MakeMyTrip
Makemytrip.com Booking ID: IN1002B00600: Forced to pay fraudulent charges

Kumar Vijay Mishra
02-17-2010
174

Hello,

1. It has been a traumatizing experience to talk to customer care executives of makemytrip over phone for refund request. Every time I have been given a different response to such an extent that I see no choice but to forward this complaint to consumer forum as well.

2. To start with, I had booked a ticket from Milwaukee to Delhi via Chicago and Frankfurt and back on the same route. The United Airlines flight (from Milwaukee to Chicago) in the booking mentioned above got delayed and so the entire trip was missed out. The Chicago--Frankfurt-Delhi route was on Air India. When I contacted United Airlines people first, they told me that since the entire trip was through Air India, they don't have any money for the refund and I should contact Air India.

3. When I contact AI, they told me that I should contact makemytrip as I booked my ticket through makemytrip.

4. So I started contacting makemytrip's customer care. Following is my experience with different customer care executives (all in Gurgaon office). Believe it or not, I have contacted them eight times:

- Nazm (on 6th Feb): she told me that I should contact United as its their flight which got delayed and not AI. She asked me to get a stamped document from United that their flight got delayed and send it to makemytrip. I contact UA and they said they don't have anything to do with this. The delay information is available and visible to all other airlines and travel agents, so they don't have to issue any stamped document.

- Sumeet (twice on 6th Feb): She told me that she can not see on her system if the flight actually got delayed.

- Shikha (on 6th Feb): She said that she is escalating my complaint and makemytrip will find out if the flight got delayed or not and that I will receive a callback within 6 hours. I did not receive any call back within 6 hours.

- Shikha (on 7th Feb): She told me that since the UA office is closed on Sunday, the delay information will only be available next day.

- Ravinder (on 8th Feb): He told me that (a) makemytrip is still trying to find out if the flight got delayed or not (b) if the flight delay is confirmed, I would receive full refund and (c) I will receive a callback within 6 hours "for sure".

- Jatin (on 8th Feb): I rang him after I didn't get a 6-hr callback. He said he will find out why there wasn't any callback and connected me to a supervisor named Tushar with whom the connection got snapped.

- Deepak (on 8th Feb): This was my worst experience with a customer care executive after which I was compelled to send this complaint to service desk and different consumer forums. He told me that (a) instead of makemytrip contacting the airlines, its me who should contact the airlines for refund request. All other customer care executives told me that entire 2 days were gone because makemytrip was trying to contact the airlines. (b) He told me it will actually take 72 hrs for callback. All other customer care executives told me that it is 6 hrs. All this despite knowing that my itinerary also has a return flight on Friday 12th Feb which should also be cancelled now. (c) He also asked me to contact UA (again) for refund request. I told him I have done so and I have been told that UA doesn't have any money for this booking. He then gave me a snap judgement on my refund case: I should agree for cancellation charges. I wonder on what basis this verdict was announced. (d) On repeatedly asked to connect to his supervisor, he said I will get a callback which hasn't happened yet. He also pronounced that there is no benefit in contacting the supervisor as he is going to tell me the same. I wonder why there are supervisors in the first place. (e) He told me that "the bottomline is" I should contact airlines myself. (f) Inspite of my continuing insistence, he refused to convey all this in writing.

- Priya (on 10th Feb): I contact her and again she gave assurance of call back in 6 hours. Nothing happened.

- Pankaj (on 11th Feb): He said the callback will be in 24 hrs. He also said if they verified that the United Airlines flight got delayed, then I will get full refund.

- Chinu (on 11th Feb): There was no call back in some 22 hrs, so I decided to talk to makemytrip again. Said she would connect me to some other department but the call got disconnected.

- Sumit, Sahil (on 11th Feb): Sumit connected me to Sahil. Sahil was impatient right from the beginning. He didn't try to understand my specific queries and try to answer them. He kept on saying that they are still contacting Air India. Despite being asked why it has taken so much time, he did not give any plausible explanation to me.

- Priyanka (on 11th Feb): Call couldn't be completed.

- Abhijot (on 11th Feb): Was probably in the same department as Sahil. Put me on a log hold and the call then got disconnected.

- Ravinder (on 11th Feb): Said that since the ticket is refundable, I would not compensated for my return trip as well.

- Sahil (on 11th feb): Promised again that I will get a call back. I told him I am traveling the next day and would be available on emails. he said he will email me. He also said they have contacted Air India and I will not get any refund (no explanation why no refund will be given to me). Never heard from him or anyone else. And now, it is 17th Feb today.

5. Needless to say, this horrible experience with makemytrip is almost akin to a scam where a customer is harassed and forced to pay unauthorized and fraudulent charges. I have made my booking through makemytrip and my refund will be from makemytrip. Then why should I go around the offices of the airlines.

6. If a callback is never given within 6 hours, why the customer care executives give a false assurance of 6 hours?

7. Obviously I have to be compensated as it is not my fault that UA flight got delayed.

8. I request that my refund case is taken up quickly by appropriate and knowledgeable persons. The makemytrip's "escalation" process regarding customer complaints is nothing but another scam as nothing really comes out of it. The entire customer care department appears to be giving contradictory and false assurances.

Thank you.

Regards,

Kumar Vijay Mishra