Travel Question: Can I claim over an excess ‘robbery’?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

There is a baggage allowance of 15kg for internal IndiGo flights (Getty/iStock)

Q I booked internal flights in India on IndiGo through GoToGate. I paid for an extra 15kg in baggage but when checking in, additional baggage was not shown on the tickets. I phoned GoToGate three times before departure and they promised to fix it with IndiGo. However they did not. We had to pay excess baggage charge (though it is worth saying that IndiGo is an excellent low cost airline and has acted courteously in helping to minimise the excess costs).

I have requested a refund from GoToGate via Facebook message but they say go to IndiGo for refund. I’m still on my holiday and feeling robbed by GoToGate. How should I proceed with such a claim?

George D

A IndiGo is the leading low-cost airline in India, and offers an outstanding range of services both domestically and internationally. A flight from Mumbai to Delhi (the same distance as London-Venice) can cost as little as £40 one way. And unlike European low-cost airlines, there is a baggage allowance of 15kg for internal flights and 20kg for destinations outside India.

But I am afraid that when you chose to book Indian domestic flights through an online travel agent based in a small Swedish city, you opened yourself up for a whole range of problems. (The fact that the agent has a website with a .co.uk suffix is irrelevant.)

Including 15kg of extra baggage costs the equivalent of £60 direct with IndiGo, and I presume you paid significantly more.

You could put the credit-card charge for your original tickets into dispute. Or, you could take action under the European Small Claims procedure against GoToGate; it is an EU-wide version of the UK’s Money Claim Online. But unless the cost was running into hundreds of pounds, I suggest you just put it down to experience.

Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder