From TDR Reject to TDR Refund #Indian Railways #IRCTC

I had booked a rail ticket for journey from Lucknow to Bhopal on 21st April with  ticket PNR (Passenger Name Record) 2746347552.
However due to some reason, I was unable to take the trip to Bhopal and instead traveled to Kolkata from Lucknow on the same date around same time in another train with ticket PNR 2204688065,

I could not cancel my train ticket to Bhopal in time and I instead filed TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt) online according to the rules of Indian Railways and IRCTC. According to these rules, if a passenger is unable to commence his journey and wants to cancel e-ticket (ticket booked online) after the reservation chart for the train has been prepared, then TDR has to be filed online before the scheduled departure of the train from that station. The Railway norms stipulate that once the train reaches its destination, the TDR claim will be sent to respective Zonal Railway (under which the train operates), who will then communicate to IRCTC about the veracity of the claim. Based on that IRCTC proceeds to either refund the amount (50% of ticket fare) or reject the TDR claim.

Since I had filled the TDR as per rules, I was fairly confident that my TDR would be processed at the earliest and that I will get the refund soon. However to my utter surprise and shock, on 29th April I found that my TDR claim has been rejected by Central Railways (the Zonal Railway for my train to Bhopal) with the reason given as "As per chart, passenger has traveled".

My first reaction was that this wrong rejection could be due to a) lack of proper verification of my claim by Central Railway, or b) error on the part of IRCTC, or c) oversight by the TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) who would have allotted my seat to someone else without taking money but omitted to make the changes in passenger chart, or d) inappropriate conduct of the TTE by allotting my seat to someone else in exchange of money and deliberately not marking it in the passenger chart.

My next reaction was to draft a mail to be sent to Central Railways and IRCTC. I checked the website of Central Railways and noted down the email IDs of three key officials, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Officer on Special Duty (OSD), and Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (SRDCM). I sent the mail on April 29th. Shortly after that I got the Gmail error mails that two of the three email IDs were not-functional and therefore my message could not be delivered.

I waited for a few days and then forwarded the mail, with minor revisions to another set of email IDs. This time before sending the mails, I tried to submit my feedback on the Feedback link provided on the website of Central Railways. On clicking the link, we get the following message:

"It all began one fine summer day on 16 April 1853. It was a single step of 34 kilometers from is not in the proper format."

I then tried calling some of the numbers given on the website and luckily for me, some of my calls were answered and I came in touch with two key persons, one from the Central Railways and the other from the IRCTC. What followed over the next 4 weeks was a sequence of telephone calls, reminder telephone calls, unanswered telephone calls, being asked by X to contact Y and on contacting Y being asked to contact X, e-mails and reminder e-mails. Frustration was slowly beginning to build inside me but against all odds,

I remained hopeful that my endeavour will result in refund. I mention 'against all odds' since in a similar incident like this, one of my relatives found his IRCTC account deactivated by IRCTC on the pretext of "false TDR claim"!

I got a mail from IRCTC on June 6th that my TDR refund has been processed and Rs 0 will be credited to my account in the next 2-3 days. On seeing the figure of Rs 0, I wondered if this too was caused due to some error. I decided that I will wait for 3 days and after that I will prepare my case to take it further (either to Senior Railway Officials or Consumer Court).

Finally after all this, on 8th June, I got my refund in my account !

Lessons from this experience:
1) As a consumer, we must be aware of the rules of our right.
2) If needed, we must fight for our right and for what is right.
3) If we don't fight for our right, no one else will.
4) Always remain optimistic and hopeful. If nothing else, it will keep one cool and in good spirits.

Being Human: Let's be human for a change

Salman Khan, Virat Kohli, Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi, and many more.

What's common?
Well, they are all "Celebrities".

They have excelled in the field they have chosen. They remain in media and capture or have captured our imaginations at some or the other time. They have a massive following of 'fans' (those who will eulogize and idolize them) as well as 'anti-fans' (those who detest and demonize them).

And then there are also people like me who belong to neither category and treat them as they are: as humans.

Humans make mistakes.

And more importantly they keep making mistakes.
Celebrities make mistakes.
And more importantly they keep making mistakes.

