KPN Travels India
Reviews and Complaints

I had cancelled my Bus ticket booked on 15th Aug 2015 and got a mail stating that i will get the refund in 15 days.I called the head office at salem and verified with them.for about 10 days the booking section only attended my calls and kept beating around the bush.later one person transferred the call to complaint section after some threatening .the complaint section now says it will take 15 days from the date of complaint raised and seem totally not bothered and are having a very careless attitude.so i strongly suggest that please do not anyone take the services of KPN anymore

Dear Folks,

This is my personal experience travelling with KPN Travels and to say the experience was a pathetic one would be a pretty much understatement..

I personally had couple of bitter experiences with KPN travels prior to this but nothing came close to this incident and this left me wondering why did we decided to travel in it the first place...

Last Saturday we (me and two of my friends) were returning from Nagercoil (near Kanyakumari) after attending our friend's marriage..

We started off from Nagercoil by 6.45 PM in an AC Volvo bus of KPN travels, which we had booked...

Everything went fine for a while. The bus was going at a decent speed and we were thinking we would be in Bangalore by 6 AM on Sunday...

Then all of a sudden, the bus stopped at Tirunelveli at 8.15 PM near the KPN office. We thought that they were loading some parcels into the bus.. The bus continue to be waiting till 8.45 PM.. The driver or other staff didn’t tell anything..

Then when we enquired what was happening, the bus driver tells that the AC is not working, because some belt has got cut...

And the driver continues to add, If we continue to travel without AC (which is very much impossible because of the moulded glass windows), the temperature inside the bus might increase and the engine might catch fire.. So they were trying to sort out the issue with couple of mechanics.. These mechanics tried their hands till 9.30 PM and they couldn’t do much about it.

In the mean time many passengers updated the situation to the KPN head office in Salem. They were saying that the issue will be sorted out soon and the bus will start the journey again. They were not thinking of providing any kind of alternate arrangement. Even when some of the passengers asked about it, they were saying that wouldn’t be needed and the issues would be sorted out.

But, until 10 PM the driver and the other KPN staff didn’t tell anything or didn’t even bother to make some arrangements for the passengers for dinner. When some of the passengers shouted at around 10PM, they suddenly realized that the entire bus is hungry..

And they said they will send some mini bus to take the people to a nearby hotel in Tirunelveli town. They did that and after dinner took the passengers back to the KPN office in Tirunelveli by around 11 PM, where the manager of the Tirunelveli office was there.

Seeing the Manager of the Tirunelveli office, the passengers approached him for any updates. He was more interested in clearing of the waiting passengers of other buses. He said they are looking for an alternative may be a Non AC bus or something of that sort and asked the passengers of the bus to travel till Salem and said from Salem some Volvo might be there to drop us till Bangalore. Hearing this, some of the passengers started arguing that KPN refund the money back and they would find their own way, The so called Manager started shouting at the passengers like, as if he was doing some service free of cost.

The manager was saying the refund and all is not at all possible and if at all anybody wanted any refund, then they have to check with the office they booked the ticket. During the whole of the incident, passengers called the Salem head office regularly for any help, but it was of no use. They said something would be done. But no sort of help was in sight...

After all that, the manager kept on holding the passengers without any updates till 12 midnight, when most of the passengers lost their cool and started arguing severely. When some of the passengers told they would call the police, the manager started abusing those passengers with bad words and things were going horrible.

After all these, finally at around 12.30 AM, the manager came and said, he could get only one 17 seater Van for half of the waiting passengers and he would send rest of the waiting passengers in a regular KPN bus on standing to Kovilpatti (a town 50 KMs from Tirunelveli on the way to Madurai) where he said, a 25 seater van is waiting to take all of the people to Salem.

We, the passengers at 12.30 AM had no option other than to take that. Finally the van from Tirunelveli started at 12.45 AM and the other set of people were boarded in a KPN bus bound to Bangalore to be dropped at Kovilpatti and fortunately a van was waiting there for them.

Both the vans started from Kovilpatti at around 1.45 AM and reached Salem at around 6.45 AM on Sunday. We waited for a while and subsequently the Volvo bus to drop us to Bangalore came at around 7.15 AM. We all boarded that bus and it started at around 7.45 AM and we finally reached Bangalore at around 12 noon on Sunday. While getting down the driver of the bus who dropped us at Bangalore told, he came to Salem from Chennai at around 7 AM on Sunday and immediately asked to ferry us to Bangalore. This again took us for a rude shock and all that we could do was thank god for getting us to Bangalore safe and thank our good luck as well.

