KSRTC online refund rule remains on paper

Even as 50 per cent of tickets are booked online for KSRTC buses, but when it comes to refunding the money for the cancelled tickets or failed transactions, the State transport corporation is yet to streamline the process.

Consequently, the KSRTC portal is flooded with complaints on delayed refund. Although customer care executives respond to the complaints but many people claim that even after sending emails seeking refund, the waiting period only seems to be getting longer.
The corporation is supposed to pay refunds within five working days, but a lucky few who did receive refunds were, quite often, made to wait three months to get their money back.

This is contrary to the claims made by KSRTC at the time of booking tickets online which states, “If refund is not received within five working days, users are requested to contact Accounts section of KSRTC, sending an email to onlinerefund@ksrtc.org and / or telephone during office hours on all working days quoting KSRTC PNR no or OB reference number.”

Rachel (name changed) tried to book a ticket from Bengaluru to Kalapetta in Wayanad on April 16 and the money was deducted from her debit card but even before the transaction could be completed, it failed. Since then she has been waiting for her refund of Rs 700 but despite making calls and sending emails, she is yet to get her money back.
She says, “It is not the first time it has happened. Earlier, one of my relatives had booked the ticket but was unable to travel for personal reasons and got the tickets cancelled.

Only after three months and much persuasion she was able to get her money back. Now, I have decided to take Red Bus or other services available which sometimes offer cheaper tickets than KSRTC and also has easy returns policy.”

Interestingly, more and more people are switching their loyalty from KSRTC portals to other web portals and app-based options for their one stop solution to travelling needs and easy refunds.

Sumi Sharma, who had problems getting his money back from the corporation, said, “I booked ticket online on KSRTC website from Bengaluru to Belagavi I canceled my ticket and got a confirmation email saying that the refund amount would be credited soon, but I didn’t receive the amount even after two months had passed. Finally, I received the money a week back after repeated complaints. It was a terrible experience,” he added.

A KSRTC official, on condition of anonymity, told Deccan Herald, “Only a few cases get delayed due to some technical issues. Most of them get resolved within the timeframe and we do refund the amount within a week. People should read all the terms and conditions before booking.”

The problem only affects online transactions and in case of the bookings made over the counter, the corporation refunds the money at the time of cancellation.
DH News Service