A Mangalore resident’s ticket-booking transaction was denied, though the amount was credited to IRCTC; despite repeated attempts, the issue is lying unresolved since the past eight months

Passengers have time and again complained about the ticket-booking system on the portal of the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Limited. Now there are some concerns over its refund mechanism for the failed transactions. The problem arises when the transaction fails and money is debited from the customer's bank account, be it through a debit or credit card, without the ticket being generated.  

Now it appears that the complaints of non-refund of failed transactions remain unresolved. Take the case of Ramesh Shenoy, a Mangalore resident who has not been refunded for the failed transaction that took place eight months back.

On 20 January 2011, Mr Shenoy tried to book railway tickets for the Yashwantpur-Kanpur Express through IRCTC. Even after four attempts, his transaction failed, though the amount was debited from the bank account, which he holds with Canara Bank. Mr Shenoy, who is also a former banker, further investigated with the bank's Internet division, where it was confirmed that Rs8,328 had been credited to IRCTC, giving the details of the 'strings' from the 'switch log' of the Internet records.

He also checked his account on IRCTC using his username, but there is no evidence of IRCTC having received the credit for the operation.  

"The details as in the Web (register) using my user ID reveal (details) about the transactions, but (there is) no evidence of credit having (been) received by IRCTC," Mr Shenoy told Moneylife.

Over eight months, Mr Shenoy has sent details about the failed transaction and contacted the customer care division of IRCTC numerous times, but nothing has been done so far. "I have sent emails, along with proof from the bank that the amount was credited to it (IRCTC). But there has been no reply from it and the issue remains unresolved."

"It should be possible for the Internet Division of IRCTC to trace the credits with the details of 'strings' provided by Canara Bank from the switch log, and arrange for the refund," he explained.

But Mr Shenoy is undeterred and he will continue his fight. He plans to file a Right to Information (RTI) application to trace the links of his credited amount from IRCTC. "It appears that the credits received by IRCTC must be in the suspense (account), awaiting details. Maybe an RTI query can reveal this."

Moneylife sent an email to IRCTC, which has acknowledged the complaint and agreed to pursue the matter. It remains to be seen if it will act on this confirmation.