Lgeal action against fraudulent travel agency
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am an NRI based out of Munich, Germany and have recently been a victim of scam committed by a fraudulent Bidhannagar-based travel agent. I have been scammed of Rs. 30,000 by this agent. They took the money in advance to arrange for an expedited Germany Schengen family visit visa appointment at VFS Kolkata office for my mother, a senior citizen. They asked me to send an expedited request email to German Consulate Kolkata, which a "visa officer based out of Germany" was going to approve. Following that, I was supposed to receive a date for walk-in without appointment. However, on emailing the German Consulate, I came to know that no such service could be offered. The Consulate informed me that appointment dates on short notice are made available several times in a day by VFS only, and that I have to check the online portal regularly. I did so and ultimately could find an early appointment by myself.
The agent was of no help at all. They misled me giving false information, which only delayed the process and added to my stress. As I asked them for a refund, they refused and made a ridiculous claim that they leveraged their contacts in Germany to open the additional appointment slots on VFS website, and this alone costs INR 30,000. They did not do the job, kept lying blatantly and defrauded me of INR 30,000 (340.97 Euro including money transfer app transfer fee). I have spoken with them several times over phone and requested at least a partial refund. They refused even this request.
In view of this, I sent a detailed email to the concerned PS in Bdihannagar explaining everything, with ACP (HQ) Bidhannagar, NCH Govt. of India and Consumer Affairs Redressal Forum, Govt. of West Bengal in CC. I sent the email yesterday and haven't yet received an acknowledgement of the same. As I am not in India now, can I register my complaint by email? If not, then what other options do I have? How do I know that the police is even acting on my complaint? Would it make sense to escalate my complaint to the higher levels of law enforcement authorities and consumer affairs department? The actions of this scammer is causing me much emotional distress and is affecting my professional and personal life. Also, my mother, a senior citizen, is mentally distressed. I don't want to let her handle this process and subject her to further mental and physical stress. Whatever needs to be done, I will do myself. So any advice would be highly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.