Omnibus operator told to pay Rs 10K for not providing onboard toilet facility
During the journey while he approached the toilet room for defecation in Chennai, the bus driver and staff informed that the toilet room was allowed only for urination and not for defecation
Omni Buses
CHENNAI: The Chennai North District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed an omni bus company to pay Rs 10,000 to a passenger who was not permitted to use the toilet of the bus despite their advertisement of toilet facilities.
The complainant, B Sathishkumar booked a ticket on Krish Bus Travels, an omni bus from Chennai to Coimbatore on May 22 through GOIBIBO website. The company had advertised that ‘toilet facility’ was available during the journey as one of the amenities.
But, during the journey while he approached the toilet room for defecation in Chennai, the bus driver and staff informed that the toilet room was allowed only for urination and not for defecation. Further the sign board on the toilet door advertised that it was meant only for urination. It also carried a caution notice that if the toilet was used for anything other than urination, it would attract a penalty of Rs 1,000.
Since the ad had mentioned toilet facilities, and did not provide specifics, he believed that the ad was misleading and an unfair trade practice. He emailed his grievance to the company, which replied that a toilet facility usually implied it could be used for urination only.
So he filed a case with the consumer commission, which, headed by president D Gopinath, and members Kavitha Kannan and V Ramamurthy, agreed with Sathiskumar’s assessment that the ad was misleading and an unfair trade practice. They directed the company to allow passengers to use the facilities attached with service as advertised, without any pre-restrictions or conditions.
“If not, remove such misleading ads claiming such amenities from the web portal or any other platform,” they said.
The company was also directed to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to the passenger, which included monetary loss including the cost of ticket, mental agony, pain, sufferings and litigation cost within two months from the date of receipt of this order. If the company did not pay within the deadline, the complainant is entitled to receive 9% interest from the date of the order till the date of realisation.
