HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad II Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here has directed a hotel to refund Rs 1. 5 lakh to a customer and pay a compensation of Rs 25, 000 to him for failing to provide him a pre-booked banquet hall in spite of their sales manager receiving 90 per cent of the required amount.
Lokesh K.Jhamnani had booked a banquet hall for his engagement ceremony at the Fortune Select Manohar hotel and paid Rs 50,000 on September 27, 2013 towards advance to Arjit Mukharjee, sales manager of the hotel.
After 10 days, he received a call from the hotel stating that unless 90 per cent of the amount is paid, the hotel cannot block the venue for January 19, 2014. Accordingly Lokesh paid another Rs 1 Lakh on October 16, 2013.
Later in December 2013, when Lokesh and his family went to the hotel to remind them about the function date, the manager there informed Lokesh that the sales manager whom they have paid money had quit the job and said that no booking has been registered under his name. In spite of showing all the receipts that he received from Arjit, on behalf of the hotel, the hotel authorities asked him to start a fresh deal and pay the amount again if he wanted to host the function at their hotel.
On January 12, 2014 Lokesh lodged a complaint with the police against the manager and the hotel.
He later approached the consumer forum for refund and compensation.In its written version, the opposite party denied all the allegations and stated that Arijit Mukharjee is the necessary party to the proceedings.
They said that Arijit absconded from duties illegally since October 2013 and claimed that the amount said to be paid by Lokesh to Arijit was not credited to their hotel account. As they were not the party concerned, they requested the bench to dismiss the complaint.