u/Future-Mention8941

First time visitors and travelling with a 6 year old. Considering giving up Kyoto to visit Hokkaido instead.

TL;DR: Paid for a flight on EaseMyTrip (gift card + credit card). Booking failed — no ticket, no PNR, doesn't even show in my account. 3+ weeks later, still no refund. Calls say "stuck at our payment gateway," emails say "pending with airline." Called the airline myself — they have zero record and said only the agent (EMT) can refund. Already raised a chargeback for the card portion. Need help with the escalation ladder + how to recover the gift card portion.

Posting to figure out my next move because I've hit a wall.

Booked a domestic flight on EaseMyTrip last month. Payment went through (part gift card, part credit card), but the booking failed — no ticket, no PNR generated. It doesn't even show up in my account's booking list. So they have my money and I have nothing.

It's now been over 3 weeks. Here's the runaround:

• On every call: "Refund is processed from our end, it's just stuck at our payment gateway. Wait 24–48 hours." Same line, every single time, for 20+ days.
• In email: Suddenly it's "pending with the airline, we're awaiting their response."
• So I called the airline directly. They said since no booking was ever generated and no PNR exists, they have zero record of it — and only the travel agent (EaseMyTrip) can refund, because the agent holds the money.

So the "airline" excuse is provably false, and the "gateway" excuse has run for three weeks. At this point it feels like deliberate stalling.

What I've done so far:

• Multiple calls (documented dates)
• Escalation emails demanding written status + refund reference numbers
• Raised a chargeback with my credit card bank for the card portion

Where I'm stuck:

1. What's the actual escalation ladder for an OTA that just won't refund? Nodal officer? NCH? Consumer court?
2. The gift card portion worries me — the bank chargeback only covers the credit card amount. How do people recover the wallet/gift card part?
3. Has anyone actually gotten money back from EaseMyTrip via NCH (1915) or e-Daakhil? Roughly how long did it take?
4. Any leverage I'm missing — RBI ombudsman, social media escalation, anything?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who's fought a similar OTA refund battle. Thanks.

TL;DR: Paid for a flight on EaseMyTrip (gift card + credit card). Booking failed — no ticket, no PNR, doesn't even show in my account. 3+ weeks later, still no refund. Calls say "stuck at our payment gateway," emails say "pending with airline." Called the airline myself — they have zero record and said only the agent (EMT) can refund. Already raised a chargeback for the card portion. Need help with the escalation ladder + how to recover the gift card portion.

Posting to figure out my next move because I've hit a wall.

Booked a domestic flight on EaseMyTrip last month. Payment went through (part gift card, part credit card), but the booking failed — no ticket, no PNR generated. It doesn't even show up in my account's booking list. So they have my money and I have nothing.

It's now been over 3 weeks. Here's the runaround:

• On every call: "Refund is processed from our end, it's just stuck at our payment gateway. Wait 24–48 hours." Same line, every single time, for 20+ days.
• In email: Suddenly it's "pending with the airline, we're awaiting their response."
• So I called the airline directly. They said since no booking was ever generated and no PNR exists, they have zero record of it — and only the travel agent (EaseMyTrip) can refund, because the agent holds the money.

So the "airline" excuse is provably false, and the "gateway" excuse has run for three weeks. At this point it feels like deliberate stalling.

What I've done so far:

• Multiple calls (documented dates)
• Escalation emails demanding written status + refund reference numbers
• Raised a chargeback with my credit card bank for the card portion

Where I'm stuck:

1. What's the actual escalation ladder for an OTA that just won't refund? Nodal officer? NCH? Consumer court?
2. The gift card portion worries me — the bank chargeback only covers the credit card amount. How do people recover the wallet/gift card part?
3. Has anyone actually gotten money back from EaseMyTrip via NCH (1915)? Roughly how long did it take?
4. Any leverage I'm missing — RBI ombudsman, social media escalation, anything?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who's fought a similar OTA refund battle. Thanks.

I have my Japan travel tickets booked for October 1st and return in mid October

Is it too early to apply visa via VFS? I have been reading conflicting reports about the VFS not accepting submissions unless it is the month prior. Any experiences?

Same as title