In case of mistakes, shouldn't we be using the same yardstick to judge all humans? Irrespective of them being or not being celebrities?

It is important to understand the difference (or the lack of it) between humans and celebrities.

It is important both for us and for the 'celebrities'.

Why it is important for us?

Because, unlike humans, celebrities are social constructs. What it essentially means is that some humans are deemed the status of 'celebrity' by society and based on that status, they enjoy some privileges.  Unlike humans, celebrities are not born but made.

Not all humans are celebrities but all celebrities are humans. 

And just like humans make mistakes and keep making them, celebrities make mistakes and keep making them.

As fans, we often ignore their mistakes (committed intentionally or inadvertently) and in our obsession, justify anything and everything the 'celebrities' have said or done. We idolize them. For us, they can do no wrong.

As anti-fans, we often ignore their good deeds (committed intentionally or inadvertently) and in our obsession, castigate them for anything and everything. We demonize them. For us, they can do no right.

Why it is important for the 'celebrities'?

Because, it is dangerous to be trapped in either praise or criticism.

The moment 'celebrities' start believing the hype around them, they start forgetting that they are humans. They make mistakes, and often make more mistakes trying to ignore/cover those mistakes.

I am not listing down incidents related to 'celebrities' named above which can be categorized under 'mistakes' because the idea of this post is not to list those down.
The idea instead is to argue that celebrities are humans after all and should be treated the same way.
Neither as Gods, nor as Devils.

Let's be Human for a Change !

Certainty about Uncertainty

It is said that the only ‘Constant’ in this world is ‘Change’.

Language, customs, culture, rules, people, and just about everything changes with time.

On a similar lines, I wonder if the only ‘Certainty’ about life is its ‘Uncertainty’.

Constant about Change. Certainty about Uncertainty.

A sportsperson, Philip Hughes from Australia dies on the Cricket field after being hit by a cricket ball. Till that moment no one had ever thought or imagined that someone could die like that on a Cricket field.

It was reported later that had the ball struck a millimeter here or there, he would probably have been saved. Why did it happen to him? Why did it happen to anyone for that matter?

No one knows.

MH 370 simply vanishes from this world and notwithstanding the numerous conjectures, no can say for sure what happened to it. Did someone shoot it? Did someone kidnap it?

No one knows.

Nepal, India, and surroundings are rocked by an earth quake. They are rattled with another earth quake, albeit of a lighter intensity the next day. Will there be more? When will be the next quake? Where will be the next quake? Why did those people die? Why are so many people suffering?

No one knows.

 

As school children, we are exposed to so many subjects in school. One of them is Science. As students of science we often tend to believe (or are made to believe) that there has to be some ‘rationale’ or ‘logic’ or ‘scientific explanation’ for everything.

Science can explain everything. Or can it?

Blinded in Obsession

 

Obsession: Being preoccupied with a thought or an idea; a state where some persistent idea dominates one thought's or feelings.

Blinded: Unable or unwilling to see, perceive or understand.

Blinded in Obsession: A state where some persistent idea dominates one's thoughts or feelings so much that one is unable or unwilling to see, perceive or understand a thing/phenomenon/explanation.

The above three definitions, in a sense, sum up what this post is all about.
At some stage in our life, we are all blinded in obsession.
The obsession could be related to our family members (e.g. where we love our near and dear ones so much that we overlook or pretend to overlook his/her wrongdoings) or someone we idolize (e.g. Narendra Modi, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Gandhi) or demonize (e.g. Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi).

The reason I have mentioned Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi in both the categories is because a section of us idolizes them and goes to any extent to eulogize them, while the other section demonizes them and goes to any extent to castigate them.
The common thread: the two sections are often blinded by obsession and often chose to overlook or ignore facts while eulogizing or castigating them.

The curious case of Service Charge

Sharing a recent case: 
I, along with my friends, had organized an event in a "Royal" Hotel of Ahmedabad last Thursday, which is apparently a five-star hotel.
Little did we know of the "Royal" and the "five-star" treatment we were about to receive.

We had agreed on Rs 700 plus taxes as charges on a per person basis.
Funny things started to happen once we proceeded to make the payment after the event.

