that on 05.09.2018 morning, he booked The Park Hotel Bengaluru (OP2) through online portal of MakeMyTrip.com of OP1 for his stay from 05.09.2018 to 06.09.2018 and he paid the booking amount also of Rs. 4220/- (Booking No. NH2005593694881, PNR No. 0038754858) through his Credit Card.
2. Upon making the payment the Complainant was surprised to note that though booking dates were selected as 05.09.2018 to 06.09.2018, however the Hotel was booked for 15.09.2018 to 16.09.2018.
3. Noticing the same and without losing any time, the Complainant called Customer Care Number 18001028747 of OP1 but nobody picked the phone. Thereafter the Complainant within 60 seconds cancelled the booking with the intention to get the refund however after cancellation a message was reflected on the website of OP1 that no refund was payable as the booking was on non- refundable basis.
4. The Complainant contacted OP2 on its phone number 080-25594666 but there was no positive response. Thereafter Complainant made a complaint on the portal of OP1 (Request no. 180905-066013) where the person on the other side on the call admitted that there was some technical problem which might have occurred in the website which booked the wrong date and he assured that the problem of the Complainant will be resolved.
5. On 08.09.2018 OP2 informed the Complainant that no refund is payable and his complaint is treated as closed. The phone number was 91-79-67772300 and said number is website telephone number where they can make call to their customer but it is not vice-versa. Finding no option the Complainant served Legal Notice to OP1 & OP2 however there was no reply from OP2 and OP1 in its reply falsely stated that Complainant cancelled the booking without contacting Company’s Call Centre and the booking got cancelled with no refund as per the Hotel Policy and there was no technical error in their website. Finding no option the Complainant has filed the present complaint before this Commission praying as under:

• Refund of booking amount of hotel of Rs.4220/- to the Complainant alongwith interest @18% p.a.
• Pay a sum of Rs.15,000/- towards mental agony and harassment suffered by the Complainant OP.
• Pass such other reliefs as this Forum may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present complaint.

6. Notice was issued and OP1 filed its reply and has stated that it is just a facilitator for booking of the Hotel accommodation for the Complainant with OP2 i.e. The Park Hotel Bengaluru and if any wrong is committed then it is OP2 and not them. The Complainant booked Hotel for wrong dates while making the online booking. OP2 agreed to shift the dates with extra charges which was informed to the Complainant vide email dated 05.09.2018 sent at 6:05 pm. However the Complainant replied on 06.09.2018 at 3:40 pm that he has no immediate plan to visit Bengaluru and requested to refund the amount.
7. As per the confirmation voucher issued by the OP1 the following is mentioned;

“From booking date 16.09.2018 14:00:00 100% penalty will be charged. In case of no show: no refund. Booking cannot be cancelled/modified on or after the check-in dated and time mentioned in the Hotel Confirmation Voucher.” The OP1 vide email dated 09.09.2018 07:31 pm categorically informed the Complainant”…..as per your request we coordinated with hotel and confirmed with them that here refund is not possible as your booking falls under non-refundable policy. We have tried our ultra-best level and approached all levels of hotel but got negative response only. We don’t have any issue to refund the amount but we only want hotel confirmation without hotel confirmation we can’t do anything. So, request you to coordinate with the hotel for this….”

8. OP2 has filed its reply wherein it has stated that they are providing premium hotel services across India and the Complainant had sought their services for specific duration by using the online portal of OP1. The OP2 accepts booking for its Hotel room through various mode/medium including third party online portal of OP1. If a customer wants to use the services of OP2 then he can directly approach them for making reservation request or use their website or through a travel agent.
9. The Complainant had selected and accepted the offer provided by the OP1 on its portal for booking the Hotel and OP2 has no privity as to what offer or agreement was made between OP1 and the Complainant and therefore Complainant can seek remedy of his grievance from OP1 and not from OP2 as the rules set for booking for the hotel rooms were entered between the Complainant and OP1 which can be verified from Hotelier Voucher of OP1 pertaining to the booking of the Complainant where it is also written that the booking is not refundable as per the cancellation policy set by OP1 and there is no deficiency in service on their part. 
10. Hotel Booking was done by OP1 which was accepted by OP2 and any modification/requisite change sought for the booking by the user i.e. Complainant can be routed through OP1 and PNR number and booking number were generated by the OP1. In view of same, all concerns will be dealt as per refund policy set-out by OP1 and OP2 is not privity to such offer and policy set-out by third party booking website such as OP1.
11. The OP2 had received booking request from OP1 for the Complainant for the dates 16.09.2018 to 17.09.2018 alongwith details of the primary occupant for the hotel room and the details received for the booking explicitly said that the booking was not refundable.
12. Complainant has filed Rejoinder to the reply of OP1 & OP2 reiterating his complaint.
13. Complainant has filed his evidence wherein he has marked the following documents as exhibit;

• Copy of Email sent to end from OP1 as Exhibit CW-1/2.
• Copy of Legal Notice as Exhibit CW-1/3.
• Reply to Legal Notice as Exhibit CW-1/4.(wrongly written as Exhibit CW-1/3)

14. OP1 has also filed its evidence by way of affidavit wherein it has marked the following documents as exhibit;

• Board Resolution dated 05.02.2019 as Exhibit OP-1/W/A.
• Terms & Conditions as agreed between the parties as Exhibit OP-1/W/B.
• Copy of confirmation Hotelier voucher supplied to the Complainant as Exhibit OP-1/W/C.

