This relief is coming from Hon. Justice C.O. Ajah of Enugu State Hight Court that held that the the no refund policy after purchase of traveling ticket, illegal, null and void in light of the provisions of Sections 120, 104, 129 (1) (a) and (b) (iii) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018.
The judgement was given after the trial court heard the matter of Patrick C. Chukwuma against Peace Mass Transit.
The incident that led to the suit occurred on the 10th of February, 2021, when the Plaintiff, Patrick C. Chukwuma purchased a ticket from the Obollor-Afor branch of Peace Mass Transit Limited to convey him to Enugu.
Following a two hours delay occasioned by the absence of passengers, the Plaintiff returned to the ticketing office and asked for a refund of the N500 he paid as the transportation fare.
However, staff of the Defendant refused to refund the money, insisting that their company policy was that money paid for transport fare cannot be returned to the passenger and citing the statement written on their ticket to that effect as conclusive proof of their position.
When the Plaintiff tried to explain to them that their policy was unlawful, as the law mandates them to refund fares for services that have not been provided they retorted in a rude manner, prompting the learned counsel to leave their park and seek alternative means of traveling back to Enugu.
The court further ordered the Defendant to pay the sum of N500,000 as damages to the Plaintiff.
Source: Coal City Connect.
