Tamil Nadu

North Chennai

52/2013

Balaji Mannar, - Complainant(s)

Versus

The Manager, Make My trip Pvt Ltd, - Opp.Party(s)

X.Selvam Sundar-com

29 Feb 2016

ORDER

                                                           Complaint presented on  :  08.03.2013

                                                              Order pronounced on  :  29.02.2016

 

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, CHENNAI (NORTH)

    2^nd Floor, Frazer Bridge Road, V.O.C.Nagar, Park Town, Chennai-3

 

PRESENT: THIRU.K.JAYABALAN, B.Sc., B.L.,         :      PRESIDENT

                    TMT.T.KALAIYARASI, B.A.B.L.,            :     MEMBER II

 

MONDAY THE  29^th   DAY OF FEBRUARY 2016

 

C.C.NO.52/2013

 

 

 

BALAJI MANNAR,

S/O Mannar,

Flat S2, 2^nd Floor, Ram Homes,

21/41, Alagiri Nagar Main Road,

Vadapalani, Chennai - 26

 

                                                                                        ..... Complainant

 

..Vs..

 

	1.The Manager, Make My Trip India Pvt Ltd., G-6, Gee Gee Emerald, 151, Ground Floor, Village Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai – 34.   2.M/S.Spicejet Ltd., Murasoli Maran Towers, 73, MRC Nagar Main Road, MRC Nagar, Chennai – 28.   3.M/S. Indigo Airlines, 144/145, Malavika Centre, Kodambakkam High Road, (Near Hotel Palmgrove) Nungambakkam, Chennai – 34.                                                                                                   …Opposite Parties

Date of complaint                                  14.03.2013

Counsel for Complainant                      :X.Selvam Sounder

Counsel for 1^st  Opposite party                : V. Selvaraj

Counsel for 2^nd Opposite Party                     : M/S. B.K. Girish Neelakantan

Counsel for 3^rd Opposite Party                : S.Ramasubra maniam   

 

O R D E R

 

BY PRESIDENT THIRU. K.JAYABALAN B.SC., B.L.,

          This complaint is filed by the complainant u/s 12 of the Consumer Protection Act.1986.

1.THE COMPLAINT IN BRIEF:

          The Complainant booked Air Tickets for his wife and  8 other persons, totally nine tickets on 24.08.2012 morning through the  1^st Opposite Party/service provider to travel to Hyderabad for emergency trip. He paid the consideration for all the tickets through his ICICI Bank credit card to the 1^st Opposite Party. One ticket was cancelled due to personal inconvenience. At about 9.00a.m they have reached airport for their travel to Hyderabad, they came to know that  their flight tickets were cancelled without any reason.  The Complainant’s wife A.N Rajeswari immediately contacted the 1^st Opposite Party asked the reason for the cancellation and the 1^st Opposite Party has sent an  E-mail to her admitting the cancellation and the reason for cancellation was due to payment issue. The trip to the Hyderabad is inevitable and obligatory one; hence they have purchased new tickets at the Airport itself at the crucial time by spending huge amount and travelled to Hyderabad on the same day. The Complainant submits that inspite of repeated remainder and after lapse of one month the 1^st Opposite Party refunded the cost of the Air tickets after deducting the cancellation charges. The 1^st Opposite Party is not entitled to deduct the cancellation charges, since the 1^st Opposite Party cancelled the tickets without the Complainant’s due instruction and knowledge. He wrote several letters to the  Opposite Parties calling upon them to pay the difference of the flight tickets amount of Rs.10,375/- and to pay the compensation and Opposite Parties acknowledged the same but the 1^st Opposite Party gave an evasive reply with untenable allegations. Due to the act of the 1^st Opposite Party the passengers were very much annoyed and the Complainant was also very much ashamed among the relatives and was not able to  convince them except to  keep silence. The Complainant submits that as per the condition in the ticket booking can be cancelled till two hours before the departure of the flight. Due to that the Complainant and the passenger were put to great mental tension and agony. The act of the 1^st Opposite Party after receiving the ticket fare, consideration and cancelled the Air tickets without the Complainant’s consent, knowledge is the clear case of the unfair trade practice and deficiency in service. The 2^nd and 3^rd Opposite Parties are vicariously liable for the act of the 1^st Opposite Party. Therefore the Complainant filed this Complaint to pass an order to pay the difference in cost of the Air tickets of Rs.10,375/- and also to pay a sum of Rs.4,00,000/- as compensation for mental agony with litigation expenses.

