IRCTC's error makes man wait 3 years for full refund Sameer Ranjan.Bakshi @timesgroup.com Booking e-tickets may be very easy, but getting your money back after cancelling them can be nightmarish. Ask Jeetesh Kumar Agarwal, a city-based chartered accountant who took the legal as well as RTI routes, but still had to wait for three long years to get back his money withheld by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). Jeetesh's nightmares began after he booked tickets for himself and his wife in the AC Two-Tier coach on a train departing from Sambalpur to Yeshwanthpur on December 9, 2008. He paid IRCTC Rs 3,393 for the tickets. At the time of booking, both the tickets were on the waiting list. When the couple checked the confirmation chart at Sambalpur railway station on the day of the journey, they found that only Jeetesh's ticket was confirmed and his wife's was still in the waiting list. Jeetesh knew that he had only three options — cancel both the tickets, leave his wife behind or board the train with her and pay the fine for travelling with an unconfirmed e-ticket (treated as travelling without ticket). He immediately sent a mail to IRCTC to cancel the tickets and completed all formalities for the same. After a wait of over three months, IRCTC refunded Rs 2,357 on April 4, 2009, after deducting Rs 1,011 from the total amount. A lawyer by education and chartered accountant by profession, Jeetesh knew that the whole refund process was unfair and lacked transparency. He challenged both IRCTC and South Western Railway (SWR) in the consumer court of Bangalore. On May 21, the Ist Additional District Consumer Dispute Redressal Court ruled that Jeetesh was supposed to get a full refund after deducting nominal clerkage charges. It ordered the IRCTC and the SWR to together pay Jeetesh Rs 8000 towards compensation and Rs 2000 as costs within 30 days. Jeetesh has received a cheque for Rs 5,000 from IRCTC, while he is yet get the same amount from SWR. The court also strongly criticised the IRCTC and the Railways for unfair trade practice and deficiency of service due to the vagueness in their e-ticket refund rules. A copy of the judgment is in possession of Bangalore Mirror. When contacted, Jeetesh said, "I am yet to get compensation from SWR. I can't comment unless I am certain that the matter is no longer sub-judice." |
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