Bike manufacturer ordered to refund money

Booking of a limited-edition two-wheeler had been ‘arbitrarily’ cancelled

A consumer forum directed motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield to refund ₹25,000 which a customer had paid online for booking a limited-edition two-wheeler and pay ₹10,000 as compensation. While the company stated that a refund was processed, the complainant maintained that he did not receive any such payment.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum Hyderabad–I was dealing with a complaint filed by G. Anil Kumar, a resident of Parsigutta. He said after finding out about the limited-edition bike, he made the payment on July 25, 2018, but the company cancelled his booking and did not refund the money.

The complainant also said he received a letter the next day informing him of the ‘cancellation’ without ascribing reasons. Two days after that, he received another letter stating that the transaction did not go through given the fact that several potential customers also had made bookings. He said that thereafter no refund reflected in his bank account.

For their part, the company stated their payment gateway had processed the refund but the complainant’s bank had blocked his credit card through which payment was made and that the complainant was informed about this. It also stated the amount was with the bank.

The forum stated no deficiency of service has been noted. However, it did state that the company did not furnish proof that the complainant’s credit card was blocked by the bank. “In the absence of such documentary proof, the self-serving claims that the refund was already processed with the CC Avenue and complainant received the amount cannot be taken as sacrosanct,” it noted.

Airline pulled up

A consumer forum directed SpiceJet Ltd. to pay ₹7,000 as compensation towards flight cancellation, ₹4,818 as refund of ticket amount and ₹3,000 as costs.

The same forum was dealing with a complaint filed by Jay Prakash Minda, his wife Shalu Minda and their minor son. They stated having booked tickets to Chennai from Hyderabad for June 16, 2017, and back to Hyderabad. However, they were told their flight was delayed and subsequently cancelled due to issues beyond their control.

The airline stated they were not liable to pay the differential amount as claimed by the complainants as the flight cancellation was informed in advance. They also said despite asking the complainants to approach the helpdesk for a refund, they did not comply.

The forum held that while the respondents are not liable to pay the differential amount, cancellation of flights causes ‘mental agony’. The forum cited the case of Rajasthan State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission’s order of Indian Airlines Limited vs V.A. Singh and stated that compensation must be awarded in case of flight cancellation as it causes mental agony.