We were first presented a bill with charges claimed for 27 persons. This was in spite of the fact that we were 25 in number. After some discussion, the Hotel authorities asked us to provide a proof that there were only 25 persons. Luckily we had a camera with us and we showed them some photographs of the event to validate our claim.
After further discussions, they agreed to revise the bill.
More of this in the attached mail.

Now comes the highlight of the day:
The bill included a line item: Service Charge.
We were asked to pay Rs 945 as the Service Charge (later revised to Rs 875 after bill revision).
We argued that service charge was not discussed or mentioned during our negotiations and therefore it cannot be forcefully imposed on us.
The Hotel Authorities remained adamant and made several fradulent claims. They first claimed that this is actually a tax and goes to the Government. When we pointed out that service charge is different from service tax, they then changed their statement and said that it is their discretion to fix  any charge they deem fit and claim from us.
We again argued that service charge cannot be forcefully imposed on us, especially since it was not mentioned to us (and therefore not agreed to us) at the time of booking the venue.
However, our protests were of no avail and we had to pay the amount.

After returning back from the Hotel, I decided to dig into the subject of service charge a little further and after consultation with my friends, sent the following mail to the Hotel:
From: Kalyan Bhaskar 
Sent: Saturday, March 02, 2013 11:37
To: Sales ahmedbad; dsm.rocahmd@royalorchidhotels.com
Subject: Unfair charges in bill

Dear ....,

We had an unpleasant experience during our event at Royal Orchid on 28^th February.

This included poor quality of service during serving the food (e.g. delay in replenishing starters, repeated reminders for serving food, and long wait for soup and rice once the food was served), as well as during the payment process.

As per the Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics mentioned on your website (http://www.royalorchidhotels.com/pdf/Code%20of%20conduct_ROHL.pdf), “if Royal Orchid do not meet customer’s expectations, we will not expect them to pay for the services rendered”.

Your actions of 28^th February go against the intent and content of the above code.

We were presented a bill initially which included charges for 27 persons. This was in spite of the fact that we were only 25 in number. The attachment sent to us by you had clearly mentioned charges to be on a per person basis. However your staff insisted that it was on per plate basis and kept on arguing for getting payment for 27 persons. It was only after we showed them the photographs that there were 25 persons, and once they talked to you, that they edited the bill.

Such attempts to mislead customers and produce false bills leave extremely bad taste in the mouth of customers.

We consider such practices to be highly unethical.

We are more concerned about another line item in your bill: service charge.

It was highly surprising for us to see service charge (Rs 945 initially; later reduced to 875 after editing the bill to make it for 25 persons) included in the bill.

There was a deficiency in your service standards, and despite that you included service charge in the bill.

What was more surprising for us was the fact that we were not informed of the provision of service charge at the time of booking.

I am attaching communication mails for your reference, and you can observed that at no place does service charge finds a mention.

I am also attaching links to few newspaper articles and websites, which clearly state that service charge is discretionary in nature and forcefully imposing it on customers, especially without prior intimation is illegal.

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/slide-show-1-money-decoding-your-restaurant-bill/20111006.htm#3

http://www.hoaxorfact.com/Social-Awareness/service-charges-billing-in-restaurants-misleading-facts-analysis.html

http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/Features/Scrap-service-charge-before-we-reach-the-tipping-point/Article1-926804.aspx

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-04-24/news/29469198_1_service-tax-menu-restaurant-management

We had argued for removing service charge from the bill on 28^th February, but we were disappointed at the response we got from your staff.

We were first told that it is mandatory government process, and then subsequently told that it is a management practice and that we have to pay it anyhow.

Such business practices (false billing, attempting to mislead customers, including arbitrary charges etc.) cast poor light on Royal Orchid.

I therefore request you to look into the matter and arrange to refund us the service charge amount immediately.

Your failure to do so would lead us to take legal recourse against the actions which were arbitrary in nature and forcefully imposed on us.