15. OP2 has filed its evidence by way of affidavit wherein it has marked as following documents as exhibit;

• Board Resolution dated 14.03.2017 as Exhibit RW2/1.
• Hotelier Voucher received from OP1 as Exhibit RW2/2.

16. The Commission has heard the arguments of both sides and perused the records.
17. The case of the Complainant is that while using the website of OP1 i.e. MakeMyTrip.com, he selected The Park Hotel, Bengaluru for booking from 05.09.2018 to 06.09.2018 for Rs. 4220/-. On selection of the dates the Complainant booked the hotel and made the payment of the booking amount online through his Credit Card. However instead of booking for the dates as mentioned above, the Hotel was booked for 15.09.2018 to 16.09.2018 of OP2. Alarmed by the same the Complainant tried to contact Customer Care Number 18001028747 of OP1 but there was no response and without wasting any further time within 60 seconds he cancelled the booking so that he gets the refund of the booking amount however on exercising the cancellation option a message was reflecting on the website of OP1 that no refund was payable. 
18. The question arises is whether the Terms & Conditions of the booking and that the amount was not refundable was informed to the Complainant before opting to book the hotel or before making the payment so that the Complainant would have been aware that the booking if done was not refundable. Further as per the Complainant he opted the dates of booking as 05.09.2018 to 06.09.2018 however the booking was done for 15.09.2018 to 16.09.2018. On perusal of the Hotelier Voucher (Exhibit RW2/2) it shows that the same was sent to OP2 by OP1 about booking the Hotel room from 15.09.2018 to 16.09.2018 and details of the Complainant alongwith phone number was also given. It is not in dispute that the Complainant cancelled the booking within 1 minute after booking when he noticed that Hotel room booking was done for 15.09.2018 to 16.09.2018 instead of the desired dates 05.09.2018 to 06.09.2018. Prompt action initiated by the Complainant shows that his action of cancellation was bona-fide. OP1 has stated in their e-mail dated 08.09.2018 that they did not have any problem to refunding the amount but they only wanted to confirm from the Hotel (OP2).
19. Though OP1 is contending that the Complainant is bound by Terms & Conditions of the User Agreement (Exhibit OP-1/W/B). However how this Agreement was executed between OP1 and the Complainant or even conveyed to the Complainant is not explained by OP1. Exhibit RW2/2 also reveals that OP1 had charged commission of Rs. 1069.48/- for the said booking.
20. In nut-shell the issue is that OP1 received the payment for hotel booking for which it issue a payment receipt to the Complainant and forwarded the same for hotel to confirmation i.e. Hotelier Voucher to the OP2 for booking the hotel which received the hotel booking but this booking was cancelled within a minute by the Complainant. As per the booking voucher issued by OP1 (Booking ID No. NH2005593694881) with regard to cancellation it has been mentioned ‘refer policy below’ however no such policy is visible on the said document. Further it is also mentioned ‘from booking date to 2018-09-16 14:00:00, 100 % penalty will be charged. In case no show: no refund. Booking cannot be cancelled/modified on or after the check in date at time mentioned in the hotel confirmation voucher’. From the said condition mentioned it is not clear whether this was communicated to the complainant before making the booking or he received this information only upon generating of booking ID by the OP1after he made the payment. The onus lies on OP1 for the same which has not been discharged. As regards OP2 is concerned on the one side it is contending that for cancellation terms & Conditions are made by OP1 however they are recipient of the booking amount and it was their duty to ensure that their cancellation policy was available to OP1 and in turn OP1 had to display the same on their website. This apparently was not done either by OP1 or OP2 which amounts to deficiency in service on their part and also amounts to unfair trade practice.
21. For the reasons stated above this Commission holds both OP1 & OP2 jointly & severally liable for deficiency in service and adopting unfair trade practice and orders as follows;

• OP1 & OP2 jointly & severally to refund Rs.4220/- to the complainant from date of receipt of the amount i.e. 05.09.2018 with interest @6% p.a.
• OP1 & OP2 to pay Rs.2500/- towards mental agony and harassment.

This order be complied within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order and if the same is not complied as directed, then OP1 & OP2 would pay interest @8% p.a. on the all amounts above till the realisation.

File be consigned to Record Room.

Announced on 05.06.2023.