Complaint No: 114 of 2021.
Date of Institution: 30.04.2021.
Date of order: 02.11.2023.
Smt. Radhika Handa w/o Sh. Kishor Kumar Handa, resident of Armaan resort, New Anand Vihar Colony, Batala, District Gurdaspur, Punjab-143505.
….........Complainant.
VERSUS
1. M/s. Forbcorp Private Limited (Forb Club), 2nd Floor, Plot No. 738, Sec 82, JLPL Industrial Business Park, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab, India -160055, through its Managing Director / C.E.O / G.M / Manager / Authorized Person / Concerned officer.
2. M/s. Forbcorp Private Limited (Forb Club), Corporate sales office, SCO-116, Sector - 47C, Chandigarh (UT) India -160047, through its Manager.
3. Vatan Mourya, Team Manager, M/s. Forbcorp Private Limited (Forb Club), SCO - 116, Sector - 47C, Chandigarh (UT) India - 160047.
4. Jagdeep Singh, Holiday Consultant, M/s. Forbcorp Private Limited (Forb Club), SCO - 116, Sector - 47C, Chandigarh (UT) India - 160047.
5. Sonu, Holiday Consultant, M/s. Forb Club, SCO - 116, Sector - 47C, Chandigarh (UT) India - 160047.
.....Opposite Parties.
Complaint Under the Consumer Protection Act.
Present: For the complainant: Sh.Bharat Aggarwal, Advocate.
Opposite parties: Exparte.
Quorum: Sh.Lalit Mohan Dogra, President, Sh.Bhagwan Singh Matharu, Member.
ORDER
Lalit Mohan Dogra, President.
Smt. Radhika Handa, Complainant (here-in-after referred to as complainant) has filed this complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, (here-in-after referred to as 'Act') against M/s. Forbcorp Pvt. Ltd. etc. (here-in-after referred to as 'opposite parties).
2. Briefly stated, the case of the complainant is that all OP’s approached the complainant telephonically and introduce their self as a company which has their own resort / Hotel / Villa / Water Villa / Cottages etc. in domestic and international locations and also told complainant for that, the OP’s company M/s. Forbcorp Private Limited having a product with the name of "Forb Club" and also provide tours and trips for the domestic and international destinations and also assist to assist complainant participating in the seminar which was going to be conducted by the OP’s on dated 01.03.2020 at Radisson Blue Hotel, Airport road, Amritsar. It is further pleaded that during the said communication for attracting complainant to attend the seminar, the OP’s gave many attractive offers and schemes of travelling and holiday packages to the complainant and also told the complainant that, the complainant can grab that offers and schemes of the traveling and holiday packages for her family and herself also and also forced complainant to attend the seminar. It is further pleaded that after believing, the complainant became ready to join and also attended the seminar and as per schedule given by the OP’s on dated 01.03.2020 complainant along with her husband i.e. Sh. Kishor Kumar Handa, reached at Radisson Blue Hotel, Airport road, Amritsar, Where the OP’s were present and gave a deal to the complainant. It is further pleaded that the OP’s gave an offer to complainant to became a member of their company for which the complainant have to purchase Forb Club leisure ship i.e. product of the OP’s, for which complainant have to pay sum of amount of Rs.2,90,000/- (two lacs ninety thousand only). It is further pleaded that in response of the said membership the OP’s will give free accommodations at resort / Hotel / Villa / Water Villa / Cottages etc. at domestic and international destinations for the tenure of 10 years from the date of purchase of membership and also gave an international package for the family trip to Dubai for 5 Nights / 6 Days. It is further pleaded that this was included with all the members of the family air ticket, hotel, breakfast, city tour, sight scene, T/I, tour guidance, cab etc. to the complainant. It is further pleaded that OP’s gave offer to complainant that the complainant have no need to pay even single penny for anything during the international trip of Dubai and during the accommodations where complainant would be visited at the resort / Hotel / Villa/ Water Villa/ Cottages etc. of the company i.e. Forb Club at the domestic destinations. It is