The government threatens legal action unless travel agencies settle outstanding reimbursements

 The government threatens legal action unless travel agencies settle outstanding reimbursements

Consumers have not yet received an estimated 8,000 refunds, worth up to Rs 50 crore, for cancellations made during the lockdowns.

Regarding refunds, thousands of customers have filed complaints with the Department of Consumer Affairs and the CCPA.

Travel agencies are facing legal prosecution if they do not handle customer refunds that are outstanding from the Covid shutdown periods by this month's third week, according to a directive from the central government.

In a meeting presided over by consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on November 8, the Central Committee for Consumer Protection established the deadline.

The meeting was called in response to the CCPA sending reimbursement letters to five travel agencies—Thomas Cook, Kesari Tours, Veena World, Neem Holidays, and Mango Holidays—as well as six online travel the following platforms: EaseMyTrip, Yatra, MakeMyTrip, HappyEasyGo, ClearTrip, as well as Ixigo.

Ixigo and Thomas Cook have already processed their reimbursements in full, while the others have not yet done so.

The whole outstanding sum was kept a secret by the government. Moneycontrol was informed by a senior official present at the meeting that reimbursements totaling between Rs 45 and Rs 50 crore are past due.

The source said, "We believe that there are still around 8,000 reimbursements pending with travel agencies and travel platforms.

The Department of Consumer Affairs, the CCPA, and several customers have received complaints from thousands of customers about unfulfilled reimbursements from local travel agencies, internet travel agencies, and airlines. Refunds were given for trips canceled in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 lockdown periods.

Up to 5,695 reimbursements are still waiting at Yatra.com, 63 on MakeMyTrip, and one on EaseMyTrip for a reservation involving four people. Mango Holidays has Rs 14.75 lakh in outstanding refunds.

Legal proceeding

Following the meeting, on November 8, the government released a statement stating that "failure to comply could end up in the CCPA initiating legal action, including filing a contempt petition over the business owners in the Supreme Court."

Nearly 10,000 complaints were received by the consumer affairs department through the National Consumer Helpline over the previous 7-8 months. In response, the department called a meeting on November 4 with representatives from the civil aviation ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, on the internet and local travel agencies, and airlines.

Moneycontrol was informed by another high-ranking official present at the conference that travel websites had first resisted issuing the reimbursements.

"But the CCPA's hard line of this being a dark pattern and continuous monitoring forcing them to credit the refunds has worked," added the second official. Their only justification for the delay in reimbursements was their inability to get in touch with the individuals in question. We have requested that they prominently post information on their websites so that visitors may find us on their own."

Dark patterns are tactics used by websites and applications to trick users into doing actions they did not want to do or to dissuade them from acting in a manner that benefits the company.

Mango Vacations, Kesari Tours, and Veena World have petitioned the court to overturn the CCPA's rulings requiring the reimbursements to be given. The CCPA is looking into Neem Vacations.

Following the October 1, 2020, Supreme Court judgment, the CCPA sent warnings to six travel platforms requiring them to promptly reimburse customers. Up till today, only two people have cleared the refunds: Thomas Cook and Ixigo.

Ombudsman's need 

The government also spoke about how to create an authority or an ombudsman to settle complaints from customers about aviation.

The government said, "The Department of Consumer Affairs as well as the Ministry of Civil Aviation can collaborate on the procedures involved in establishing the same."

Based on data analyzed by Moneycontrol, around 40% of the 10,000 complaints included tickets that were canceled but the prices were not reimbursed, and 14% concerned services that fell short of airline promises.

A further 14% of the complaints concerned not being compensated for misplaced or damaged luggage. Additional issues included denials of boarding, delays in airline reimbursements, and the inability to find available seats while making reservations or checking in online.

Airlines were not present at the meeting on November 8, but to address these concerns, the aviation ministry will meet with them separately. The ministry will lead the conversation on paying for reservations, according to the second source.

"Airlines have requested more time to gather information on customer refunds and open grievances. The first official said, "MoCA will cross-verify the data we acquire from airlines with the complaints received."