Cancellation due to lockdown: Govt should step in to help consumers get full refund

It’s really unfortunate that the aviation and hospitality sectors are refusing to return consumers’ money, following cancellation of bookings caused by the unprecedented three-week countrywide lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Ironically, as far as airlines are concerned, consumers did not even have to make the cancellation. All flights were cancelled by the airlines themselves, following the government’s decision to suspend all domestic passenger flights from the midnight of March 24, 2020. Yet, they are unwilling to refund the amount and want consumers to re-schedule their travel plans. The only concession that they are offering is waiver of re-scheduling charges!

But there is a catch here too – the re-scheduling has to be done within a particular time frame – some are offering credit notes valid for a limited period. But that’s not all – if the rescheduled tickets are higher than what is paid for, then the consumer has to bear the additional burden!

This is totally unfair, particularly in these uncertain times when nobody really knows when the pandemic will come under control and one can travel without the fear of catching the infection. So for all you know, the ‘credit notes’ may well expire without the consumer making that trip. Besides, once the airlines begin their operations, the demand for travel will be so high that the fares are bound to skyrocket. So eventually, consumer is the loser!

Consumers are getting a raw deal from the hospitality industry too. Many hotels are pointing to their terms and conditions to collect hefty charges from consumers for cancellation. If you want to escape such penalty, you can re-schedule your booking, but here again, if the room charges are higher during that period, you have to pay the difference. Consumers feel that they are being penalized for no fault of theirs.

Ram Prasad, for example, was part of a 25-member group that planned an engineering college reunion at a holiday resort in Karnataka. Since it was a large booking, the hotel wanted in advance, 50% of the room charges. Following the lockdown, the group cancelled the booking. But the hotel is refusing to return the money and asking them to re-schedule their trip, within a certain specified period. Here too, there’s a condition attached to it -- that the group will pay higher charges if the room rents have gone up.

The group does not want to reschedule because it is not easy for so many to come together, given their work schedules. Besides, many in the group are entrepreneurs, who have been hit hard financially by the lockdown and are not interested in the reunion anymore and want their money back.

Prasad and his group are not alone. Many hotels are pointing to the terms and conditions of booking and refusing to refund the money on cancellation.

First of all, these are standard terms and conditions which can be challenged if they are unfair and also if the hotel never brought them to the notice of the consumer at the time of booking. But more important, here the cancellation has been done under exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the consumer.

In fact, the consumer is forced to stay home, by law, on account of the lockdown declared by the government (and also to prevent the spread of the coronavirus) and given this situation, hotels cannot enforce their terms and conditions, even if the consumer had seen them, agreed to them and signed on them.

Consumers can go to the consumer courts on these issues, but considering the extraordinary and unparalleled circumstances, the government should step in and ensure that consumers get the full refund, without their having to wage a long legal battle. The Indian Railways is giving full refund for all journeys from March 21 to April 14. Why shouldn’t others follow suit?