Extortion of money basis fake immigration rules, formal complaint against Gulf Air
Complain ID : CCN029523 20
Airlines Complaint
Complaint Date: June 20, 2018
Modified date: August 21, 2018
- State : Maharashtra
- City : Mumbai
- Address: 17051, Kohinoor City Phase-2
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am registering a formal complaint against Gulf Air which runs a blatant extortion racket on Indian soil and fleeces innocent customers. The details are as follows:
I had valid tickets to travel on Mumbai-Georgia (Tbilisi)-Mum sector. My onward journey was booked through Gulf Air (bookign ref: EHKMYK) ON 26th May, 2018 via Bahrain and my return ticket was booked through FlyDubai (booking ref: 38PGSY) on 3rd June, 2018 via Dubai. Upon reaching the airport on 26th May for my onward journey, I was denied boarding by the ground staff of Gulf Air (despite having valid tickets). They stated that as per "new Heorgian immigration rules" they can only allow customers who have a valid return ticket also through their airline. When I demanded to see the "new rules", they produced a piece of paper which appeared to be a notification by Gulf Air but was neither stamped/sealed not was on any letter-head. On checking online, we did not find any such rules mentioned in neither the Georgia immigration website nor on Gulf Air website. The rule appeared to be an arbitrary one made by Gulf Air without any precedence or legal tenacity and was clearly not notified to customers at the time of booking tickets. Also, there was clearly no such "Georgian immigration rule" as claimed by Gulf Air. Besides, the arbitrary rule also goes against anti-competition and fair trade laws. The main lynchpin in all of this was one Ms. Dion Lobo, officer in charge who was orchestrating the entire fraud.
When I protested vehemently, they threatened to call CRPF and throw me and my wife out of the airport. Finally, as a solution they asked me to buy my return tickets on Gulf Air on the spot, that too for a different date (2nd June) than my originally planned date (3rd June) - only then would they allow me boarding. I relented to the pressure tactics and bought 2 one-way return tickets on Tbilisi - Mumbai sector (for me and wife), despite already having valid tickets via FlyDubai. The price obviously was exorbitant (INR 72k+ or USD 1070+), but I had no choice as I has my entire holiday booked.
On reaching Georgia, I immediately checked with Georgian immigration officials and also with FlyDubai staff who clearly stated that there are no such immigration rules which state that you need to have return ticket on the same airline as onward journey. Infact, I did not undertake the return journey on the "forced ticket" of Gulf Air (of 2nd June), but came back on my original ticket with FlyDubai on 3rd June without an iota of hassle. This proved 3 things:
a. Gulf Air denied me boarding on a false pretext of "Georgian immigration rules", which were non-existent
b. They violated competition laws by forcing me to buy a return ticket through them, when I already had a valid one with another airline
c. They also violated basic consumer laws by not making their (illegal) rules clear at the point of sale
In light of the above, I urge you to take the strictest possible action against Gulf Air. I also demand to be fully compensated for the ticket that I was forced to buy by Gulf Air as also the mental harassment that I faced at their behest. I the following documents as proof.
a. Valid tickets on Mum-Tbilisi-Mum sector booked through a travel agent. Mail confirmation sent by GulfAir itself attached
b. Valid FlyDubai boarding passes for return journey on 3rd June as per the above ticket
c. Gulf Air ticket for 2nd June that I was forced to buy by Gulf Air staff at Mumbai airport on 26th June.
I am registering a formal complaint against Gulf Air which runs a blatant extortion racket on Indian soil and fleeces innocent customers. The details are as follows:
I had valid tickets to travel on Mumbai-Georgia (Tbilisi)-Mum sector. My onward journey was booked through Gulf Air (bookign ref: EHKMYK) ON 26th May, 2018 via Bahrain and my return ticket was booked through FlyDubai (booking ref: 38PGSY) on 3rd June, 2018 via Dubai. Upon reaching the airport on 26th May for my onward journey, I was denied boarding by the ground staff of Gulf Air (despite having valid tickets). They stated that as per "new Heorgian immigration rules" they can only allow customers who have a valid return ticket also through their airline. When I demanded to see the "new rules", they produced a piece of paper which appeared to be a notification by Gulf Air but was neither stamped/sealed not was on any letter-head. On checking online, we did not find any such rules mentioned in neither the Georgia immigration website nor on Gulf Air website. The rule appeared to be an arbitrary one made by Gulf Air without any precedence or legal tenacity and was clearly not notified to customers at the time of booking tickets. Also, there was clearly no such "Georgian immigration rule" as claimed by Gulf Air. Besides, the arbitrary rule also goes against anti-competition and fair trade laws. The main lynchpin in all of this was one Ms. Dion Lobo, officer in charge who was orchestrating the entire fraud.
When I protested vehemently, they threatened to call CRPF and throw me and my wife out of the airport. Finally, as a solution they asked me to buy my return tickets on Gulf Air on the spot, that too for a different date (2nd June) than my originally planned date (3rd June) - only then would they allow me boarding. I relented to the pressure tactics and bought 2 one-way return tickets on Tbilisi - Mumbai sector (for me and wife), despite already having valid tickets via FlyDubai. The price obviously was exorbitant (INR 72k+ or USD 1070+), but I had no choice as I has my entire holiday booked.
On reaching Georgia, I immediately checked with Georgian immigration officials and also with FlyDubai staff who clearly stated that there are no such immigration rules which state that you need to have return ticket on the same airline as onward journey. Infact, I did not undertake the return journey on the "forced ticket" of Gulf Air (of 2nd June), but came back on my original ticket with FlyDubai on 3rd June without an iota of hassle. This proved 3 things:
a. Gulf Air denied me boarding on a false pretext of "Georgian immigration rules", which were non-existent
b. They violated competition laws by forcing me to buy a return ticket through them, when I already had a valid one with another airline
c. They also violated basic consumer laws by not making their (illegal) rules clear at the point of sale
In light of the above, I urge you to take the strictest possible action against Gulf Air. I also demand to be fully compensated for the ticket that I was forced to buy by Gulf Air as also the mental harassment that I faced at their behest. I the following documents as proof.
a. Valid tickets on Mum-Tbilisi-Mum sector booked through a travel agent. Mail confirmation sent by GulfAir itself attached
b. Valid FlyDubai boarding passes for return journey on 3rd June as per the above ticket
c. Gulf Air ticket for 2nd June that I was forced to buy by Gulf Air staff at Mumbai airport on 26th June.
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