3 min learnNew DelhiAug 20, 2026 03:15 PM IST
A district client fee in Punjab’s Gurdaspur has directed a luxurious resort to refund Rs 8.5 lakh to a person whose daughter’s wedding was cancelled, observing that retaining your complete advance quantity amounted to deficiency in service.
President Lalit Mohan Dogra and member Bhagwan Singh Matharu allowed the resort to retain 15% of the full advance quantity of Rs 10 lakh, noting {that a} confirmed reserving of a resort for a wedding occasion was made and subsequently cancelled.
“…this Fee considers retention of 15% of the advance quantity, i.e. Rs 1,50,000, to be cheap and justified. Consequently, the remaining quantity of Rs 8,50,000 is liable to be refunded to the complainant. The retention of Rs 1,50,000 shall be handled as an inexpensive quantity in the direction of booking-related administrative expenditure and potential loss arising from cancellation,” the order dated August 18 learn.
Wedding ceremony cancelled
The complainant said that he had booked the resort for his daughter’s wedding ceremony capabilities. It was submitted that he and his daughter transferred Rs 10 lakh as advance reserving quantity. The complainant claimed that no written settlement was executed and that the resort had assured him the advance can be refunded in case of cancellation.
After the wedding was known as off, the complainant knowledgeable the resort and thru emails sought a refund. When the quantity was allegedly not returned regardless of repeated requests and a authorized discover, he approached the consumer commission searching for refund of your complete advance together with compensation.
The resort contested the grievance arguing that the complainant had booked the premises by way of his agent. The resort claimed that the complainant was below an obligation to make the total fee throughout the stipulated time however he did not adjust to the agreed phrases and subsequently cancelled the reserving unilaterally. It additional said that as a result of cancellation the resort suffered losses and subsequently the complainant was liable to pay the total reserving quantity.
The fee famous that the Rs 10 lakh advance had been transferred instantly from the financial institution accounts of the complainant and his daughter to the resort and never by way of the agent. The fee additional noticed that the resort failed to indicate that the complainant had signed or expressly accepted any settlement containing the forfeiture clause.
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The fee held that the resort can not search restoration of your complete estimated consideration for providers which had been by no means supplied. On the identical time, it noticed that some administrative and booking-related bills would doubtless have been incurred. Contemplating the circumstances, the fee allowed the resort to retain 15 per cent of the advance quantity, or Rs 1.5 lakh, and directed it to refund the remaining Rs 8.5 lakh inside 45 days.
Takeaway
The order underscores that companies can not mechanically forfeit your complete advance paid by a client following cancellation of a service. Within the absence of a clearly accepted forfeiture time period, solely an inexpensive quantity to cowl real booking-related bills or losses could also be retained.
For consumer-related grievances, people could contact the patron helpline of their respective states (Punjab: 0800–22577) and Union territories or name the Nationwide Client Helpline at 1915 for help.
