Is Easemytrip scamming people?

An open letter to Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Union minister for Aviation

Copy marked to Minister Dr. Virendra Kumar, from the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, as it is in charge of welfare of senior citizens,

Another copy is being sent to SEBI, which is meant to look at all listed companies, especially if its profits are the result of scams and unfair practices

It is also being copied to the Tata Group since it owns and manages Air India as this was the airline on which a ticket was purchased through EaseMyTrip.

I write this open letterregarding EaseMyTrip to you because of three reasons

1. The ministry of civil aviation is in charge of all matters concerning aviation, including the way airline tickets are booked, and even passenger welfare;
2. A copy of this is being marked to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment because it is in charge of ensuring the welfare of senior citizens;
3. It is also being copied to SEBI, as it is in charge of all listed companies, and also looking into the way their profits are made and declared, especially if they are the result of fraud and unfair practices.

The trailing note is from Dr. Surendra Dhelia, a senior citizen. The facts – to the best of my knowledge and belief- are as follows:

1. He had booked a ticket to the US through EaseMyTrip. He discovered, quite accidentally, that after a few months when the price of the same ticket fell significantly, his original booking was cancelled, and a new onewas issued by EaseMyTrip.  He discovered, accidentally again, that the new ticket was cheaper by about Rs 38000.  All this was done by EaseMyTrip, without either the knowledge or consent of Dr. Dhelia.
2. Upon discovery, he wrote to the Company to explain this fraud, but it did not answer this relevant question, even after repeated questioning.
3. When he sent a legal notice to the company, he was told that the original ticket “… was inadvertently cancelled by our agent due to an unintentional error.”
4. When his Solicitors pointed out the unlawful gains made by the company – the difference was refunded to him.
5. I wrote to the company, asking for its comments. It refused to explain (see image). Strangely, even though I had written to the company, the reply came from an email address I do not recognise.  The letter was signed by a person claiming to be from the company, but without a designation.
6. It appears that the company took the surplus – as it might have done with many other unsuspecting hapless customers. These must have become part of the Income from other sources (also referred to as Other Income).   According to CoPilot, “Here’s a quick breakdown based on Q3 FY24 figures for EaseMyTrip:

• Profit Before Tax (PBT): ₹60.26 crore
• Other Income (Non-operating): ₹4.52 crore”

7. SEBI needs to determine whether the other income includes such ‘switching’ of tickets in other cases.
8. The fact that the company did not immediately refund the entire amount to Dr. Dhelia suggests that the company knew of the ‘skimmed surplus’ but chose to retain the ill-gotten gains for itself.
9. One does not know if the Airline is also a party to this cyber-enabled fraud. Both the airline and SEBI need to investigate this. Hence the copy to the Tata Group which owns and manages Air India. Since EaseMyTrip has refused to explain further, we reproduce Dr. Dhelia’s note in its entirety for information of the parties to whom this open letter has been addressed, as well as for the information of the general public.

A new state of art online cyberfraud by a Travel Agency Easemytrip

During my recent USA trip, I discovered what I believe is a sophisticated online fraud by a travel agency: EaseMyTrip.

I booked an Air India ticket through Easemytrip and paid about Rs 1.3 Lakhs and got ticket with PNR 5OC8NF.  Few months later, when the price of the same ticket fell significantly to about Rs 93,000, Easemytrip cancelled my original ticket without my knowledge or consent and without informing me.  EaseMyTrip then rebooked a new ticket (with new PNR 53QXLN), thus enriching itself by about Rs 38000.

For some reason the airline changed the itinerary about 7 hours before the departure time.  The Airline gave me the option of receiving full refund or to accept the change (from direct flight to stop over flight). When I opted for full refund, I was told that I will receive only about Rs 93000, the amount paid by Easemytrip for this PNR 53QXLN.  Thus, I decided to travel instead of losing about Rs 38000.  On asking Easemytrip about this fraud, the Agency did not answer the relevant question, hoping that I will not pursue and will give up.

When the Company failed to answer this question, my solicitors gave a legal notice. The company came out with a fictitious excuse to cover up the unauthorized and unlawful cancellation of original booking, claiming: “the PNR 5OC8NF was inadvertently cancelled by our agent due to an unintentional error.”

If the cancellation was genuinely accidental, EaseMyTrip ought to have forthwith informed me of the same and remitted the difference that was unlawfully gained. I was never informed about the cancellation and rebooking.  EasyMyTrip must be indulging in this unethical practice regularly. Had there been no last-minute itinerary alteration, the misconduct might have remained undetected – underscoring the likelihood that similar irregularities go unnoticed by other customers.

I’m sharing this to warn my friends, to be cautious when booking through EaseMyTrip. This appears to be a deliberate, unethical practice designed to profit from unsuspecting customers. This is not just poor service—it’s potentially a well-disguised form of cyber-enabled fraud.

Dr Surendra Dhelia