Regards,

--

We asked the Hotel to refund us the service charge amount, and the tax imposed on it.
We had made our mind to lodge a complaint in the Consumer Forum and had made this intention clear in the mail too. Within 24 hours of our mail, we got the following reply:
Dear Mr. Bhaskar,

Greetings from Royal orchid Central, Ahmedabad!

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you and make sure you won’t receive any complaints the next time you patronize us.

Also please advice where shall I come to refund the amount of Rs875/-

Please let me know if I may be of any further assistance.

Warm Regards,

Royal Orchid Hotels,

Opp. Gujarat College, Ellis bridge

Ahmedabad, 380006

Today, we were refunded the amount which was unfairly charged from us.
Lessons from this experience: 

1)  Have a close look at the bill/bill items next time one makes payments at any Hotel/Restaurants.

2) If the charges agreed are on a per person basis, the Hotel/Restaurant cannot charge on a per plate basis. 

3) Look for Service Charge in the bill and ask for it to be removed if it has been charged unfairly. Service Charge is different from Service Tax. While the latter is mandatory, the former is discretionary.

4) Even after payment has been made, one can recover unfairly charged amount if one takes up the matter convincingly with the Hotel/Restaurant.

5) Do not let Hotel/Restaurants mislead us.
and

6) Be alert: Jago Grahak Jago !! 

PS: Some portions of the mail have been edited so as not to reveal identities.

The Power of Information

Let's start with a couple of questions.

An easy one to begin with.

1) What is 'information'?

Seems simple, isn't it?

The answer (as per Oxford Dictionary): "facts provided or learned about something or someone".

You already knew this, right?

Let's move on.

Next question, slightly complex.

2) How powerful is this information?

Thinking?

.

.

.

Still thinking.

Well, the answer to this question is not all that simple.

Information could be as "powerless" as nothing or it could be as "powerful" as everything.

Sab-Needy for Subsidy?

A decision taken a couple of days ago by the Indian Government will be in headlines at least for the next couple of months !

Which decision?

FDI?

No.

...Think...

Subsidized fuels-High Speed Diesel (HSD)- price hike.

Connect the dots and you will get what the story is.

But this post is not about HSD.

This is not about Motor Spirit (MS).

This is not about Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) either.

This is about a seven letter word which we as Indians have become so used to that many find it hard to imagine a life without it.

The word: S U B S I D Y.

Subsidized petrol, subsidized Diesel, Subsidized Kerosene, Subsidized LPG, Subsidized electricity, Subsidized water, etc etc....

..Rich or poor..

Everyone loves SUBSIDY.

Sab-Needy for SUBSIDY !

14 Days, 14 Do's & Don't's !

Last month, I got a chance to be in Switzerland and France for 2 weeks.

As it was my first time outside India, there was a lot of excitement mixed with curiosity. This blog is a result of that excitement+curiosity. This blog is a sort of summary of the lessons learnt from the trip. 

Through this post, I would like to share the 14 Do's & Don't's from my 14 day trip. 

Here I go:

1) Don't forget/loose your luggage in trains/bus/boat/anywhere else.

The reason I have put this as the first point is because it is VERY IMPORTANT. It happened with me and I hope it doesn't happen with anyone else. I forgot my newly purchased suit in one of Swiss trains. Always keep your passport with you at all times. This is the MOST IMPORTANT document/piece of luggage you have.

2) Don't panic if you loose your luggage.

It would sound a bit odd seeing this point, especially when I considered the previous point to be very important. But, this comes from my own experience. Panic would not get you your luggage. I forgot my suit in the train and realized it soon after the train left the station. In Switzerland, and in most other European countries, you can lodge a lost-and-found complain either at the station (which could be costly) or through internet (which is free). If you are lucky (as I was), and if you lose your luggage in the right place( for example Switzerland), there are high chances, you will get your luggage back, no matter how valuable it may be. Till this date, I can't thank enough Swiss authorities for locating and then returning my luggage safely to me.

यारों के नाम..

फिर वही समां है, हम भी वहीँ हैं

तू साथ नहीं है, बस इसी की कमी है

"आज" से खफा सा है ये, गुम ये "कल" में कहीं है, 

जिद्दी बहुत है ये दिल, मेरी सुनता ही नहीं है

समझाया तो बहुत इसे, की तू और कहीं है

नादां कैसा है ये देखो, जो ये मानता ही नहीं है 

कुछ तो बात थी तुझमे, जो तुम नहीं हो यहाँ फिर भी

ढूंढ़ता रात दिन तुमको, ये "सोलह" में कहीं है....

