Payment made, hotel not booked: Consumer forum asks hospitality firm to refund money

Noida: District consumer disputes redressal commission directed Noida-based hospitality company to return Rs 1 lakh taken from a Sector 74 resident in 2023, with interest calculated at 6% from the date of filing of the complaint, along with a fine of Rs 3,000 towards mental agony and litigation costs.Vijay Prakash Agrawal approached the commission on Oct 14, 2024, alleging that the hospitality company Future Choice Holidays and Hospitality Private Limited had failed to provide the services it had promised. He told the commission that he had bought a plan for booking studio apartments for stay at selected locations at the price of Rs 1 lakh from the firm's manager, Basant Dubey, on Feb 18, 2023. The transaction happened through UPI and a membership letter was also handed to Agrawal.Dubey claimed that the plan was valid for 10 years, till 2033. The company also offered a gift voucher to avail a free stay in any selected hotels listed on the company website. As they had planned a trip between March 18 and 23, 2024, Agrawal asked the firm to book the hotels that were listed on the website for Dalhousie and Dharamshala.Though the company said they were unable to book hotels as per the customer's choice, it was ready to book any other hotel available during the period. "I was asked to make a payment of Rs 8,999 for the booking and I even transferred the amount," Agrawal said. However, he never got a confirmation from the hotels.Agrawal wrote several emails and tried contacting customer care. He finally sent a legal notice to the firm on Sept 24, 2024, which also went unanswered. Describing the act of the company as illegal and an effort to cheat, Agrawal filed a complaint with the commission.The commission served a notice to the hospitality firm on Aug 29, 2025. As the notice went unanswered, the Commission heard the case ‘ex parte', that is, in the absence of the other party. They perused the documents, heard the complainant and were convinced that the hospitality company was guilty of deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, as it failed to deliver the services even after charging the requisite amount. Accordingly, the panel directed the manager and director of FCH Hospitality Private Limited to return the amount taken from the customer with interest and also pay a fine.Disposing of the matter on Jan 2, commission chairperson Anil Kumar Pundir and member Anju Sharma ruled in favour of Agrawal, directing the hospitality company to make the entire payment, along with a fine of Rs 3,000 towards mental agony and litigation costs, within 30 days of the judgment.