CCPA action against Yatra, HappyEasyGo, Easemytrip brings down pending refunds

Consumer protection regulator the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has said that after it took action against travel portals Yatra, HappyEasyGo and Easemytrip, the pending refund amount due to flight cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic, has reduced. 

The statement by the CCPA mentioned that the action was taken against the three travel portals for not reimbursing consumers for bookings that were cancelled due to the pandemic. Once the CCPA initiated action, the number of bookings cancelled and pending refund reduced significantly. 

It added that on Yatra portal, the number of cancelled bookings has reduced significantly from 22,974 to 10,705. 

"From Rs 14.69 crore pending for refund on 13.08.2022, the amount pending for refund has now reduced to Rs 7.46 crore," the Central Consumer Protection Authority, headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare said.

The CCPA has also taken action against HappyEasyGo and Easymytrip with regard to refund of pending bookings.

Around 3,722 bookings are pending for refund with HappyEasyGo since July 2021. As per the August 5, 2022 order, the company was asked to provide details of accurate details of booking affected due to the lockdown, how many have been refunded, how many were pending along with reasons for pendency. 

The company did not respond despite repeated reminders and the matter was referred to the District Collector in Gurugram on March 23 for appropriate investigation. 

The CCPA had initiated action against Easemytrip as well. “From 379 bookings pending on 01.07.2022, the number of pending bookings has now reduced to 39 as on 30.05.2023," the CCPA said.

Apart from the travel portals, the agency had imposed penalties on Rau's IAS Study Circle and Seekers Education for publishing misleading advertisements. It also passed an order against Tekshiv Systems for selling pressure cookers under the Quba brand on e-commerce platforms without the quality mark. The company has been directed to pay a penalty of Rs 1,00,000 for selling sub-standard products to consumers.

Also read: RBI to issue RuPay forex cards soon. Here is how it can benefit you while travelling abroad