Dear Team RedBus, Thanks for inquiring about my travel experience.
Your records will show that on 14th May 2011 I had booked four tickets through you on a Diana Naik Travels non-AC bus for the 15th May evening. Departure was supposed to be at 7 pm and the fare was Rs. 800/- each. I was very happy with your website search engine and how various options were given to me including a diagram of the seats so I could specifically choose. And also how I was also immediately informed by SMS about my booking etc. On 15th May morning one Riyaz Naik of Naik Travels phoned to inform me that the Diana Naik Travels bus I had chosen had broken down and they were now going to accommodate me in a AC-Luxury bus. I was very happy at this fortunate turn of events. Naik then informed me that I would have to pay Rs. 400/- extra per seat as AC-Luxury seats cost Rs. 1,200/- each. I explained to Naik that I did not have such a budget and would be quite happy to be accommodated in a non-AC non-Luxury bus and I didn't intend to pay any more money than I already had. It was after all not my fault that his bus had broken down and it was his responsibility to make alternate arrangements. After a lot of discussion he asked me what my final budget was and I agreed to go up to a maximum of Rs. 900/- per seat but nothing more. He agreed to this and gave me the AC bus name (Modern Mercedes Benz ) and departure point and time. At 8 pm when the bus arrived near St. Xavier's College the person in charge, a polite young man named Diago, asked me to pay Rs. 900/- instead of the Rs. 400/- I had agreed to. I explained to Diago that there was some misunderstanding. He showed me a slip of paper on which it was mentioned that he had to collect Rs. 900/- from me. I asked to speak to Naik and he dialed the number for me. Riyaz Naik said that I had agreed to Rs. 900/-. I explained to him that I had agreed to Rs. 400/- (ie Rs. 900/- each as opposed to the earlier Rs. 800/-). He claimed that I had agreed to a total of extra Rs. 900/-. I thought maybe it was a communication problem as he was speaking Hindi and me English but I explained to him that I could not afford the additional Rs. 500/-. He got very abusive on the phone and told me in that case to cancel my ticket and take a refund. This he tells me at 8.10 pm with my baggage and family about to the board the bus. Because of the situation I had no alternative but to be bullied into paying the additional Rs. 900/- (Rs. 400/- agreed upon plus and additional Rs. 500/-) so I could board the bus. On boarding the bus we were in for yet another disappointment. Our seat numbers 17,18, 19 and 20 turned out to be the second last row of the bus and not in the middle as had been shown on the original bus plan. I checked and found that the first few rows on this AC-Luxury bus had numbering A, B, C etc til midway from the front and then 1,2, 3 etc started from there onwards. Now before I drag you RedBus, Naik Travels and Riyaz Naik to Consumer Court I would like to give you an opportunity to answer a few questions. 1) It is standard practice worldwide in the travel business that if there is a breakdown equal or better arrangements are made for passengers at the cost of the travel agency. Why was I asked to bear the additional costs? 2) I have also asked around and found that this is a common ploy specially during holiday season. Bookings are taken in a non-AC bus and then some story invented about a breakdown and passengers are forced to pay the difference for a better bus. Naik Travels is particularly famous for this con game. How many non-AC buses mentioned in your website actually ply? 3) Why is the seat numbering system on your website different from the seat numbering system in the Luxury AC buses? Does this not amount to cheating too? 4) Your website, the ticket and all communication is in English. Why then do I have to deal with a Riyaz Naik who refuses to talk in English and makes his convoluted lies out to be a language/communication problem? If I don't get satisfactory replies to my questions within three days I am taking my case to Consumer Court to seek compensation not just for my expenses but also penalties for cheating. Cheers! Cecil =============== On 17 May 2011 17:19, <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Mr. Cecil Pinto, > > Thank you for booking a ticket through redBus. > > We request you to share your feedback on the bus you traveled by from Mumbai > to Goa on 15-May-2011. This feedback is shown on the redBus site as a user > rating and most of the travelers depend on these ratings to choose a bus. > > Submit your feedback here. > > We look forward to serving you many more times in the future. > > Best regards, > -- > Team redBus -- "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day" - Demosthenes 338 BC
