Order No. 22 dt. 30/01/2017
The case of the complainant in brief is that the complainant made contact with o.p. for the purpose of travelling to USA and for that purpose the complainant initially paid Rs.40,000/- as advance for booking of the tour programme and he also paid Rs.3,58,754/- totaling the amount paid by the complainant to o.ps. to the tune of Rs.3,98,754/-. The complainant was assured that all sorts of arrangement would be made by o.ps. For obtaining visa the complainant was not informed that he will have to face an interview but o.ps. assured the complainant that they would manage everything. The complainant was interviewed twice by the visa office and subsequently o.ps. informed the complainant that there was rejection of visa resulting in cancellation of the said tour programme. The o.ps. sent a cancellation letter showing refund would be made after deduction of various charges. After deducting an amount of Rs.1,10,508/- the complainant was pressurized to accept Rs.2,88,246/- after deduction. The complainant refused to accept the said amount and accordingly filed this case praying for refund of the entire amount of Rs.3,98,754/- and Rs.1 lakh for causing harassment and Rs.20,000/- for litigation cost.
The o.ps. contested this case by filing w/v and denied all the material allegations of the complaint. It was stated that the complainant signed the booking form and he also well aware regarding the terms and conditions of the said booking, thereafter the complainant agreed to pay an amount of Rs.3,98,754/-. In order to travel on the tour the complainant was required to possess a valid USA visa. Therefore based on the documents provided by the complainant the visa application was filed. As per the procedure for USA visa the complainant was required to attend the visa interview and in the terms and conditions it was also mentioned that the company cannot be held liable for rejection of visa and in such case he will have to bear the visa cost, etc. Accordingly the complainant’s visa was applied on 30.4.13 and the interview was held on that date and since the visa was rejected the same was communicated to the complainant and subsequently on 9.5.13 the complainant’s visa was reapplied and the same was rejected for the 2nd time, as a result the tour of the complainant to visit USA was cancelled. The tour was cancelled 26 days prior to the date of departure, therefore as per the cancellation policy the visa clause appearing in the booking condition, when the tour was cancelled before clear 40-20 days prior to the departure the cancellation charges applicable will be Rs.70,000/- per person and GST of 12.36%. Accordingly after deducting the cancellation charges the complainant was informed to accept the amount. Since the complainant failed to accept the said amount thereafter the complainant filed this case making some false allegation against the o.ps. In support of the said contention o.ps. in the w/v clearly stated that the case is to be dismissed since the o.ps. acted as per the terms and conditions of the agreement made between the complainant and o.ps.
On the basis of the pleadings of parties the following points are to be decided:
- Whether the complainant made contact with o.ps. for travel to USA.
- Whether the complainant paid Rs.3,98,754/-.
- Whether non providing of the visa by the Consulate can give any right to the complainant to get back the entire amount paid by him.
- Whether there was any deficiency in service on the part of o.ps.
- Whether the complainant will be entitled to get relief as prayed for.
Decision with reasons:
All the points are taken up together for the sake of brevity and avoidance of repetition of facts.
Ld. lawyer for the complainant argued that the complainant after coming to know of the tour conducted by o.ps. in respect of travelling to USA and for that purpose the complainant made contact with o.ps. and as per the terms and conditions of the tour for going to USA the complainant initially paid Rs.40,000/- and subsequently he also paid balance amount of Rs.3,58,754/- totaling an amount of Rs.3,98,754/-. The complainant was informed by o.ps. that all the necessary papers would prepared by o.ps. and the complainant in order to make any arrangement by himself the complainant was asked for appearing in an interview for the purpose of getting visa and he appeared but ultimately the visa was not provided and subsequently after coming to know of the fact that the complainant had no chance of visiting USA he asked for the amount paid by him. The complainant paid Rs.3,98,754/- and demanded the entire amount but he was asked for the settlement of the demand to the tune of Rs.2,88,246/- i.e. o.ps. deducted an amount of Rs.1,10,508/- towards the cancellation charges. The complainant being aggrieved with the said amount offered by o.ps. filed this case praying for entire amount paid by him to the tune of Rs.3,98,754/- along with interest and also for compensation and litigation cost.
Ld. lawyer for o.ps. argued that the complainant before entering into a contract i.e. at the time of filling up the booking forms was well aware regarding the terms and conditions of the booking. In the booking form itself it was mentioned that in order to travel the complainant was required to possess of valid USA visa. The o.ps. only acted as facilitator for obtaining visa and accordingly they made arrangement for facing interview by the complainant for obtaining visa but the complainant failed to fulfill t he terms and conditions for obtaining visa and as such, the visa was not granted by the Consulate, the said fact was informed the complainant and as per the cancellation of the tour which took place 26 days prior to the date of departure the cancellation charge was applicable before clear 40-20 days prior to departure will be Rs.90,000/- per person and GST of 12.36% along with actual expenditure incurred towards visa travel insurance and air ticket, cancellation charges and accordingly after adjustment of the said amount o.ps. agreed to pay the sum but the complainant refused to accept for which this case was filed.
In order to substantiate the claim of o.ps. for deduction of the amount the o.ps. relied o n a judgment passed by DCDRF, Coimbatore wherein it was held that the complainant himself cancelled the trip due to non issue of the visa by the Consulate / High Commission and it was held by Ld. Forum that the o.ps. id not commit any deficiency in service by refusing to refund the advance amount paid by them. On the basis of the said fact ld. lawyer o.ps. prayed for dismissal of the case.
Considering the submissions of the respective parties it is an admitted fact that the complainant entered into an agreement with o.ps. for visiting USA and for that purpose as per terms and conditions of the said booking form the complainants initially paid Rs.40,000/- and subsequently he paid Rs.3,58,754/- totaling an amount of Rs.3,98,754/- and it is also an admitted fact from the materials on record that the visas was not provided to the complainant. The o.ps. claimed that the charges were deducted for various expenditure made by them for the purpose of making arrangement of the travel of the complainant to USA but it is curious enough that the complainant could not file any documentary evidence so as to prove that before obtaining visa o.ps. made arrangement for the travel of the complainant to visit USA and also booked the hotel, air ticket, etc. The complainant appeared twice before the interview for seeking visa but the Consulate rejected to grant visa to the complainant and the same was informed to o.ps. through which the complainant came to know the said fact. Since the complainant was assured that o.ps. would make all sorts of arrangement for the purpose of his visit to USA, therefore he fully depended on the assurance of o.ps. and paid the entire amount of Rs.3,98,754/-. The complainant whenever found that he could not avail of the said tour and he demanded the amount from o.ps., the o.ps. refused to pay the entire amount and deducted the amount of Rs.1,10,508/- without having no fault on the part of the complainant Since the complainant was deprived of getting back the entire amount which he paid for the purpose of the said tour therefore we hold that there was gross deficiency in service on the part of o.ps. and the complainant will be entitled to get the entire amount paid by him along with other reliefs. Thus all the points are disposed of accordingly.
Hence, ordered,
That the CC No.513/2013 is allowed on contest with cost against the o.ps. The o.ps. are jointly and/or severally directed to refund a sum of Rs.3,98,754/- (Rupees three lakhs ninety eight thousand seven hundred fifty four) only to the complainant along with compensation of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand) only for harassment and mental agony and litigation cost of Rs.5000/- (Rupees five thousand) only within 30 days from the date of communication of this order, i.d. an interest @ 10% p.a. shall accrue over the entire sum due to the credit of the complainant till full realization.
Supply certified copy of this order to the parties free of cost.