further pleaded that all the expenses are included in the membership amount. It is further pleaded that as per the demand of amount to Rs.2,90,000/- for the membership of their company i.e. Forb club, complainant became ready to pay to the OP’s and the same was also paid by the complainant to the OP’s. It is further pleaded that along with the amount paid to the OP’s, complainant also gave the details of the family members i.e. Kishor Kumar Handa (Husband), Methali Handa (Daughter), Krish Handa (Son) to the OP’s. It is further pleaded that after the completion of the formalities, documentations and the payment, the OP’s issued a Membership ID - FCLP601611 to the complainant. It is further pleaded that according to the commencement of the OP’s for the international tour package, the OP’s gave a family tour package of the Dubai to the complainant. It is further pleaded that at the time of commencement to purchase the membership, the OP’s offered complainant to provide a tour package of Dubai to whole family of complainant which was included in the membership price but after the membership having been taken by the complainant, on the pretext of the payment for the air tickets the OP’s charged extra Rs.50,000/- and for tourist visa of the younger son namely Mr. Krish of complainant, the OP’s also charged extra Rs.8,000/- from the complainant. It is further pleaded that according to situation as the complainant felt that she is bound to pay and complainant also paid the same. It is further pleaded that complainant paid the said amount of Rs.8000/- on dated 17th Mar 2020 and the OP’s acknowledged the same, the OP’s issued the tickets for the travel to Dubai for the date of 18.03.2020. It is further pleaded that the OP’s never disclosed the fact to complainant that, due to Covid-19 pandemic the international flights can be cancelled or terminated. It is further pleaded that even the flight for which the OP’s made the booking for the travel to Dubai was also cancelled. It is further pleaded that Complainant got the same information through the airline via SMS. It is further pleaded that after receiving the SMS, complainant approached the OP’s for disclosing the information regarding the cancellation of flights then the OP’s told the complainant that, the OP’s were already aware about the cancellation of the flights and the OP’s also gave the assurance to complainant for that, the concerned airline will refund to the OP’s and the OP’s shall refund the amount which was paid by complainant for the membership during the purchase of membership. It is further pleaded that complainant many time requested the OP’s for refund of the amount which was paid by complainant to the OP’s for the membership, but the OP’s never paid any heed toward the request of complainant. It is further pleaded that even the OP’s threatened the complainant as she demanded the refund of the amount, which was paid by complainant to the OP’s. It is further pleaded that the OP’s intentionally cheated to complainant. It is further pleaded that OP’s breached the trust of complainant and intentionally caused huge financial loss to the complainant for their wrongful gain. It is further pleaded that due to this illegal act and conduct of the opposite parties the complainant has suffered great loss and also suffered mental agony, Physical harassment and inconvenience. It is further pleaded that there is a clear cut deficiency in services on the part of the opposite parties.
On this backdrop of facts, the complainant has alleged deficiency and unfair trade practice on the part of the opposite parties and prayed that necessary directions may kindly be issued to the opposite parties to make the payment of amount of Rs.15,00,000/- as damages for the harassment and financial losses and mental and physical agony along with the refund of the amount of Rs.2,90,000/- which was paid by complainant to the opposite parties also along with the interest @ 24% P.A. It is further prayed that the opposite parties be ordered to pay a sum of Rs.35,000/- to the complainant as the costs of the present complaint and as litigation expenses to the complainant, in the interest of justice.
