- This topic has 11 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 3 months ago by
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UUpdated to clarify a few things…
Background – I had booked my honeymoon package to Phuket, Thailand via MakeMyTrip for May 2023, all for 70k prepaid. The package include arrival and departure flight tickets for 2 people, stay in hotel for 4 days and some recreational activities. Both my arrival and Departure flights were of Go-Air. A few days before my departure, it was announced in News that Go-Air has declared bankruptcy and all their flights have stopped. I contacted MakeMyTrip and they also informed me the same. They said that they can’t do anything regarding this, that they also aren’t sure what is going to happen going forward and that many of their customers are facing the same issue. I asked what would happen to my honeymoon package – They said that they can’t do anything about flights but the hotel and recreational activities are still booked so I can book alternate flights and atleast make use of them. At that time, the rates of all other flights became highly inflated and out of my budget. So I asked them to cancel my package and return my money – But they said they can’t do it as the money has already gone to airline as well as hotel and activities, and that it can’t be returned just few days before the booked date. I had very heated discussions with MakeMyTrip’s customer care as well as their seniors – I told them that it was not my fault and they need to be responsible for being the middle man in this, that they should provide me alternate flights – but it was of no avail – They said they can’t do anything. The only option they had (other than me booking and paying again for those very high priced alternate flights, and making use of the booked hotel and activities) was that I cancel the booking – This will no doubt waste the potion of my money spent on hotel and activity booking (as it was non refundable) but they will try to refund the amount of flight booking (which was major part of those 70k) once the case resolves. I reluctantly chose that option. Note that I also tried contacting Go-Air multiple times but their customer care never picked the call.
I remained in touch with MakeMyTrip’s customer care on and off for months, trying to get my refund. But they always said that the case is still going, they still haven’t received the amount they gave to Go-Air so they can’t refund me back yet. I even submitted a complaint to consumer forum (NCH) but that just got me a call from someone senior from MakeMyTrip who again gave me same explanation, and closed the complaint. Over time, I lost hope of ever recovering my money, and stopped calling.
My Question here is that is there any way I can get my money back now? Somewhere I submit my request or complaint that will make MakeMyTrip comply? Would it be reasonable to seek legal advice and prepare a case against them, given that all I can expect in best case scenario is approx. 50k atmost?
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Dit is going to be tricky to get your money from MMT, as they were only the middlemen, you chose which package to book , including the flight, so unless mmt had any knowledge about go air going bankrupt , it is going to be hard to file a case against them.
you should check out the status of go air, as your case is against them , whats their status as of now.
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UAs of now, it is still going on…
But the thing is that the flights in my package were chosen by MMT, not my me. I was just told in package description that an economy flight would be provided as per availability. When I booked, the flight was Indigo but after a few days, it was modified to Go-Air. I contacted Customer Care then also – They said it’s ok as this was done due to availability issues and both airlines are good and have similar cost – No additional cost was taken or refunded. Only when my booking date got near did I got to know via news about this bankruptcy…
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HSend a legal notice and file a consumer complaint against MMT. While MMT cannot be directly blamed for the cancellation of Go Air flights due to bankruptcy, your purchase was a holiday package, not just a standalone flight ticket. Since the flight was an integral part of the package, MMT had an obligation to provide an alternate flight without additional charges. As the trip was canceled for no fault of yours, MMT should have either arranged an alternate flight or issued a full refund.
Failure to do so amounts to deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. You can file a complaint seeking a refund, along with compensation for inconvenience, mental distress, and financial loss caused by the cancellation. Ensure that all correspondence with MMT regarding the issue is well documented, as it will serve as crucial evidence for your claim.
If you intend to pursue legal action, do so promptly, as the limitation period for filing a consumer complaint is two years from the date of the cause of action.
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RThat’s a good point. I initially thought that OP shouldn’t be legally entitled to anything, since bankruptcy technically freezes all claims against Go Air. It is a bit more gray when OP buys tickets from MMT for a Go Air flight though.
But the fact that this was a whole holiday package makes me think that MMT should be responsible for either a refund or provide some alternate flight
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