Hyderabad: Aggregator to pay 50000 to customer who missed train as driver took longer route

HYDERABAD: A district consumer forum has directed aggregator Dot Cabs to pay little over 51,000 to a consumer who had to miss his train as the cab driver took a ‘longer route’ to reach the Secunderabad railway station.
The complainant, KVV Prasad Rao, submitted that he and his family members booked a cab from Dot Cabs Pvt Ltd on September 19, 2016, to travel from Kukatpally Housing Board to Secunderabad railway station to catch a train to Kakinada. He submitted that they boarded cab at around 6 pm to catch Kakinada Express, which was bound to depart at 8:45 pm. He alleged that though he requested the driver to take them via Kukatpally, Balanagar, he took them via Hitech City, Jubilee Hills, and Punjagutta.
Rao claimed that the cab driver reached Begumpet railway station at 8:20 pm and advised them to board MMTS at the station to reach the Secunderabad railway station platform directly. After informing the customer service of the cab aggregator, they boarded MMTS, but only reached the station by 9 pm.
Alleging that they had failed to catch the train due to Dot Cab’s negligence and had to incur additional expenditure by boarding a flight to Rajahmundry to reach their native place, he filed this complaint.
The representatives of Dot cabs, in their written version, contended that there is no negligence on their part as the driver reached their location by 5.30 pm, but the complainant and his family boarded it only at 6 pm. They claimed that the driver opted for the fastest route and alleged that they got down at Begumpet station despite having sufficient time (35 minutes) in hand to reach their destination by cab. They added that they are not liable for any loss/damage as their terms and conditions.
During the trial, the bench noticed that the driver had chosen a longer route to reach the Secunderabad railway station and gave wrong advice to catch a local train at Begumpet station to reach Secunderabad. “The conduct of the cab driver of the opposite party in choosing a long route and giving wrong advice amounts to deficiency of service. The opposite party is bound by the action of the cab driver who is none other than its employee,” said the bench.

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