Chandigarh

DF-I

CC/304/2018

Parveen Garg - Complainant(s)

Versus

Country Holidays Inn & Suites Pvt. Ltd. - Opp.Party(s)

In Person

16 Oct 2018

ORDER

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM-I,

U.T. CHANDIGARH

 

 

                               

Consumer Complaint No.	:	CC/304/2018
Date of Institution	:	25/06/2018
Date of Decision	:	16/10/2018

 

i)      Parveen Garg S/o Sh. Brij Lal Garg and

ii)     Aruna Garg W/o Sh. Parveen Garg, Both are residents of House No.402, Tower-D, Swastik Vihar, Satyam Apartment, Patiala Road, Zirakpur, District S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali), Punjab – 140603.

…..Complainants

V E R S U S

1)     Country Holidays Inn & Suites Pvt. Limited, having its Regd. Office at 2045/1, 2^nd Floor, Street No.6, Chuna Mandi, Paharganj, New Delhi-110055, through its Director.

2)     Country Holidays Inn & Suites Pvt. Limited, having its Corporate Office at OBS Tower, III Floor,                     A-Block, A-37, Sector 63, Noida, Gautam Budh Nagar, UP-201301, through its Director/ MD/ Authorized Person.

3)     Country Holidays Inn & Suites Pvt. Limited, SCO 156-157, K.B. Enterprises, 2^nd Floor, Cabin No.222, Sector 8-C, Chandigarh, U.T., through its Authorized Person.

…Opposite Parties

 

CORAM        :	RATTAN SINGH THAKUR	PRESIDENT
	MRS.SURJEET KAUR	MEMBER
	SURESH KUMAR SARDANA	MEMBER

                                                                       

ARGUED BY	:	Complainants in person.
	:	Sh. R.B. Singh, Counsel for Opposite Parties, along with Sh. Jai  Prakash Yadav, Branch Incharge of Opposite Parties.

Per Suresh Kumar Sardana, Member

1.         The facts of the Consumer Complaint, in brief, are that the Complainants took the Membership of the Opposite Parties on 28.02.2018 and paid a total sum of Rs.47,500/-. It has been alleged that while offering the said Membership, the Opposite Parties showed green pastures about their travelling programs and packages of visiting their five star properties during holidays’ period. It was also told that the Complainants could gift their pack to their Son also. Accordingly, the son of the Complainants asked the Opposite Parties to arrange a holiday trip for him for 28.03.2018 to 30.03.2018, but that was not arranged with an advisory to have some other appointment for different dates. Again, on the asking of the Complainants, their son requested the Opposite Parties for arranging his trip, but his request was again turned down due to non-availability of the property at the given time. Thereafter, the Complainants themselves asked the Opposite Parties on 29.04.2018 to arrange their trip for Darjeeling for one week in May 2018, but when the Opposite Parties failed to book the same, the Complainants wrote a letter dated 03.05.2018 for returning their money. Thereafter, a protracted e-mails were exchanged between the Complainants and the Opposite Parties, but to no success. With the cup of woes brimming, the Complainants have filed the instant consumer complaint, alleging that the aforesaid acts amount to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the Opposite Parties.
2.         Notice of the complaint was sent to Opposite Parties seeking their version of the case.
3.         Opposite Parties filed their written version, inter alia, admitting the basic facts of the case. It has been pleaded that as per Agreement dated 28.02.2018 the vacation charges are non-refundable under any circumstances. The Complainants failed to clear their membership dues and as per Para 5 of the Agreement ibid, failure to clear dues by second party (Complainants) shall be considered as default and vacations cannot be utilized until the entire dues are cleared and failure to clear dues would result in forfeiture of all paid amounts. Pleading that there is no deficiency in service or unfair trade practice on their part, Opposite Parties have prayed for dismissal of the complaint.
4.         Controverting the allegations contained in the reply and reiterating the pleadings in the Complaint, the Complainants filed the rejoinder.
5.         The parties led evidence in support of their contentions.
6.         We have gone through the entire record and heard the arguments addressed by the Complainants and Ld. Counsel for the Opposite Parties.
7.         On perusal of correspondence placed on record by the Complainants from Annexures C-1 to C-15, it is observed Opposite Parties have not been able to give satisfactory service to the Complainants as promised. The Opposite Parties have failed to give the necessary bookings/stay to the Complainants whenever requested for. Even the complimentary stay at Jim Corbett Park was not found to be satisfactory. The Opposite Parties have not provided any statement with regard to number of members on rolls of the club vis-à-vis the accommodation owned/ taken on lease/license basis by them to enable us to carry out necessary analysis, in the absence of which it is fairly assumed that the Opposite Parties do not have sufficient accommodation to cater to the needs of their existing members.
8.         The main emphasis of the Opposite Parties is that there is an express clause contained in the terms & conditions of the Membership Purchase Agreement that the vacation charges is non-refundable under any circumstances.  We do not agree with the contentions made by the Opposite Parties as one of the vital conditions of the contract is that there must be free will of the parties and there must be meeting of minds on the terms & conditions of the contract in the similar way. Even in the Indian Contract Act, some of the contracts are voidable when the same are based on or created by mis-representation.  In the present complaint too, the complainants claimed that they were allured and explained about the different terms, benefits and facilities, which were not part and parcel of the copy of the agreement received by them.  It seems that the complainants never get an opportunity to go through the terms & conditions of the said agreement while signing the same, being influenced by the allurements made by the representative of the Opposite Parties and only get an opportunity to read the same when the copy of the said agreement landed in the hands of the complainants. We are of the opinion that the complainants without any delay apprised Opposite Parties that the terms & conditions of the present agreement were not inconsonance with the initial proposal or invitations to offer made by the representative of the company. By not honouring the request of the complainants to cancel the contract and by not refunding the amount, the Opposite Parties are found to be deficient in rendering service and indulging into unfair trade practice.
9.         In view of the above discussion, we are of the opinion that the complaint deserves to be allowed.  Accordingly, the complaint is partly allowed and the Opposite Parties are jointly & severally directed as under:

[a]    To refund Rs.35,000/- (after deducting necessary processing fee/administrative charges and also deducting the charges for stay at Jim Corbett Park), along with interest @9% per annum from the date of payment till it is paid;

[b]    To pay Rs.7,000/- as compensation for causing mental agony and physical harassment to the complainants.

[c]    To pay Rs.5,000/- towards litigation expenses.

10.         The above said order shall be complied within 30 days of its receipt by the Opposite Parties; thereafter, they shall be liable for an interest @12% per annum on the amount mentioned in sub-para [a] above from the date of payment, till it is paid. The compensation amount as per sub-para [b] above, shall carry interest @12% per annum from the date of institution of this complaint, till it is paid, apart from cost of litigation as in sub-para [c].
11.         The certified copies of this order be sent to the parties free of charge. The file be consigned.

 

	Sd/-	Sd/-	Sd/-
16/10/2018	[Suresh Kumar Sardana]	[Surjeet Kaur]	[Rattan Singh Thakur]
	Member	Member	President
“Dutt”