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Yatra Online fined Rs 50,000 for woman, child's botched Thailand tour

A tour operator promised to show a woman and her daughter the best of Thailand but instead inflicted "mental torture on them in an unknown land" by reneging on an agreement to provide them various services. Two years after their ordeal, the district consumer disputes redressal forum, Chennai (south) has found the tour operator guilty of the charges and fined it Rs 50,000.

Sujatha Murali of T Nagar submitted to the forum that she had booked a four-day holiday package from May 9, to May 12, 2012 from Yatra Online, Gurgaon for Rs 59,102. Her 10-year-old daughter V M Yashiswini accompanied her on the trip.

The tour operator had as part of the customised package tour promised to provide Murali and her daughter a buffet breakfast when they arrived in Thailand, three-star hotel accommodation for two nights in Pattaya and accommodation for two nights in Bangkok. Not only did the tour operator fail to provide these facilities, it also delayed a payment link, travel voucher and itinerary it was supposed to send them, Murali said.

They could not enjoy the vacation because neither the hotels nor the tour operator could arrange for vegetarian food. As there were no vegetarian eateries nearby, they had to starve, she said, adding that the hotel was in a "remote area", forcing them to give a miss to shopping hubs and tourist spots like Emerald Buddha Temple.

"It was five days of mental torture in an unknown land," Murali said.

She said she made two complaints but the tour operator failed to address the problem. Murali then moved the forum, seeking compensation for deficiency in services.

Denying the charges, Yatra Online said it was only an "agent" that "arranged for foreign travel by coordinating various services from third-party service providers". Hotel resorts and local tour operators had to provide "actual services". The company could not be held responsible for the "acts of omission and commission by third parties", it said.

Yatra Online said it provided Murali with "best possible options" for her budget. It also argued that the consumer disputes redressal forum did not have the jurisdiction to entertain the complaint because, according to the terms of the package, all disputes could only be tried by a competent court in Gurgaon.

A bench of president P Jayapalan, member L Deenadayalan and member K Amala said placing "the burden on third parties was not acceptable as the money had been paid to the tour operator". After the operator received the complaint, it had apologised for the inconvenience and said it would give Murali a credit note of Rs 1,500 for the next international tour she booked with the company.

Stating that the case was within the jurisdiction of the forum because Murali had made the payment for the package tour in the city, the bench directed the operator to pay Murali Rs 50,000 as fine along with Rs 5,000 in case costs.

 Article referred:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Firm-fined-Rs-50000-for-woman-childs-botched-Thailand-tour/articleshow/43467111.cms

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