[Resolved]  Red Bus / Holiday India (Delhi) / Heena Tours & Travels — Overcharging, pathetic quality of service

Address:

South Delhi, Delhi

Last week we booked online bus-tickets through Red Bus, to travel to Nainital and it turned out to be our worst bus-trips to the hills. This is how the sequence of events unfolded -

1. Red Bus website directed us to a travel agent - Ms. Reeta Dhingra of Holiday India PL, F-14 Kalkaji, New Delhi - 110 019
2. Ms. Reeta insisted on receiving full advance payment (online, ICICI Bank) of Rs. 2,100 for three tickets on a 2x2 AC Bus
3. After making the payment, we received tickets (seat no. 27, 28, 29) for a bus run by City Heart Travels. Price mentioned on the ticket was Rs.1500!
4. We were told to report to Hina Travels office at Scindia House, CP at 9 PM. The Bus arrived at 10:30PM.
5. Inside the bus, when we checked with co-passengers it turned out that they had all paid only Rs. 550 per ticket.So Ms. Dhingra had charged us at least Rs.150 extra for each ticket!
6. There was chaos at the bus-stand because each seat had multiple bookings. Since our own seats were occupied we had to sit at the rear end of the bus.
7. The conductor said the problem would be resolved at Kashmiri Gate. At Kashmiri Gate we had more people being brought in for seats that had already been occupied. Angry scenes ensued.
8. Finally, the bus left Delhi at 12:00AM. The bus itself was in bad shape - dirty seats, jammed recliners...it even had extra passengers lying one the floor.

On being contacted, Ms. Dhingra claimed that the extra payment (not in receipt) of Rs.600 was for "service tax and processing charges".

The Red Bus Company, on the other hand, claimed that the agents were being "handled" separately from their Bangalore Office and that they had little control over them.

Regards,

Dinakar