 

2.WRITTEN VERSION OF THE 1^st OPPOSITE PARTY IN BRIEF:

          This Opposite Party admits that the Complainant booked 9 Air tickets on 24.08.2012 through his website. As per the terms and conditions of the user agreement this forum has no jurisdiction and only Delhi has the jurisdiction against this Opposite Party. As per the instruction of the Complainant the ticket for Anusuya Mohanam was cancelled. The said bookings were made by 3 different customers ID and the card used for all booking was Amex card of Mr.Balaji. However Mr.Balaji was not a passenger in all these bookings. Therefore, the Risk Control Team of this Opposite Party, which scrutinizes the possible fraud in the bookings, suspected the instant booking to be untenable and an outcome of fraud play. Thereafter, as per the “Right to Cancellation by MMT” clause of User Agreement as  agreed by the Complainant himself at the time of booking, this Opposite Party bonfidedly  cancelled all the bookings. In the bonafide interest of this Opposite Party, he  contacted the Complainant and gave a call to him to confirm the genuineness  of the booking made, but the call was not answered. This fact further raised the apprehension of this Opposite Party that the said booking is made by means of fraud and this Opposite Party had sufficient reasons to cancel the bookings. That on the date of journey, when the customers contacted this  Opposite Party after denial from boarding the flight, this Opposite Party realized that it has wrongly judged the instant bookings and suspected to be a fraud booking and hence this Opposite Party had no other option left but to apologize the customers and to refund the tickets amount. This Opposite Party sent an  E-mail vide dated September 03, 2012 and in the said E-mail it is stated all the facts regarding the cancellation along with full refund process and the offer of Rs.10,000/- voucher that could be used by  the Complainant for new bookings from this Opposite Party. The Complainant agreed to settle the matter if Rs.15,000/- is paid to him by this Opposite Party in addition to fare difference. It is pertinent to mention that this Opposite Party needed the copies of new Air Tickets for issuing the fare difference but the same was never supplied by the Complainant to this Opposite Party.  However the Complainant issued legal notice without settling the matter. This Opposite Party never committed Deficiency in Service, excepting bonafidely cancelled the ticket and therefore prays to dismiss the Complaint. 

3.WRITTEN VERSION OF THE 2^nd  OPPOSITE PARTY IN BRIEF:

          The Complainant’s ticket  were cancelled through online login into agency account, since the booking was done through agency account.  The said online cancellation the  amount was refunded immediately on without any delay to the said agency account through which the said booking was done. Therefore this Opposite Party has not committed any Deficiency in Service and prays to dismiss this Complaint.

4.WRITTEN VERSION OF THE 3^rd   OPPOSITE PARTY IN BRIEF:

          The grievance of the Complainant pertains to the cancellation of the tickets. For two passengers tickets were booked through the 1^st Opposite Party scheduled to the travel with this Opposite Party.  The Complainant never raised any allegation against this Opposite Party.  The 1^st Opposite Party has cancelled the tickets and subsequently this Opposite Party refunded the amount to the 1^st Opposite Party. Therefore this Opposite Party has not committed any Deficiency in Service and prays to dismiss this Complaint.

 

 

5.POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION:

          1. Whether this Forum has jurisdiction to entertain this Complaint?

          2. Whether there is deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party?

          3. Whether the complainant is entitled to any relief? If so to what relief?

6. POINT:1

           Ex.B2 is the user agreement which provides conditions for booking the tickets through the 1^st Opposite Party website. The user agreement of the 1^st Opposite Party provides a clause for jurisdiction to entertain the Complaint at Delhi Courts. However this Complaint is filed against three Opposite Parties. The 2^{nd &} 3^rd  Opposite Parties are having offices at Chennai and as against them this Forum has jurisdiction at Chennai. Since the Complaint included the 1^st Opposite Party along with the other Opposite Parties, part of cause of action arose at Chennai and hence the Complaint is very well maintainable in this Forum and therefore the objection raised by the 1^st Opposite Party that this Forum has no jurisdiction to entertain this Complaint is not acceptable.

