OYO has been directed by a consumer forum to refund Rs. 3,461 to Advocate Vibhor Aggarwal, following a booking dispute where the hotel denied stay for one day. The forum also ordered OYO to pay Rs. 25,000 in damages and Rs. 11,000 in litigation expenses.
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The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Gurgaon, hospitality giant OYO has been directed to provide a complete refund of Rs.3,461 to a disgruntled customer. The customer, Advocate Vibhor Aggarwal, had faced issues when the hotel he booked for a three-day stay through OYO dishonored the booking for one day.
The consumer forum, presided by President Sanjeev Jindal along with Members Jyoti Swatch and Khushwinder Kaur, didn’t stop at just the refund. They also ordered OYO to compensate Aggarwal with Rs.25,000 in damages and Rs.11,000 as litigation expenses. This decision came after Aggarwal booked a room at ‘Hotel New Sunshine‘ for his guest from December 30, 2021, to January 2, 2022.
Despite the confirmation of the booking, the hotel denied stay on December 31, claiming it was fully reserved for the day. This forced Aggarwal to make an additional booking for his guest on December 31, 2021. The inconvenience prompted Aggarwal to issue a legal notice to OYO, demanding a full refund and damages amounting to Rs.50,000.
OYO’s partial agreement to refund only for one day led Aggarwal to escalate the matter to the consumer forum. The forum, after careful consideration, found Aggarwal’s claims well-supported by “accurate, brief, and concise” documentary evidence.
Rejecting OYO’s defenses as “false, frivolous, baseless, and misconceived,” the consumer forum concluded that the deficiency in service on OYO’s part was established beyond doubt. Despite OYO’s claims that the complainant had no cause of action or that there was no deficiency in service, the consumer forum found these defenses unnecessary and irrelevant.
“The opposite party shall make the compliance of this order within 45 days from the date of uploading of this order after the expiry of 24 hours (one day) therefrom, failing which the amount will attract interest @ 12% per annum, for the same period, till actual realization,”
The consumer forum added in the order dated February 1.
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In a courtroom appearance, Vibhor Aggarwal, the complainant, presented himself alongside Advocate Bhupinder Yadav. On the other side, Advocate Sandeep Yadav represented OYO.
