Mumbai couple win sweet anniversary suit against holiday portal

The couple and their 12-year-old son had to spend a night without a hotel room in Darjeeling. Representation pic

The Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has asked MakeMyTrip to pay Rs 2.61 lakh to a couple that had to spend a night without a hotel room despite booking a trip through the travel portal.

The couple from Mumbai had booked a holiday tour to Darjeeling to celebrate their anniversary in May 2017. They paid Rs 37,060 to MMT for their - the couple and their 12-year-old son - stay at a resort and got a receipt from the company. The couple then sent an email to the resort seeking confirmation but were told that there was no such booking in their name. The complainants informed MMT about the resort's response and were assured by the travel company that all arrangements would be made before they reached the hill station.

On May 3, the couple reached Sian Resort and to their shock, they found no bookings had been made for them. While they contacted MMT, they had to stay a night without a hotel room till an alternative arrangement was made by the travel company at another hotel, Khush Alaya Sterling.

The family was told to pay Rs 1,000 to reach the other hotel and the Rs 4,000 that they had paid for a sight visit to the previous hotel went in vain too. After checking out from Khush Alaya, they were given a bill of Rs 37,060. This time, MMT executives told the family to resolve the matter by themselves.

On their return to Mumbai, the couple registered a complaint with the Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Bandra, demanding compensation of Rs 3 lakh from MMT and reimbursement of other expenses that they had to make during the holiday. Last week, the Forum passed an order in favour of the couple and asked MMT to pay Rs 2.61 lakh to the couple.

The Forum found deficiency in MMT's service that resulted in mental and physical agony to the couple and their young son during the holiday. It asked MMT to pay Rs 1.75 lakh for mental and physical torture, Rs 37,060 of the booking amount, Rs 25,324 that was paid to the other resort, Rs 4,000 for taxi booking and Rs 1,000 towards their transport from one hotel to the other. MMT has also been told to pay another Rs 19,250 within 60 days. If the amount is not paid, MMT will have to pay an interest of 6 per cent.

An MMT spokesperson told mid-day, "We are going through the order and will consider our future course of action after analysing the details."