Tour Package Cancelled by the Operator With No Refund? How to Get Your Money Back

Who this guide is for

This guide is for any traveller in India whose tour or travel package was cancelled by the operator, and who has not received a refund. It covers the common cases:

• The operator called off the trip and kept your money, then went silent.
• The operator is offering only a credit note or a rebooking when you want your money back.
• The operator blames a hotel, an airline, or another third party but will not refund you.
• The operator points to a no-refund clause that was meant for your cancellation, not its own.

It works whether you booked through a private tour company, a travel agency, or an online travel website. There is also a short section for the special case where a government tourism body was the operator.

Who this guide is NOT for

This guide does not cover a trip you cancelled, where the operator's cancellation charges normally apply and you may lose part of the money. It also does not cover a single flight cancelled by an airline or a single hotel booking, which follow their own routes. It does not give personalised legal advice. If the amount is large or the operator is disputing a major sum, take the documents in this guide to a qualified consumer lawyer before filing.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Find everything about the booking in your email and the operator's app. Save the booking confirmation, the itinerary, the invoice, and the message in which the operator cancelled the trip. Match the invoice amount against your bank or card statement so the figures line up. Write one plain sentence of facts: the trip did not happen, you did not cancel, and you want your refund.

Saturday

Read the cancellation policy you agreed to, focusing on a cancellation started by the operator. Note any line that promises a refund, a timeline, or a credit note. Then send a calm written grievance to the operator or its grievance officer, asking for a full refund to your original payment method by a fair date. Attach the itinerary, invoice, cancellation message and refund promise, and ask for a complaint or ticket number.

Sunday

If you paid by card, prepare a chargeback: list the transaction date, the amount, and the reason that the package was cancelled and not refunded. Save everything in one folder named by date. If the operator is silent, plan to call your bank's card team on the next working day and log the issue with the National Consumer Helpline. A clean timeline of who said what makes every later step faster.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Confirm who cancelled and why

When you cancel, cancellation charges usually apply. When the operator cancels, you did not break the deal, so the terms often promise a fuller refund. Save the operator's cancellation message. A no-refund clause meant for the traveller's cancellation does not automatically apply when the operator calls off the trip. If the terms are unclear, that usually works in your favour as the consumer.

Step 2 — Read the itinerary, invoice and refund promise

Line up the paperwork before you complain. The itinerary proves what you were promised. The invoice fixes the exact amount to ask back. The cancellation terms tell you what the operator owes when it cancels. If a staff member or marketing message promised a refund, save that too and quote it in your grievance.

Step 3 — Send a written grievance to the operator

Always start in writing, because a phone call leaves no record. Send an email or use the operator's official complaint form, and keep a copy. State the booking reference, the trip dates, the amount paid, that the operator cancelled, and that you want a full refund to your original payment method by a reasonable date. Attach your evidence and ask for a written reply and a complaint number. Address the grievance officer or nodal officer if the operator has one. Use the template further below.

Step 4 — Raise a card chargeback if you paid by card

If you paid by credit or debit card and the service was not delivered, ask your card-issuing bank for a chargeback. A chargeback reverses the payment through the card network because you did not get what you paid for. Contact your bank's card team, explain that the package was cancelled and not refunded, and ask to raise a dispute. The bank will ask for the booking, the invoice, the cancellation message, and a note that the operator did not refund you. Banks and card networks have time limits, often counted from the transaction or the planned travel date, so do this early.

Step 5 — Log a consumer complaint

If the grievance and the chargeback do not return your money, the consumer route is your formal remedy. A travel package is a service, and refusing a deserved refund is a deficiency in service. Log the issue first with the National Consumer Helpline at consumerhelpline.gov.in for guidance, then file a formal case online through the e-Daakhil portal at edaakhil.nic.in. Ask for a refund of the amount paid and any compensation the commission considers fair. Attach the same evidence pack. The general approach is the same as other cancelled-service complaints, so see our guide on the emergency action when a courier loses travel documents for a related complaint pattern.

Step 6 — Use RTI only if a government body was the operator

If a government tourism corporation or another public authority sold your package, you get an extra tool. File an RTI to ask for the cancellation order, the refund policy that applies, the status of your refund file, and the officer handling it. Getting these answers on paper often unblocks a stuck refund. See how to file an RTI online in India and, if there is no reply, how to file a first appeal under Section 19.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste grievance template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details before sending. Keep the wording calm and factual.

When RTI can help

The Right to Information Act applies to public authorities: government departments, public sector undertakings, and bodies substantially financed or controlled by the government. Some travel and tourism bodies are public authorities. Examples include a state tourism development corporation that sells its own packages, or IRCTC for its rail tour packages.

If a government tourism body was the operator that cancelled your package, you can file an RTI with its Public Information Officer to:

• Obtain a copy of the cancellation order or decision for your package.
• Ask for the refund policy that applies to an operator-initiated cancellation.
• Find out the status of your refund file and which officer is handling it.
• Request copies of records and the decision on your refund.

Keep your RTI questions factual and specific, asking for copies of records and decisions rather than opinions. If the public authority does not reply, you can file a first appeal. Use the consumer route as well, since RTI gets you the information while the consumer commission can order the refund and compensation. See how to file an RTI online, the first and second appeal guide, and CPGRAMS and RTI for government service complaints.

When RTI will not help

A private travel agency, a private tour company, or an online travel website is a private business. It is not a public authority, so you cannot file an RTI to force it to answer or to refund you. This is the common trap: people assume RTI is a master key for any complaint. For a private operator, RTI has no role. Use the operator's grievance process first, then a card chargeback, then the consumer commission.

Even with a government operator, RTI gives you information; it does not by itself order a refund. The records you obtain, such as the cancellation order or the refund policy, become strong evidence in your consumer complaint, which is the forum that can actually order the money back. For more, read The RTI Playbook.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Filing an RTI against a private operator. A private travel company is not a public authority, so an RTI will not reach it. Use the grievance, chargeback and consumer routes instead, and save RTI for a government operator.
• Only calling, never writing. A phone call leaves no record. Always send the grievance in writing and keep a copy with a complaint or ticket number, so you can prove you gave the operator a fair chance to refund.
• Accepting a credit note you do not want. When the operator cancels, a refund to your original payment method is a fair ask. If you accept a credit note in writing, you may weaken your claim for cash, so object in writing first.
• Missing the chargeback window. Card chargebacks have time limits, often counted from the transaction or the planned travel date. Do not wait for the operator forever; raise the dispute early while you still can.
• Quoting the wrong clause. A no-refund clause for the traveller's cancellation does not decide an operator cancellation. Read the terms carefully and quote only the lines that apply when the operator calls off the trip.
• Trying to recover the same money twice. A chargeback, a grievance refund and a consumer order can overlap. Tell each forum what the others have already returned, so you are not seen as claiming twice.