3. Upon notice, the opposite party No.1 appeared in person through Sh.Karan Walia Director of opposite party No.1 and filed their written reply stating therein that the OP’s company organized an event in Amritsar in which company spent approximately 1 Lakh where prospective clients were being offered holiday packages with special benefits and offers. It is pleaded that on the same day Mr. Kishore Handa along with his wife came and attended the event. It is further pleaded that Client has been offered holiday package by holiday consultant and both husband and wife attended the presentation for approximately 45 minutes after that they took the decision to buy and no one forced them to buy. It is further pleaded that it is choice of the client wheather to buy or not. It is further pleaded that for reference please find an attached member application form in which it is clearly mentioned amount is non-refundable. It is further pleaded that there are only 20-25 terms and conditions which client signed after reading all the points. It is further pleaded that as per our record, we received booking request for FULLY PAID HOLIDAY for Dubai on 02-March-2020 on mail after that we suggested the client several times to postpone his fully paid trip due to COVID-19 (Corona Virus) and travel restrictions imposed by the government till the situation comes back to normal. It is further pleaded that at that time Mrs. Radhika's telephonic conversation with Mr. Sonu (Holiday Consultant) holiday was postponed. It is further pleaded that on 07-March-2020 we received a mail and call from the client's side to again book the package for Dubai. It is further pleaded that again client has been told not to go for any international booking due to covid-19 and after that the team sent the client complete package of Dubai on mail stating that booking on non-refundable and received a 'go ahead' on mail on 7-March-2020 from client's side after receiving the confirmation we processed the booking on non-refundable basis and the flight tickets were handed over to the client on mail and WhatsApp on the same date i.e., 07-March-2020. It is further pleaded that even before and after the flight tickets were booked we suggested the client many times to drop his plan because the situation might get worse in the future as we received many cancellations for the booking of other members it was our responsibility to inform the client. It is further pleaded that we even sent him the cancellation policy with each email and client knew each and every policy and he agreed on that. It is further pleaded that on 16-March-2020 we handed over Dubai Tourist Visa to the client and after that, on 17-March-2020 16:24 as per Mr. Kishore's telephonic conversation with Mr. Sonu (Holiday Consultant) that he wants to cancel his plan for Dubai and on the same call Mr. Sonu informed the client that we have already booked his fully paid trip for Dubai on dated 07-March-2020. It is further pleaded that it will be "non- refundable" same message was conveyed to him on the mail at 16:40 for record purpose so that there wouldn't be any discrepancy in future. It is further pleaded that we have informed the client multiple times verbally on phone, on WhatsApp, as well as on mail that complete package has already been booked and amount is non-refundable as per cancellation policy. It is further pleaded that client has already utilized his fully paid holiday on 18th March 2020 (As we have already paid the full amount of the package from our side) as per refund policy we haven't received any refund against the land package Hotel and Visa. It is further pleaded that the refund against the flight was INR 24,000/- and this amount can be utilized when the client wants to avail any International package against his FCLP Plan. It is further pleaded that as we have booked the package under certain term and conditions which is already sent and acknowledged by him on mail and phone calls. It is further pleaded that as per acquisition No. 3 the company has never demanded any extra charges for the members including in the membership as per company's policy only 2 Adults are included in the fully paid package (mention on Member Application Form point No. 13) and if the client wants to add more family member they can but only on extra payment basis. So the extra cost that was paid by Mr. Kishore was against additional members. It is further pleaded that regarding the Bangalore booking according to package T&C Customer is eligible to avail one holiday in one year and company requires at least 30 working days intimation but as per special approval your instant booking for Bangalore was approved. It is further pleaded that Mr. Sonu guided client regarding your hotel options (Hotel Royal Orchid Suites Whitefield, Bangalore) 4 Star Hotel was only after client written approval, booking was processed. It is further pleaded that it was not possible for company to change the hotel on instant (Check-In) basis. It is further pleaded that the company has already informed the client many times regarding cancellation of flights due to COVID-19 through Mails and calls. However every booking was done with the client's consent. It is further pleaded that Nothing has been done or booked without having a discussion with the client. It is further pleaded that it was conveyed to the client many times that the amount will be non- refundable through Mails. It is further pleaded that the company is not denying for any service which has been committed and as per the business practice if company will cancel/refund client tour package without following terms and conditions it will be very difficult to manage business. It is further pleaded that company really wants to satisfy our client and takes care for their client need and satisfaction.
On merits, the opposite party No.1 denied all the averments of the complaint and there is no deficiency in services on the part of the opposite party. In the end, the opposite party prayed for dismissal of complaint with costs.
4. Sh. Karan Walia Director of the opposite party No.1 appeared on 29.07.2021 on behalf of opposite party No.1, but after filing written reply to the main complaint none had appeared on behalf of opposite party No.1 and opposite party No.1 was ordered to be proceeded against exparte vide order dated 22.09.2022 and also the opposite parties No.2 to 5 did not appear despite the service of notice and were proceeded against exparte vide order dated 22.09.2022.
