MakeMyTrip Fighting HDFC Bank In Delhi High Court For Allegedly Deducting Cash To Refund Jet Airways Customers

Travel bookings portal MakeMyTrip has filed a case in the Delhi High Court accusing HDFC Bank of deducting money from its account to refund Jet Airways customers who had booked tickets on the now defunct airline.

These Jet Airways tickets which were booked through MakeMyTrip using HDFC Bank credit cards and debit cards issued by the same bank, turned void when the defunct airline’s flights got cancelled more than six months ago.

According to MakeMyTrip’s lawyers, HDFC Bank allegedly deducted full ticket amounts even though the ticketing portal had already paid ticket charges to Jet Airways after deducting its small convenience fees. Hence, it is Jet Airways which is liable for payment and not their client MakeMyTrip, the told the court.

However, HDFC Bank’s lawyers have argued that HDFC bank deducted money out of a separate merchant account and did so in accordance with a “merchant agreement” it had signed with its merchant, MMT, and that HDFC Bank is very much within its rights to do so as per that agreement.

It may be noted that in an earlier order on September 26, the court had asked HDFC Bank to keep the cash deducted from MMT in a separate account and not remit it back to customers until the next date of hearing which is scheduled for January 2020.

On the other hand, MMT in its law suit has argued that the onus to refund tickets lies with the now defunct Jet Airways or its agents and not with MakeMyTrip as per civil aviation rules. t also argued that MMT is purely a facilitator of transactions.

Yet, HDFC Bank lawyers stated that there are other necessary parties like electronic payment facilitators Mastercard, Visa, RuPay and Diners, who have not been impleaded as parties by MMT.