It's time to go..

When is the best time to go?

Rather, when is the time to go?

And, how do you go?

Difficult questions to answer. Isn't it?

It's said the first impression is the last impression.

But I also believe that last impression can also be the 'last' impression.

There could be situations when no one remembers how you entered, or when you entered; but everyone will remember how and when you exited.

Not yet getting my point?

I am talking about drama.

I am talking about politics.

I am talking about sports.

I am talking about life.

Patience in short supply

I don't have any empirical evidence, i.e. factual proof to back the claim I am going to make; but I still consider it worthwhile to make it nonetheless. Here is my hypothesis, i.e. the claim:

Patience is in shorty supply today. In other words, people today seem to be more impatient than they were in the past.

Well, you may be thinking what prompted me to form a hypothesis like this. Let me give some examples to illustrate my hypothesis.

Example 1: Person X has just finished his college and has got into his first job with salary expectations Rs Y. He expects his salary to increase like a geometric progression and he is not going to wait for it. If it does not happen as per his wish, he starts getting impatient. This impatience can then manifest in the shape of his frustration, or can see him losing temper frequently, or can even see him leave his job.

Bored of Cricket Control in India (BCCI)

Question of the week: What does the term BCCI mean?

a) Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry?

b) Botswana Cement & Clinkers Industry?

c) Board of Control for Cricket in India? or

d) Bored of Cricket Control in India?

Clue: It is the body which said in a court some time back that the Indian cricket team represent BCCI and not India !
Another clue: It is the same body which does not know itself why actually it is opposed to DRS (Decision Review System) !


Well, the answer can be found at the bottom of the post, but let's start with what one Mr N Srinivasan had to say.
Question to Mr. N Srinivasan: What is your reaction after Indian cricket team's defeat in Australia?


Mr N Srinivasan: Nothing unusual. Nothing to worry about. They were playing in home condition, so they were expected to win. When they come to India, we will beat them and then we will be happy. IPL will start in April and then we will forget it.

The IPL Team of 2011: ZooZooZ Continued

The third edition of IPL is back (the first edition, the second edition) ! There was not much of a selection headache for the selection panel as most of the 'star performers' of the year merited selection based on their performances. So, without consuming more words, let's introduce the team.

The IPL Team of 2011.

1) Mayawati: Julian Assange might not know who is a 'dalit'. But, Mayawati knows that Julian Assange is "anti-dalit". Wondering what the matter is? Early last year, when Wikileaks 'leaked' some classified and official documents, some of them had references to Mayawati as 'dictator' and treating government servants as servants !. How did Mayawati respond? "Wikileaks and Julian Assange are anti-dalit". Now, Julian Assange was on backfoot. Imagine, how will bowlers feel if Mayawati is at the crease? Mayawati as the aggressive opener.

Confused Janta Party (CJP)

How would you react if things you planned to do or would have done, given a chance, is done by someone else?

?

And what if, that 'someone else' is someone you label as your 'adversary'?

Would you be angry?

Flummoxed?

Surprised?

or Confused?

123 Nuclear Deal with the US, Oil prices deregulation, FDI in Retail, &...

Something striking?

Keeping it Simple

We love Simple things.

Don't we?

Simple answers.

Simple reasons.

Simple explanations.

Simple exams.

Simple life.

Simple food.

Simple life-partners (seedhi-saadi/seedha-saada)

Simplicity.

etc. etc....

No matter how 'complex' world we may find ourselves in, we tend to crave for simple things.

There is one catch however.

We confuse 'being simple' with 'being truth/correct', and here in lies the fallacy.

We tend to forget that what is simple might not always be correct.

Often we accept simple explanations, if it is what we 'want' to believe, or if it is what we 'feel' is correct.

It often limits our ability to question the explanation/reason/answer/etc.etc.

It limits our ability to question the assumptions beneath the Question.