Yes, you read that right. A Chandigarh resident who booked a Dubai trip through a leading online travel portal ‘MakeMyTrip’ has sued the company for not letting him enjoy his Dubai trip. He approached Chandigarh consumer court after returning from his Dubai trip and the court ruled in his favor. Consumer court held MakeMyTrip guilty of not letting him enjoy his trip and asked the company to pay a compensation of Rs. 25000.
The Superb Reason
According to the complaint, he booked Dubai trip through MakeMyTrip well in advance but unfortunately his trip fell in the month of Ramdan. A code of conduct is followed in Dubai during this auspicious month and there are certain restrictions which he had to follow. These restrictions were:
- No Belly Dancing is permitted in Dubai during Ramdan. So, he could not watch belly dancing.
- He had to follow a Conservative Dress Code.
- No Loud Music & Dance is allowed in Clubs, So he could not enjoy Dubai night life.
- No Dhow Cruise.
- No liquor is served at Desert Safari camp during Ramdan.
- He was forced to cover his shoulders and legs due to Ramdan month, so could not wear shorts.
Why MakeMyTrip has been Penalized
This man from Chandigarh stated that he was not informed about this strict code of conduct which has to be followed in Dubai on time. The vouchers and information about the trip were given to him once he had made all the payment. He stated that if MakeMyTrip had given this information before he made the payment, he might have chosen different dates for the trip so that he could enjoy his trip.
Since, he had made all the payment, so he decided to go to Dubai during the month of Ramdan. But upon his return back to Chandigarh, he approached the consumer court for not letting him enjoy his Dubai trip.
Since the complainant had already availed the service so the consumer court denied him the full refund of money. However, the forum said “Since the complainant could not enjoy the trip fully and had to face unnecessary restrictions, so he can be compensated for the harassment, mental agony, curtailment of his entertainment and enjoyment during the trip”. The consumer court directed MakeMyTrip to compensate Rs. 25,000 for not letting the complainant fully enjoy his Dubai trip.
When are you planning a trip to Dubai? Make sure you don’t plan it for the month of Ramdan.
Comments
