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Compensation for tourists stranded in Singapore Monday, December 3, 2001

SOURCE - TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Partly allowing a complaint filed by Consumer Education & Research Society (CERS), on behalf of its two members who were stranded in Singapore despite having confirmed return journey tickets, the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has ordered the payment of expenses incurred by them.

Two Ahmedabad residents, Ajaykumar Khemka and Rajendra Pariwal, went on a six-day holiday package tour to Singapore on September 16, 1997, having confirmed tickets both ways. But at the end of their tour on September 21, 1997, when they reached the Singapore Airlines counter at the airport and presented their return journey tickets duly marked OK, they were told that the tickets were not confirmed. For the next two days the duo were stranded in the island city, fending for themselves.

Both the Singapore Airlines tickets were purchased by them in Ahmedabad from Raj Travels & Tours Ltd. They faced further difficulty on their return to Mumbai -- they had missed their train to Ahmedabad and had to forfeit the fare. As a result they had to travel to Ahmedabad by air.

Later they approached CERS, which took up the matter with the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Ahmedabad, against Raj Travels and Singapore Airlines seeking Rs 85,328 with 18 per cent interest for inadequacy in service and Rs 10,000 for causing mental and physical harassment to them. It also sought Rs 5,000 as costs.

Denying any deficiency in service, Raj Travels said that due to some technical fault in the booking system, called Amadeus, the mix-up regarding the return reservation had taken place. However, by way of a goodwill gesture, it offered to pay Rs 17,500 for the expenses incurred by Khemka and Pariwal towards hotel stay and taxi fare in Singapore, for air travel from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and towards the train fare loss.

The forum, however, ordered the payment of Rs 25,000 to Khemka and Pariwal for the expenses incurred during their two-day stay, "considering the entire six-day tour expenses was Rs 15,399 per person". It also levied a 12 per cent interest from September 30, 1997, on the amount and Rs 5,000 as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment to the tourists and granted Rs 2,000 as costs.

The forum was presided over by K D Desai and attended by members Leena Desai and Malay Kantharia. CERS advocate John Pinto appeared for the complainants, while D K Shah appeared for the opponents.

News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]

 

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