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What began as a casual entry into a lucky draw at Bengaluru’s Yelahanka mall turned into a financial nightmare for 30-year-old Hafeez Pasha. A year after being pressured into buying a costly travel membership he never wanted, a Bengaluru consumer court has ordered the company, Fala Holiday Packages, to refund him ₹1.5 lakh with interest, along with compensation and damages, reported The Times of India.
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According to the report, Pasha visited RMZ Galleria Mall where he filled out a form for a lucky dip run by Fala Holidays. Later that evening, he received a call from an executive named Tasmiya claiming he had won free movie tickets, a silver coin, and a complimentary travel package. She invited him to their Yelahanka New Town office to collect the gifts.
However, instead of freebies, Pasha and his wife were subjected to aggressive sales tactics and pressured into purchasing a holiday membership worth ₹1.5 lakh, which promised 21 days of vacations and 10 day-outings. Despite expressing financial constraints, he said the staff — particularly one Javid — insisted he sign up. Soon after, the agency began nudging him towards costlier upgrades.
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When Pasha requested a trip to the Andamans a month later, the agency declined without proper explanation. His repeated follow-ups went unanswered. Left with credit card EMIs and no service in return, he sent a legal notice in September 2024, which Fala Holidays ignored. On November 13, 2024, Pasha filed a complaint with the Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, citing deficiency in service.
The company failed to appear before the commission and was declared ex-parte. After reviewing documents, the panel found Fala Holidays guilty of unfair trade practices. However, the court ordered the agency to refund ₹1.5 lakh with 10% interest from the payment date, pay ₹25,000 in compensation, ₹10,000 towards litigation costs, and ₹10,000 as punitive damages to the consumer welfare fund.
