District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ,Faridabad.
Consumer Complaint No. 676/2022.
Date of Institution:21.12.2022.
Date of Order: 31.05.2024.
Ravneet Oberoi wife of Paramdeep Obseroi resident of Villa NO. 80, GF Block-1, Eros Garden, Suraj Kund road, Faridabad, Haryana – 121009.
…….Complainant……..
Versus
1. Select Holiday Resorts Pvt. Ltd., having their registered office at Level 7, Select Citywalk, A-3. District Center, Saket, New Delhi – 110 017 through its authorized representative.
2. Heritage Village Club Goa situated at Arossim Beach, Cansaulim, South Goa – 403712 through its Authorised Representative.
…Opposite parties……
Complaint under section-12 of Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Now amended Section 34 of Consumer protection Act 2019.
BEFORE: Amit Arora……………..President
Indira Bhadana………….Member.
PRESENT: Sh. Sachin Parashar, counsel for the Complainant.
Ms. Shyamwati, counsel for opposite parties Nos.1 & 2.
ORDER:
The facts in brief of the complaint are that the complainant had planned for a Leisure trip to Goa from 4th -8th May, 2022 with her family members whereby after casting about the superlative lodge property from the pool of options, the complainant had opted to get reservation with the opposite party No.2 i.e Heritage Village Club Goa, on the basis of the façade of efficacious reviews. Accordingly, the husband of the complainant namely Paramdeep Singh had got booked three rooms with the opposite parties by making an advance payment of Rs.94,865/- on 30th April 2022 in response to request id NO. 98825341 generated by opposite party No.1 for the payment, whereby the same as confirmed by opposite party No.1 vide transaction id No. 1779958905. The complainant had landed in Goa on 4th May, 2022 and checked in with opposite party No.2 i.e. Heritage Village Club Goa whereby three rooms bearing NO. 511, 512 and 520 were dispensed to the complainant and her family members. Since the complainant had got her itinerary organized in advance to traverse the cit of Goa, thus, major chunk of her time was spent in rambling the city wherein the complainant had planned to stay and laze with opposite party NO.2 on her last day of trip i.e 0705.2022. However, the aforementioned schedule of luxuriating with opposite party No.2 had turned out to be a nightmare for the complaint, wherein for the said purpose, the complainant had opted to avail Rejuvenation service at the opposite party No.2’s Ayura Spa for 90 minutes and paid an amount of Rs.4513.50/- vide invoice NO. 2082 dated 07.05.2022 for the same but to utter dismay of the complainant, she after getting message had suffered electrocution while taking shower at their Spa that too of such a high magnitude that the nail extension of the complainant peeled off and her body got numbed to the extent that she could not even impetrate for help.Still the complainant while gathering herself managed to drag her out of the shower enclosure whereby one of the opposite party NO.2’s attendee Ms. Saloni came to rescue of the complainant and gave her first aid and the husband of the complainant was called to the place of occurrence, from where the complainant was taken to her room. However, the complainant due to the high intensity of the electrocution, felt discomfort and suffered high palpitation throughout the night whereby as a consequence, under such compulsive circumstances, the complainant and her family members had to cancel their flight bearing No. 8G8172 which was booked and scheduled for its departure to Delhi at 15:00 hours and she was taken to the Civil Hospital, Goa by her husband wherein her blood pressure was found to be high and abnormality in the ECG report. Accordingly, although the complainant was given medication, yet she felt discomposure and her body throbbed with pain throughout her travelling back to her hometown for her further treatment. It was relevant to mention here that to utter consternation of the complainant, throughout her suffering which still persists, the Manager namely Mr. Ganesh of the opposite Party No.2 as well as the other staff members, had only been concerned about sweeping the dereliction on the part of the opposite parties under the rug whereas the complainant had not only suffered mental and physical agony but also suffered financially doe to the lackadaisical conduct of the opposite parties wherein at first instance, she had been traumatized with the electrocution suffered by her because of the negligence on the part of the opposite parties in regulating and maintaining the quality of the services and thereafter, the complainant was forced to cancel her booked and scheduled flights for its departure at 15:00 hours and got a new booking bearing PNR NO. YKNZMF at eleventh hour for a flight scheduled for its departure at 22:00 hours by paying an addition amount of Rs.26,187/- because of the inappropriate and indecorous treatment provided by the opposite party to stabilize the health of the complainant, rather it had prolonged due to the apathetic conduct of the opposite party. The complainant has even got registered a complaint against the opposite party at the Police Station Verna, Goa on 08th May 2022 wherein strict legal action would be taken against them as per the provisions of law. The aforesaid act of opposite parties amounts to deficiency of service and hence the complaint. The complainant has prayed for directions to the opposite parties to:
a) pay the sum of Rs.11,00,000/- for treatment that the complainant had been undergoing till date to recover from electrocution suffered because of the deficiency of service by the opposite parties,.
