DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION PALAKKAD
Dated this the 30th day of June, 2022
Present : Sri.Vinay Menon V., President
: Smt.Vidya A., Member
: Sri. Krishnankutty N.K.,Member
Date of filing: 03/12/2020
CC/156/2020
Prasanth P.C - Complainant
Pannikkottil House,
Palakkayam Post,Kanjirapuzha,
Mannarkkad- 678 591
(Party in person)
Vs
Managing Director, - Opposite Party
EASEMY TRIP PLANNERS LTD,
Building No.223,Patparganj,
Industrial Area, New Delhi- 110 092.
(By Adv.Muhammed Sufail.T)
O R D E R
By Smt.Vidya A., Member
Pleadings of the complainant in brief.
1. Complainant booked 5 flight tickets for his friends through the opposite party. Due to Covid 19 Lockdown, the Airlines cancelled those 5 flights. He contacted the airlines for refund of the ticket fare and they replied that the amount was already refunded to the opposite party. The complainant contacted the opposite party through mail and whatsapp, but they did not respond or refund the amount. Due to the Deficiency in Service on the part of the opposite party, the complainant had suffered mental tension and financial loss. So this complaint is filed for directing the opposite party to refund the ticket fare of 5 flights amounting to Rs.85,148/- and to pay a compensation of Rs.5 lakhs under various heads.
2. After admitting the complaint, registered notice was issued to the opposite party. The opposite party entered appearance and filed their version.
3. Opposite party in their version contended that the complaint is bad for Non joinder of necessary parties because the Airlines which are the proper and necessary parties are not made party. The opposite party is not a necessary/proper party to this complaint.
The complainant approached the opposite party for the bookings and it was forwarded to the concerned service providers and on receiving confirmation from them, the Booking ID is generated and confirmed bookings/tickets are shared with the complainant. They have caused no Deficiency in Service. The opposite party had refunded the amount, as per the refund received in lines with the concerned Airline’s policies to the complainant. The opposite party has no control or say on the cancellation/refund policies of the concerned Airlines and it is solely upto the Airlines to decide as to the quantum of refund. The opposite party, on receipt of the refund in certain tickets from the concerned Airlines processed the refund to the complainant. There is no act or omission on the part of the opposite party which comes under Unfair Trade Practice. The complainant has no cause of action against the opposite party and the complaint has to be dismissed.
4. Complainant filed proof affidavit in evidence and Exibits A1 to A5 (A1and A5 in series),were marked. The opposite party did not file proof affidavit and no documents were marked from their side and their evidence was closed. Complainant was heard and taken for orders.
5. The Points arising for consideration are as follows.
1.Whether the complaint is bad for non joinder of necessary parties?
2.Whether the complainant is competent to file complaint on behalf of his friends who are the passengers in the flight ?
3.Whether there is any Deficiency in Service/Unfair Trade Practice on the part of the opposite party ?
4.Whether the complainant is entitled to the reliefs claimed?
5.Reliefs, if any.
Point No.1
6. The opposite party in their version contended that the complaint is bad for non joinder of necessary parties as the Airlines in which the complainant had booked tickets were not made parties. It is pertinent to note that the complainant’s grievance is that on enquiry he came to know that, the Airlines had refunded the ticket fare to the opposite party. But the opposite party has not transferred that amount to the complainant. So the complainant’s grievance is only against the opposite party and not against the Airlines. Moreover, it is for the complainant to decide who is to be made as party. Hence we hold that the complaint not bad for non joinder of necessary parties. Point No.1 is decided accordingly.
7. Point No.2
The complainant stated that he booked 5 tickets through Ease my trip (opposite party) for his friends.
Ext A1(a) to A1(e) shows the name of passengers and destinations. As per Ext A1(a) passenger name is Sini Jacob, flight Russia to Delhi.
Ext A1(b) Passenger Mrs. Athira Mini Ravi, flight -Sharjah to Cochin.
Ext A1(c) Passenger Mr.Suhail Palam Thodiyil, flight-Dammam to Abudhabi.
Ext A1(d) Passenger Mrs.Athira Mini Ravi, flight Cochin to Sharjah.
Ext A1(e) Passenger Mr.Sovan Mondal, flight- Coimbatore to Chennai.
The complainant, at the time of hearing, submitted that he booked the tickets and paid the ticket fare from his account. The opposite party has not denied the complainant’s contention in this regard and not countered this. According to them the tickets were booked by the complainant and the request for refund was also made by the complainant. So the complainant is competent to file this complaint on behalf of the passengers. Issue no. 2 is answered accordingly.
Point No.3, 4 & 5
8. Opposite party, in their version stated that the complainant approached them for booking 5 tickets and paid the amount .It was forwarded to the concerned service providers and on receiving confirmation from them, Booking ID is generated and confirmed tickets were shared with the complainant. They have mentioned the details including the flight destination, date, booking ID and the amount. The details are as below.