5. Learned counsel for the complainant has tendered into evidence affidavit of Ms. Radhika Handa, (Complainant) as Ex.CW-1/A alongwith other documents as Ex.C-1 to Ex.C-13.
6. The opposite party No.1 has appeared in person and filed an affidavit of Sh. Karan Walia, (Managing Director of Forbcorp Pvt. Ltd., opposite party No.1) as Ex.OP-1/1 alongwith other documents as Ex.OP-1/2 to Ex.OP-1/3. (Now exparte).
7. Rejoinder not filed by the complainant.
8. Written arguments filed by the complainant.
9. Counsel for the complainant has argued that on having been allured by the opposite parties complainant had paid Rs.2,90,000/- for membership of the company i.e. opposite parties No.1 and 2 and as per assurance given by the opposite parties at the time of commencement of membership, opposite parties offered tour package for Dubai to the entire family of the complainant which were included in the membership price. However, after giving membership opposite parties charged Rs.50,000/- extra on account of tickets and Rs.8,000/- for obtaining visa and tickets for travelling to Dubai for 18.03.2020 were issued. It is further argued that opposite parties never disclosed that due to spread of Covid-19 the flights may be cancelled and accordingly the flight of the complainant her family members was also cancelled and they received information through SMS which amounts to deficiency in service and as such opposite parties be directed to refund the membership fee of Rs.2,90,000/- alongwith other expenses received by the opposite parties.
10. Opposite party No.1 earlier has put in appearance but thereafter remained absented and was proceed against exparte alongwith opposite parties No.2 to 5 vide order dated 22.09.2022.
11. We have heard the Ld. counsel for the complainant and gone through record.
12. It is admitted fact that complainant had purchased membership of opposite parties No.1 and 2 and membership ID was also issued to the complainant. It is further admitted fact that for tour of Dubai which was scheduled for 18.03.2020, the complainant had paid Rs.50,000/- for tickets and Rs.8,000/- for visa to the opposite parties. It is further admitted fact that the flight was cancelled due to spread of Covid-19. The only disputed question for adjudication before this Commission is whether the complainant is entitled to refund of membership fee and the amount received by the opposite parties. The perusal of Ex.OP-1/2 shows that opposite parties have received refund of Rs.24,000/- in respect of tour booked by the complainant and her family members and the said amount has not been refunded to the complainant with the excuse that the said amount can be utilized when she wants to avail any fully paid international holiday package against her FCLP Plan but we are of the view that opposite parties cannot compell the complainant to undertake fully paid international holiday package and withhold the amount on any said excuse. As such opposite parties No.1 and 2 have no right to withhold the amount of Rs.24,000/-. As far as the question of refund of the membership fee of Rs.2,90,000/- is concerned. We are of the view that said membership was obtained by the complainant in March, 2020 and the present complaint filed on 30.04.2021 meaning thereby that said membership which was for a period of 10 years remained with the complainant for one year and since the complainant does not want to go further with the said membership and is seeking refund of the membership fee and we are of the view that opposite parties cannot refuse to refund the membership fee with the excuse that amount is not refunded. As such we are of the view that complainant is liable to receive refund of membership fee after deducting 15% from the total amount of Rs.2,90,000/- i.e. Rs.2,46,500/- form the opposite parties.
13. Accordingly, present complaint is partly allowed and opposite parties No.1 and 2 are directed to refund the membership fee after deducting 15% amount i.e. Rs.2,46,500/- in addition to that opposite parties No.1 and 2 further directed to refund the amount of Rs.24,000/- i.e. refund against the flight which was cancelled by the Air Lines. The entire amount shall carry interest @ 9% P.A. from the date of filing of the present complaint till realization. The opposite parties No.1 and 2 are also directed to pay Rs.10,000/- as compensation on account of mental tension, harassment and cost of litigation. Entire exercise shall be completed within 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order.
14. The complaint could not be decided within the stipulated period due to heavy pendency of Court Cases.
15. Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. File be consigned.
(Lalit Mohan Dogra)
President.
Announced: (B.S.Matharu)
Nov. 02, 2023 Member.
*YP*
