Kerala commission orders travel agency to pay man for failed Israel job

The Palakkad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Kerala, India, ordered a travel agency to pay a man 1 lakh rupees after the company failed to secure a promised job in Israel.

The man contacted the agency after seeing an Instagram advertisement and paid 1 lakh rupees as an initial deposit for himself and a friend. The man and his friend traveled to Mumbai for an interview.

They discovered that the agency offered them cleaning positions instead of the warehouse jobs they were promised. After the man contacted the agency head office in Mumbai and learned the company lacked the necessary authorization, he sought a full refund. The man reported the matter to the Palakkad Town North Police Station. Following police intervention, the agency agreed to return the money but only paid 30,000 rupees.

The man then took the case to the consumer commission to recover the remaining 70,000 rupees and seek compensation. The commission ruled that the agency committed a deficiency in service by failing to provide the promised employment and withholding the deposit. The commission ordered the agency to pay the remaining 70,000 rupees, plus 25,000 rupees for mental agony and 5,000 rupees for litigation costs.

The agency must pay the total 1 lakh rupees within 45 days or face a monthly penalty of 500 rupees.