7. POINT:2

          The admitted facts of that the Complainant booked 9 tickets through the 1^st Opposite Party  website by 3 different customers ID to travel on 24.08.2012  to Hyderabad and out of the 9 tickets 7 passengers have to travel in the 2^nd Opposite Party flight and two passengers have to travel in the 3^rd Opposite Party flight and after booking,  one ticket was cancelled by the Complainant  and after that the other passengers  reached the Airport they realized that their tickets were cancelled, then the  Complainant’s  wife A.N.Rajeswari contacted the  1^st Opposite Party, he also confirmed the tickets were cancelled and thereafter due to emergency the passengers booked fresh tickets  and travelled  to Hyderabad on the same day and thereafter the 1^st Opposite Party refunded the tickets amounts to the Complainant .  

          8. The Complainant contended that he has filed this Complaint to pay him the difference of the flight ticket amounts of Rs.10,375/- and he demanded the Opposite Parties by writing several letters and also through legal notice and the said amount has to be paid to him along with compensation and therefore he filed this Complaint.

          9. The 1^st Opposite Party would contend that the Complainant himself is not a passengers and tickets were booked with 3 different user ID and  the Risk Control Team, Which scrutinized  the possible fraud in the booking, suspected the  instant booking  to be untenable and therefore the tickets were bonafidly cancelled and thereafter the passengers arrived at the Airport and demanded to travel this Opposite Party realized the mistake of cancelling and therefore this Opposite Party offered an offer and  then the Complainant wanted compensation and hence offered a compensation of Rs.10,000/- and again  compensation was  raised to  Rs.15,000/- as requested by the Complainant and the Complainant did not produce the tickets for their travel to ascertain the difference in flight tickets amount to be paid to him and therefore this Opposite Party has not committed any Deficiency in Service and prays to dismiss this Complaint.

          10. The case of the 2^nd & 3^rd Opposite Parties are that they immediately refunded the amount to the 1^st Opposite Party through his website the tickets were cancelled and hence they have not committed any Deficiency in Service and prays to dismiss this Complaint.

          11. The Complainant booked tickets  through the 1^st Opposite Party/service provider to travel through the 2^nd & 3^rd   Opposite Party flights.  They have also refunded the fare to the 1^st Opposite Party who has cancelled the tickets. There is no allegation against the 2^nd & 3^rd Opposite Parties that they have committed any Deficiency in Service. Only allegation is that   the 2^nd and 3^rd Opposite Party are vicariously  liable for the  act committed by the 1^st Opposite Party. Since as soon as the 1^st Opposite Party cancelled the tickets they have refunded the amount to the 1^st Opposite Party and therefore the 2^nd & 3^rd Opposite Party have not committed any Deficiency in Service towards this Complainant.

          12. Admittedly the 1^st Opposite Party website used for booking tickets and the 1^st Opposite Party cancelled the tickets. The 1^st Opposite Party contention is that the Risk Control Team suspected the booking and therefore cancelled the tickets to avoid fraud. However,  when the passengers denied for boarding in  the flight on the day, this Opposite Party realized that it has wrongly judged the instant booking and suspected it to be a fraud booking.   The  1^st Opposite Party immediately offered for cash voucher of Rs.10,000/- . After correspondence between the Complainant and the 1^st Opposite Party the Complainant agreed for a compensation of Rs.15,000/- in Ex.B8.  The Complainant filed this Complaint that the 1^st Opposite Party has not refunded the difference in ticket fare  amount and therefore committed Deficiency in Service . However to ascertain the difference in tickets amount the Complainant has not filed the tickets which was used for travel on that day. He has filed only the ticket booked through the 1^st Opposite Party. Therefore the difference in fare could not be ascertained.  Hence it is held that the 1^st Opposite Party has not committed any Deficiency in Service in respect of non refund of difference in fare and on the other hand  the 1^st  Opposite Party himself admitted that he has wrongly judged the  booking as fraud and cancelled the tickets proves that the 1^st  Opposite Party committed  Deficiency in Service.