b) pay Rs.5,00,000/- as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment .
c) repay an amount of Rs.41,187/- (Rs.15,000 /- (approx) + Rs.26,187/-) paid by the complainant for missing the scheduled booking flight and getting a new booking bearing PNR NO YKNZMF at eleventh hour for a flight scheduled for its departure at 22:00 hrs by paying an additional above said amount.
d) refund an amount of Rs.4513.50/- paid for availing the Rejuvenation Services at Ayura Spa of the opposite parties.
e) pay Rs. 55,000 /-as litigation expenses.
2. Opposite parties Nos.1 & 2 put in appearance through counsel and filed written statement wherein Opposite parties Nos.1 & 2 refuted claim of the complainant and submitted that after seeing the value and the rating of the opposite party No.2 the husband of the complainant namely Mr. Paramdeep Singh booked three club rooms category at the opposite party No.2 from 4th May 2022 till 8th May 2022. Upon arrival all the guests were satisfied with the rooms of the opposite party No.2. It might be submitted that to provide an ultimate experience of luxury and safety to the guests, the opposite party No.2 had regular electricity testing of the property as well as the Ayura Spa. The uncanny tactics of the complainant begun, when she booked an Ayurvedic treatment at Ayura Spa on 07th May 2022. It was submitted that the spa boked by the complainant was for 90 minutes and the spa treatment commenced at 16:30. During the spa treatment the therapist assigned to the complainant was Ms. Anusha. The said spa was completed around 19:00 and thereafter Ms. Anusha escorted the complainant to the shower cubical. However, before the complainant entered the cubical Ms. Anusha checked all the equipment and also switched on the shower and checked the flow of the shower and the temperature by adjusting the faucet knobs. At this juncture, it might be sub mitted that at the time when the payment was sought for the spa, the complainant quickly ran to the Lobby where her husband was standing and after consultation with her husband, the complainant made up a concocted story that she received an electric shock from the spa and approached Ms. Salome from the Guest relations and stated that she had a wrist pain due to the electric shock. It might be stated herein that the spa was operation from 1998 years at the property and no such incident had ever been reported in the history. In the mean time, a team of engineers checked the shower area and hot geyser for any damages. It might be submitted that the earthling was also checked by the engineers to avoid any mishappening, however, there was no presence of electrical current or leakage from the shower knob or the geyser panel. Later, on 7th May 2022 at around 8:30 p,m. the complainant’s husband met Mr. Gnash Prabhu and expressed his displeasure at the way the hotel handled the situation as he expected some gestures of goodwill/compensation from the hotel and asked to meet the General Manager. It was submitted that Mr. Guity Velho (Vice President & General Manager) who was on leave on 7th May 2022, however, understanding the gravity of the situation Mr. Guitry came to the resort at around 9:15 p.m. and met with Mr. Paramdeep Obseroi (husband of the complainant) and Mr. Inderdeep Oberoi. Mr. Guitry interacted with the family and hard their narration of the reported incident in detail. He also – re-assured them about the high standards being followed at the property towards maintenance and safety. He also conveyed that he, in the interim, had the cubicle and geyser checked by the maintenance team and that the geyser was in proper working condition. Mr. Guitry also offered the complainant and her husband all assistance by at the Resort term, including in-room dinning and airport transfers the next day. It was sated that Mr. Paramdeep and the family appeared satisfied with the interaction and left to their room thereafter. After making a scene at the hotel, the Complainant after approximately 17 hours after the occurrence of the incident, the complainant threatened to go the police if her demands were not met, and observing that staff would not stumble to her demands, he went to the verna, Police station, however, she was informed that without a medical certificate from a government hospital or a MLC they would not take any such complaint. Thereafter she decided to go to a government hospital. It was important to state herein that Mr. Ganesh accompanied the complainant to the hospital. Dr. Saldanha examined the complainant and took her ECG and in his handwritten report stated “Non-specific T Wave Abnormality”, however, nothing serious was pointed out by the doctor. Further it was pertinent to note herein that when such incidents of electrocution happens there was any entry and exit wound on the body, however, it was not found on the complainants body during and after her medical examination, not it had been recorded or mentioned by the doctor in the medical certificate after checking her. It was clear by the acts of the complainant that she wanted to harass the staff of opposite party No.2 and hence she decided to got the hospital after passing of a substantial time as she wanted to extend her stay and make it complimentary, by threatening the hotel staff of consequence. Opposite parties Nos. 1 & 2 denied rest of the allegations leveled in the complaint and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.
