10 hours ago
Tour operator told to refund elderly couple for cancelled tour in Covid times
Ahmedabad: A consumer commission here has ordered a tour operator to refund the full amount with interest, along with Rs 55,000 compensation, to an elderly couple whose tours to Japan and Europe could not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The couple was reluctant to go to the UK, Ireland, and Scotland upon the operator's insistence three years later.
This case involved Asha and Yogesh Doshi, residents of the Ambawadi area, who paid Rs 5.30 lakh in 2019 to Mumbai-based Neem Holidays Pvt Ltd for two tours — Japan and Europe in 2020. Due to the Covid pandemic, the tours were cancelled. When normalcy returned, they requested the same tour package, but the operator could not arrange it.
Considering that people were still reeling under financial stress due to Covid, the couple did not demand their money back. In 2022, the tour operator offered them a 13-day package for Australia. They agreed and paid Rs 10,000 extra, but this did not take place. A year later, the operator offered the couple a tour to the United Kingdom. The couple refused this trip, yet their tickets were booked. They requested the company not to force them to accept this package tour and demanded their money back.
As the operator did not respond, the couple sued it with the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, Ahmedabad City to get the refund. The operator's lawyer appeared, but the reply was not filed.
The commission said that since the money was lying with the operator, the complainants did not have any choice but to agree to the unreasonable request. However, compelling them for another tour against their wish was harassment.
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"The complainant's money has been wrongfully withheld by the opponent, and therefore the complainants are entitled to receive the full money of the package tour from the opponent," it said.
The commission ordered the operator to return Rs 5.40 lakh with 8% interest, along with Rs 55,000 extra towards compensation for causing "physical harassment and mental agony" and towards the expenditure the couple incurred on litigation.
