Deepak 05 May 2016

Ncdrc - consumer court case against kerala srtc in bangalore

Hello fellow members,

Questions:

1. Can I file a consumer court case against Kerala SRTC in Bangalore NCDRC? Or should I file the case in Thrissur NCDRC? (Please note that I stay in Bangalore most of the time)

2. Will the below mentioned context qualify for a consumer court case?

3. KSRTC being a state owned company, will they even follow the rulings of NCDRC if it is in my favour?

Context: I booked a ticket from Thrissur (Kerala) to Bangalore (Karnataka) via Kerala SRTC. The trip was cancelled by KSRTC, and they told me that 100% of the ticket charges will be refunded. I paid Rs. 964 via credit card when booking ticket online but was refunded only Rs. 951. When I wrote to the customer care about this, they mentioned that the bank transaction charges will not be refunded. I argued that since the cancellation was initiated by them, they are liable to refund the full amount including bank transaction charges but they refuse to even reply to my emails. I reported this to the KSRTC Chariman and Kerala Transport Minister via emails, but no response from them as well.

I am not bothered about the 13 rupees, but I feel the refund rules followed by them is incorrect in case of trip cancellation by service provider and many passengers are being treated unfairly by such rules and hence the reason for the case.

Thanks!

Regards

Deepak

Reply Follow

7 Replies

P. Venu (Advocate) 05 May 2016

An interesting point. The matter is to be filed in the District Forum. This could be done at Bangalore if the Kerals SRTC has an office in Bangalore.

However, RTC have a good defence in that they had refunded the amount without any cancellation charges. The loss of Rs.13/- was only because the consumer sought to make payment through credit card; had he opted for debit card or net banking, he would have incurred any loss.

A better option is to escalate the dispute by claiming some amount towards damages due to the cancellation of the service.

1 Like

Kumar Doab (FIN) 05 May 2016

Agreed with Expert.

P. Venu (Advocate) 05 May 2016

"he would have incurred any loss" be read as "he would not have incurred any loss".

Deepak 05 May 2016

Thank you for your responses. When a cancellation is initiated by IRCTC, they usually refund the bank transaction charges as well irrespective of the mode of payment. And for KSRTC, they charge bank transaction charges irrespective of whether you pay by credit card, debit card or internet banking. I have given a screenshot below.

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Ritesh Maity (Labour Law Advocate) 05 May 2016

Since, you purchased the ticket from Kerala, the jurisdiction of Kerela will come into force. It looks like the cause of action arose at Kerela and not at bangalore (even if there is office in Bangalore).

Without having the details, I guess you have a good case of deficiency in service because first, the service was cancelled due to fault of KRSTC. Secondly, they have refunded less amount of Rs.13.

I cannot really say whether a company is entitled to deduct the credit card charges while refund is made at their instance. Anyways, it will surely be a good case study if you really decide to proceed.

I wish I was in Kerela to fight the case on your behalf without any professional fees.

P. Venu (Advocate) 05 May 2016

Mr. Deepak,

You are getting facts wrong. The Railways, through IRCTC, deducts cancellation charges even from wait-listed passengers, euphemistically called clerkage. And they never refund bank trasaction charges.