3. The parties led evidence in support of their respective versions.
4. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the record on the file.
To establish his case, the complainant has led in his evidence Ex.CW1/Am- affidavit of Ravneet Oberoi, Ex.C-1 – receipt Ex.C-2 - tax invoice, Ex.C-3 – copy of flight bearing No. 8G8172 which was booked and scheduled for its departure to Delhi at 15:00 hours, Ex.C-4 – copy of medical report issued by the Medical Officer, Primary Health Centre, Cansaulim, Goa, Ex.C-5 – new flight tickets, Ex.C-6 – copy of complaint made by the complainant to the Police station Verna, Goa,
On the other hand counsel for the opposite partiesNos.1 & 2 strongly agitated and opposed. As per the evidence of the opposite partiesNos.1 & 2 Ex.RW1/A – affidavit of Shri Shekhar vasant Sawant working as Chief Operating Officer at Opposite party No1’s Company having office at 07th floor, Tower 4., Select Citywalk, A-3, District center, Saket, New Delhi., Ex.R-1 - Board of resolution, Ex.R-2 – House rules of opposite arty No.1, Ex.R-3 (colly) – certificate,, Ex.R-4)colly) – Electrical Connections and Wiring Testing report,, Ex.R-5 – Audit report, Ex.R-6 – inspection report.
5. In this case, the complaint of the complainant was filed by the complainant with the prayer to: ) pay the sum of Rs.11,00,000/- for treatment that the complainant had been undergoing till date to recover from electrocution suffered because of the deficiency of service by the opposite parties,. b) pay Rs.5,00,000/- as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment . c) repay an amount of Rs.41,187/- (Rs.15,000 /- (approx) + Rs.26,187/-) paid by the complainant for missing the scheduled booking flight and getting a new booking bearing PNR NO YKNZMF at eleventh hour for a flight scheduled for its departure at 22:00 hrs by paying an additional above said amount. d) refund an amount of Rs.4513.50/- paid for availing the Rejuvenation Services at Ayura Spa of the opposite parties. e) pay Rs. 55,000 /-as litigation expenses. To prove his case, the complainant has led in his evidence Ex.C-1 to C-6. On the other hand, opposite parties nos.1 & 2 led in their evidence Ex.R-1 to R-6.
6. During the course of arguments, counsel for the opposite parties appeared alongwith A.R of the company and also offered that they are ready to give refund of their air ticket worth of Rs.41,187/- and also ready to give Rs. 5113/- spent by the complainant for availing the Rejuvenation Services at Ayura Spa and also ready to give Rs.25,000/- as compensation.
On the other hand, counsel for the complainant argued at length and agitated on this ground that the complainant is not ready to take less than Rs.1,00,000/-.
7. After going through the evidence led by the parties as well as the facts of the case, the Commission is of the opinion that the complaint is Disposed off with the direction to opposite parties Nos. 1 & 2 to pay the above noted amounts i.e Rs.41,187/- and Rs.5,113/- spent by the complainant for availing the Rejuvenation Services at Ayura Spa and also pay Rs.35,000/- as compensation for causing mental agony & harassment alongwith Rs.11,000/- as litigation expenses to the complainant within 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order. Copy of this order be sent to the parties concerned free of costs. File be consigned to the record room.
Announced on: 31.05.2024 (Amit Arora)
President
District Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission, Faridabad.
(Indira Bhadana)
Member
District Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission, Faridabad.
