Booking train tickets through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) can sometimes lead to a common issue. Money gets taken from your bank account, but no ticket is booked. This leaves passengers frustrated, waiting days for refunds.
The good news is changes are coming. Soon, getting your money back, whether your ticket didn’t get booked or you cancelled one, will be much faster.
This update is in the works, thanks to efforts from IRCTC and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), India Today has reported citing sources.
The aim is to make refund times the same for all situations. The refund is likely to get processed within around an hour or so, the publication added. LiveMint could not independently verify the development.
Complaints about slow refunds have been a big problem for the railways. People often go on social media to express their frustrations when their refunds don’t come through quickly.
The process right now can be slow. If a booking fails, the IRCTC starts the refund the next day. Then, it’s up to the banks or payment services, which can take several days depending on the method used.
But, the railway authority is looking to change that. They’ve directed teams to find ways to make the refund process much faster. This change is crucial in today’s digital age, where systems run with little to no human input.
It’s important to note, though, that IRCTC charges a convenience fee when you book a ticket. This fee is not refunded.
Why to ask for refunds?
There are many reasons you might need a refund from the railways. It could be a booking issue, a cancelled train, or an unconfirmed ticket. Sometimes, if your train is late or there’s an issue like AC not working, you might decide not to travel.
For these cases, you can ask for a refund through a Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR), either online or in person. As per India Today, the time taken to refund will be reduced in all types of TDR scenarios
The process for checking these claims is getting faster, too, as per the publication. Inspectors use handheld devices to update information directly into the system. This means your refund can be processed more quickly.
Source By: livemint
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