 

 

13. POINT:3

          According to the Complainant he wrote several letters to the Opposite Parties to pay  the difference of the flight tickets amount of Rs. 10,375/- and to pay compensation and the same was not paid and therefore he has filed this Complaint. The Complainant filed Ex.A1 to A3 E-ticket booked through the 1^st Opposite Party. However he has not filed the actual ticket  through which he has travelled to Hyderabad to ascertain the difference in amount between the tickets which their passengers travel and the tickets Ex.A1 to A3. Therefore this Forum could not ascertain the difference in amount of Rs.10,375/- the Complainant is not entitled for this said amount.

          14. The Complainant himself agreed for a sum of Rs.15,000/- as compensation  through Ex.B8 e-mail letter dated 14.09.2012. The  1^st Opposite Party contention that Risk Control Team suspected the booking and therefore cancelled the tickets to avoid fraud. Considering the circumstances in which the tickets were cancelled it would be appropriate to order a compensation of Rs.15,000/- for mental agony which could meet the ends of justice and accordingly this point is answered.

          In the result the Complaint is partly allowed. The 1^st Opposite Party is ordered to pay a compensation of Rs.15,000/- (Rupees fifteen thousand only) to the Complainant and also to pay a sum of Rs.5,000/- (Rupees five thousand only) towards litigation expenses.   The above   amount shall be paid to the complainant within 6 weeks from the date of receipt of the copy of this order failing which the above said amount shall carry 9% interest till the date of payment. The Complaint in respect of the 2^nd & 3^rd Opposite Parties are dismissed.         

          Dictated to the Steno-Typist transcribed and typed by her corrected and pronounced by us on this 29^th  day of February  2016.

 

MEMBER – II                                                               PRESIDENT

LIST OF DOCUMENTS FILED BY THE COMPLAINANT:

Ex.A1 dated 24.08.2012                   E-Tickets with Invoice

Ex.A2 dated 24.08.2012                   E-Tickets with Invoice

Ex.A3 dated 24.08.2012                   E-Tickets with Invoice

Ex.A4 dated 24.08.2012         Cancellation confirmation letter

Ex.A5 dated  24.08.2012                  Flight Tickets Receipts 2 nos

Ex.A6 dated 26.08.2012                   Letter from ICICI Bank

Ex.A7 dated 13.09.2012                   E-Mail Letter to Spice Jet

Ex.A8 dated 25.08.2012                   E-Mail Letter from Make My Trip

Ex.A9 dated  13.09.2012                  E-Mail Letter from Make My Trip

Ex.A10 dated  07.11.2012      Notice to Opposite Parties

 

LIST OF DOCUMENTS FILED BY THE  OPPOSITE PARTIES :

Ex.B1 dated  NIL                    The copy of the Board of Resolution dated

                                                December 09, 2011 issued in favour of the Shri              

                                                Kamal K.Avutapalli

 

Ex.B2 dated  NIL                    The copy of User Agreement enumerating the

                                                Terms and Conditions as applicable and agreed 

                                                between the parties

 

Ex.B3 dated  24.08.2012                  The copy of the E-Tickets and confirmation mail

                                                sent by Opposite Party No.1

 

 

Ex.B4 dated 24.08.2012                   The Various internal e-mails with regard to the

                                                    said fraud booking and confirmation of the fraud 

                                                    by American Express – Fraud Prevention Team.

 

Ex.B5 dated 13.09.2012                   The copy of the E-mail dated September 03,2012

Ex.B6 dated  03.09.2012                  The copy of the E-mail dated September 13,2012

Ex.B7 dated 13.09.2012                   The copy of the E-mail dated September 14,2012

Ex.B8 dated 14.09.2012                   The settlement confirmation E-mail dated

                                                September 14, 2012 sent by Complainant

 

Ex.B9 dated 20.09.2012                   The copy of the E-mail dated September 17,2012

Ex.B10 dated 17.09.2012                 The copy of the compensation confirmation E-mail

                                                dated September 20, 2012

 

Ex.B11 dated  14.11.2012      The copy of the E-mails dated November 14, 2012

                                                   and November 20, 2012      

         

Ex.B12 dated 16.09.2013       Authority Letter

Ex.B13 dated NIL                             Call Records

Ex.B14 dated  24.08.2012      PNR Snaps History  for Cancellation Details    

 

 

MEMBER – II                                                               PRESIDENT