Chennai Holiday Firm Ordered to Pay Rs 95,000 to Consumer for Service Deficiency

The Tirunelveli District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Orchid Vacation Limited, a Chennai-based holiday membership company, to refund membership fees and pay compensation totalling Rs 95,000 to a consumer for deficiency in service and unfair trade practices.

The order was issued on a complaint filed by Stephen Immanuel, 56, an assistant executive engineer with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. Immanuel stated that he was contacted by the holiday company over the phone and subsequently attended a promotional meeting at GRT Regency in Vannarpettai, Tirunelveli, on June 20, 2025. At the meeting, company representatives allegedly assured him that paying an enrolment fee of Rs 35,000 would entitle him and his family to stay at star hotels across India for seven days each year.

However, when Immanuel later attempted to make bookings in Chennai, Delhi, and Thiruvananthapuram, the company introduced undisclosed terms and restrictions. These included providing accommodation only in hotels situated on the outskirts of the respective cities, deducting two days of membership balance for a single day of stay, and enforcing a mandatory breakfast fee of Rs 1,600.

Alleging mental agony and deficiency in service, Immanuel approached the consumer forum through advocate A. Brahmma.

The commission bench, comprising president Y. Gladstone Blessed Tagore and member M. Kanagasabapathy, ruled that imposing conditions contrary to initial assurances constituted both deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice. The commission directed Orchid Vacation Limited to refund the Rs 35,000 membership fee along with 6.5 per cent interest calculated from May 4, 2026, to August 27, 2026.

In addition to the refund, the consumer panel directed the Chennai firm to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation for mental agony and service deficiency, along with Rs 10,000 toward litigation expenses. The firm was instructed to settle the total amount within one month of receiving the order copy, failing which the outstanding sum will attract an interest rate of 9 per cent.