Complaint Details

Status	:	Un-Resolved
Complaint No	:	0157479/2026
Category	:	Travel
Date	:	19-10-2026
Subject Line	:	Formal Consumer Complaint Against Luhuruka Travels (GSTIN: 27ADJPA7230N1ZF) for Gross Negligence, Deficiency in Service, and Demand for Refund and Com
Complainant	:	Arpit Khaitan
Complainee	:	Luharuka Travels

Complaint Details
**Subject: **

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am submitting this formal consumer complaint against Luhuruka Travels, represented by Anant and its other office bearers, bearing GSTIN 27ADJPA7230N1ZF, in connection with serious negligence and deficiency in service in handling my Japan tourist visa application.

I engaged the services of Luhuruka Travels and paid the applicable charges with the legitimate expectation that my visa application would be handled with reasonable care, accuracy, professionalism, and diligence. However, the agency affixed the photograph of another individual, who I understand was also a client of the same agency, to my visa application. Consequently, the visa was issued in my name but carried the photograph of another person.

This was a serious and entirely avoidable error involving an important identity-related travel document. It placed my scheduled international travel at risk and raises significant concerns regarding the agency's document verification procedures and professional standards.

After the error came to light, a request for correction was initiated. However, when my scheduled departure was only two days away, there had been no satisfactory progress in resolving the matter.

Instead of taking effective ownership of the error, ensuring urgent follow-up, and providing the assistance reasonably expected of a professional travel agent, the agency sought to attribute responsibility to VFS Global and/or the Japanese Embassy.

I submit that the involvement of these authorities does not, by itself, absolve the agency of responsibility for the original error of affixing an incorrect photograph to my application. The circumstances surrounding the error and the subsequent handling of the correction must be assessed separately and on their own merits.

The agency's failure to provide satisfactory assistance at a critical time left me with little choice but to intervene personally to protect my travel plans.

At the relevant time, I had the following significant financial commitments:

- Non-refundable airfare: ₹1,88,000 bearing cost for myself, my wife and my 3 years old daughter
- Visa application fee: ₹5,000.
- Other travel bookings: In excess of ₹3,00,000.

With my departure date imminent and my visa bearing another person's photograph, I faced the very real risk of being unable to undertake my scheduled journey and losing the benefit of my substantial travel bookings.

Had I continued to rely solely on the agency without taking independent action, I along with my wife and daughter could have missed my flight and suffered substantial financial loss.

It was my own initiative and personal intervention that compelled me to approach the Japanese Embassy and make repeated requests for urgent consideration of my case. I had to personally pursue the correction at the last minute because the agency had not secured a satisfactory resolution within the available time.

The fact that I ultimately managed to get the visa photograph corrected does not excuse the original error or erase the anxiety, uncertainty, disruption, and extraordinary effort I was compelled to undertake.

A consumer who pays a professional travel agent should not have to personally approach an embassy in an emergency to rectify a serious error arising from the handling of a visa application.

The agency's subsequent attempt to attribute responsibility to VFS Global and/or the Japanese Embassy, rather than adequately addressing the circumstances in which the incorrect photograph was affixed, is a matter of serious concern.

I am not alleging that the agency is responsible for every action or delay of the relevant authorities. My complaint concerns the original photograph error, the lack of satisfactory progress in obtaining a correction, and the assistance provided by the agency when my departure date was imminent.

I am also bringing this grievance to the attention of the Consumer Complaints Redressal Council so that the matter can be examined and an appropriate resolution facilitated.

In my view, the above circumstances warrant examination as a potential case of deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, subject to the applicable law and evidence.

I respectfully request the Council to take up my grievance with Luhuruka Travels and facilitate the following resolution:

1. Full refund of the professional service fee paid to Luhuruka Travels for handling my Japan tourist visa application.

2. Compensation of ₹1,88,000, equivalent to my non-refundable airfare, in view of the serious financial exposure, distress, and disruption arising from the alleged negligence.

3. Reimbursement of the ₹5,000 visa application fee, to the extent recoverable on the facts and evidence.

4. Reasonable additional compensation for the mental agony, anxiety, inconvenience, loss of time, and personal effort involved in urgently approaching the Japanese Embassy and resolving the matter.

5. A written explanation from the agency regarding how the incorrect photograph came to be affixed to my application, what verification procedures were followed, and what corrective steps were taken after the error was discovered.

For clarity, my demand for ₹1,88,000 is made as a claim for compensation arising from the circumstances and the substantial financial exposure created by the incident. I do not represent that the airfare was necessarily forfeited if the ticket was ultimately used. I request that the claim be considered on the evidence and applicable law.

I request the Consumer Complaints Redressal Council to register and examine this grievance, communicate it to the agency, and facilitate a fair and timely resolution.

I am prepared to provide supporting documentation, including visa-related records, payment receipts, travel bookings, communications with the agency, correction-related correspondence, and evidence of my personal efforts to obtain urgent assistance from the Japanese Embassy. I have attached copies of the incorrect visas issued along with my KYC documents.

I also intend to bring the substance of this grievance to the attention of VFS Global and the Japanese Embassy so that the circumstances and the agency's attribution of responsibility to these authorities are formally placed on record. This is intended to ensure transparency and is not an allegation that either authority caused the original photograph error.

If the matter cannot be satisfactorily resolved, I reserve my right to approach the appropriate statutory Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and pursue such other remedies as may be available under applicable law.

I request that the Council treat this complaint seriously and assist in securing an appropriate resolution, including the refund and compensation sought above.



Arpit Khaitan
9167524864
Mumbai, Maharashtra

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