Sl No | Ticket ID | Flight Destination | Date | Amount |
1 | EMT70397994 | SIP-SVO-DEL &DEL-SVO-IP | 27.04.2020 07.05.2020 | 41,888/- |
2 | EMT70343493 | SHJ-COK | 13.07.2020 | 15,356/- |
3 | EMT69045197 | DMM-AUH-CCJ | 11.04.2020 | 13,818/- |
4 | EMT70342041 | COK-SHJ | 29.04.2020 | 7969/- |
5 | EMT73271156 | CJB-CCU | 06.06.2020 | 6117/- |
The above tickets were cancelled due to Covid-19 Lockdown. The opposite party contended that, upon receipt of the refund in certain tickets from the concerned Airlines, based on their policies, they processed the refund to the complainant. The policies of the concerned airlines are solely up to them and the opposite party has no control or say on the cancellation/refund policies of the concerned service providers.
The refund details given by them are as follows.
1. EMT70397994
Full refund not permitted as per Airlines policy. Same has been informed to the complainant on mail.
2. EMT 70343493
Full refund received by ETP from the concerned Airlines and the same has been processed to the complainant on 29/11/2020(Amount Rs.15,356/-)
3. EMT 69045197
Full refund processed to complainant. However, only convenience fees and K3 charges deducted on cancellation on 29/11/2020(INR 599+INR 152=INR751)
4. EMT70342041
Concerned Airlines not providing the full refund. Alternatively they are providing credit note.
5. EMT 73271156
Airline providing the refund in a credit shell only.
Ext A5 series is the copy of website page of Ease My Trip.com. Pages 1 & 2 shows that the refund has been processed in some cases.
1. Booking ID EMT70343493 (Rs.15,356/- has been processed to your account. It takes 3-4 working days for refund to reflect in your account.)
2. Booking ID EMT 69045197 (Rs.13,067/- has been processed to your account. It takes 3-4 working days for refund to reflect in your account)
But the opposite party has not produced any evidence to show that the amount is credited to the complainant’s account.
3. Ext A1 page 4 shows that the Ticket in the name of Mr.Sovan Mondal (CJB-CCU) EMT 73271156 is refunded by credit shell.
(Credit shells are open ticket issued by an Airlines when it wants to hold the booking amount as credit. )
But the opposite party has not produced any evidence to support that it is given to the passenger.
So it can be seen that as per opposite party’s contention full refund is processed in the case of 2 tickets, credit shell provided in one ticket; but the opposite party has failed to produce any supporting evidence.
In the case of ticket with ID 70342041, the opposite party has stated that the Airlines is not providing full refund, alternatively they are providing credit note, but no evidence is forth coming regarding its issuance.
9. In the case of Ticket with ID EMT 70397994, as per page 6 of Ext A5 series even if it is shown as Refundable, there is no evidence as to refund of the ticket fare amounting to Rs.41,888/-. Opposite party has produced an e-mail communication for the reply to query put forward by the complainant on 6th November 2020 in which they have stated that the Airlines officials had informed them that it will take another 45-90 days to approve the refund. The opposite parties did not adduce any evidence to show that the amount has been refunded to the complainant on a later occasion.
During hearing, the complainant submitted before the Commission that he has not received any amount from the opposite party and no credit was also issued to the passengers. So the burden is on the opposite party to prove that they have refunded the amount by producing sufficient evidence. Eventhough the mail communication shows that the refund will be reflected in the complainant’s account in 3-4 days in the case of two tickets and issuance of credit note in other two tickets, no evidence is forthcoming.
10. The opposite party has not filed proof affidavit even after several chances being given and no documents were marked from their side. They produced only some photocopies of the email communications and pages of their website. Thus they have failed to adduce cogent evidence to prove that the amount refunded by the Airlines were transferred to the complainant’s account. There was no representation from the part of the opposite party at the time of hearing also.
11. We observe that during the Covid- 19 Lockdown period some Airlines refunded the full amount and in some cases Airlines offered credit shells to passengers instead of refund.
As per the directions issued by the Supreme court regarding the refund of ticket amount during Covid, in the case of persons who have booked tickets from March 25th – May 24th 2020 , the Airlines were directed to refund the full amounts within three weeks and in the case of tickets booked after that period, the Airlines can refund the amount as per the Civil Aviation Rules.
Here as per the complainant, the Airlines have already refunded the amount to the opposite party; but the opposite party did not transfer the amount to the complainant. The opposite party has not produced any evidence to show that the amount is already transferred. . So there is Deficiency in service on their part in not refunding the amount and they are bound to compensate the complainant for that.
In the result, the complaint is allowed. We direct the opposite party to refund the full amount of tickets amounting to Rs.85,148/- together with interest at 9% on each ticket from the date of booking of each ticket till realization. We further direct the opposite party to pay Rs.15,000/- as compensation for their Deficiency in service and Rs.5000/- as cost of this litigation.
Pronounced in the open court on this the 30th day of June, 2022.
Sd/-
Vinay Menon V
President
Sd/-
Vidya A
Member
Sd/-
Krishnankutty N.K
Member
Exhibits marked on the side of complainant
Ext. A1– Series (a to e )5 photocopies of Air tickets
Ext A2- National Consumer Helpline Registration details.
Ext A3- Copy of Adhar card of the complainant
Ext A4- Printout of the message sent to opposite party through E-mail and Whatsapp . along with section 65 B certificate.
Ext A5-( Series )The details of refund of the Air ticket amount to the opposite party from the Airlines.
Exhibits marked on the side of Opposite parties
NIL
Witness examined from complainant’s side:- NIL
Witness examined from opposite party’s side:- NIL
Cost:5000/-
