Is a travel agency sitting on your money? Here's how to recover every single penny..

As soon as holiday plans are made, people often book tour packages with travel agencies months in advance. However, if the agency throws a last-minute curveball or the trip gets cancelled, they sometimes withhold the customer's money. If you have faced a similar situation, you too can—like a government employee from Telangana—recover every penny and teach the agency a lesson.

An Assistant Section Officer in the Telangana government's Finance Department booked a tour package to Malaysia with his wife for ₹1.30 lakh. He had already secured leave and permission for foreign travel from his department. Just two days before the trip was to begin, the agency suddenly pulled a fast one, demanding an additional ₹30,000 for an alternative flight. The couple flatly refused to pay this amount, as it fell outside the terms of the package, and instead cancelled the trip, demanding a full refund.

**Only ₹50,000 Refunded Out of ₹1.30 Lakh**

Following the couple's objection, the agency acted deviously; it refunded only ₹50,000 of the total amount paid, while withholding the remaining ₹80,000 under the pretext of cancellation charges. Having lost ₹80,000 without receiving any service, they repeatedly asked the agency for their money back, but the agency kept stalling. Consequently, the customer approached the Hyderabad Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

**The Commission Teaches a Lesson**

The Commission issued a notice to the travel agency, but the agency failed to even appear for the hearing. A bench comprising Commission President B. Uma Venkata Subba Lakshmi and members C. Lakshmi Prasanna and B. Raji Reddy delivered an *ex parte* verdict based on the evidence provided by the couple. The court stated unequivocally that if the tour never took place, the agency had no right to withhold the customer's money. If the agency claims a cancellation charge, it must provide valid bills and proof of the actual expenses incurred. Deducting money without concrete bills amounts to a ‘deficiency in service’.

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