Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, on Saturday directed the Consumer Affairs Ministry and the Central Consumer Protection Authority to launch an investigation into cancellation charges practices followed by online ticketing platforms.
In a social media post on X, Joshi said, ”I have directed the Department of Consumer Affairs and CCPA to investigate whether online ticket booking platforms are imposing excessive cancellation charges on consumers, beyond what is charged by airlines or disclosed at the time of booking.”
“Such practices undermine transparency and consumer trust and, if found to be unfair or in violation of consumer rights, may amount to Unfair Trade Practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. CCPA will take necessary action, including class action measures wherever appropriate, to protect consumer interests and ensure fair treatment of consumers,” he added .
This direction came after Tajinder Bagga, National Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), in a social media post alleged there was a sharp difference in cancellation charges between booking directly with an airline and using an online travel platform. In his post he made an allegation against Agoda for charging higher cancellation charge than what is directly charged by Akasa Air.
Joshi in his post said the investigation will look into all cancellation charges being levied by all online ticketing platforms