It was such a pathetic experience, I didn’t expect this to happen even in wildest of my dreams.

I found it very hard to digest the way KPN travels and its franchisee and staff treat customers. We don’t expect a royal treatment but expected a fair concern for the customer at the time of issues like these. But we didn’t even get that.

I have decided from now on, I will never ever travel in KPN Travels to anywhere. Even if I don’t have any booked ticket in train or any other travels, I have decided to chose to go by open ticket in government buses. Atleast in government buses, they refund the fare if the bus breaks down :).

I would request you all to think many times before travelling in KPN travels that too with your family. Only if we start thinking boycotting people like this and they will start feel the pinch the lost business and only then they will really think to care for these things.

NB: In midst of this, we were witnessing another horrible incident right at the Tirunelveli office. Two passengers have booked tickets from Tirunelveli to Bangalore on internet and when they went to board the bus they were in for rude shock, as their seats were already occupied by two other people who claimed to be coming from Trivandrum. The persons sitting in the seats were saying the booking clerk at the Trivandrum office only gave them the seats and they refused to give up the seats. Suddenly one person in Tirunelveli KPN office looking like a goon went into the bus and forcefully pulled the persons sitting in the seats and gave those seats to the ones waiting at the Tirunelveli office. We didn’t know what happened to those two people. This was also such a horrible incident to witness. They had paid close to 1100 rupees each for the ticket. It simply goes on to show the greediness of the KPN booking office. Even the internet tickets are not safe with KPN travels...

Extremely Pathetic Service
Extremely Pathetic and disgusting service from one of teh reputed Travels - KPN

We booked our tickets from Chennai to Ooty by KPN Travels. We boarded the semi sleeper a/c vehicle on 29th April from Chennai. The bus started at around 8.15 pm. The vehicle was travelling at sub 50 speeds for the next 2-3 hours. After travelling for around 3 hours, the driver just stopped the bus on the highway and claimed that the bus won't move since it encountered some "fanbelt issue". He then took help from one of the passengers to call up the KPN office and get the repair done. It took another 3 hours for the KPN repair vehicle to coem adn service the bus. Till then we had to wait inside the bus on the side of the highway. Finally after a long wait, the repair guy came and worked on the bus for some time, claimed that the issue was solved and we resumed our journey. another half an hour, the bus again broke down. Even though we tried to call up the customer service and the manager of KPN, those guys didnot respond. Te only answer we got it is " be practical sir, it happens, we can't help". There was no replacement bus sent to us. Finally in the morning, the bus driver again decided to take teh same bus and we were dragging al along the way. We reached avinashi by around next day afternoon and there one replacement bus came to pick us. The worst part was that even the replacemnt bus was out of breath adn had serious issues and we couldn't climb the Ooty hills on that. Finally we got down, took a taxi of our own adn went to the KPN office in ooty. The service shown to us was easily the most pathetic service from a company that has such a huge brand name. And the KPN office in Ooty did even a more clever thing - The manager left the office by thwe time we reached there adn made one small kid be in charge of the office till all the abgry customers left.

I had paid 700 rupees per ticket for a 12 hour jouney.
The journey got extended to 24 hours, there was no A/C.
The customer service was pathetic and they have arrogant idiots sitting in their offices.
No replacement bus, no proper service by KPN.
Their driver doesn't even carry a cell phone of his own in case he needs to contact the office for any emergency.
Finally pathetic pathetic travels. Please avoid it if you have a choise. They are bloody bloodsucking [protected]@[protected]@rds.

Poor Service and Irrespect treatment of customer
I travelled on 06 th Mar'10(Sunday) from Trichy to Bangalore in 11PM Volvo 2+2 AC Bus with my wife.

I had very bad worst customer service and worst treating of sustomer from KPN travels trichy, I travelled from Trichy to Bangalore in 11PM Volvo 2+2 bus.

In trichy, after get in the bus we have seen someone vomitted in our seats, We requested to travels and bus driver for cleaning that to clean up from our reserved seats, But they put just sands on that, then they told us, this bus there is no bus cleaner, So adjust to sit on the same seats. We can not do any alternatives, which means change to some other bus/ seats.

I explained and fought them, Because We paid Rs.600 per seat, if you look in goverment bus fare is only Rs.250, but we booked KPN travels instead of booking goverment bus, we need good service and comfortable travel for long journey. Perhaps we booked in KPN, if you are doing like this then what is difference between govt bus and KPN travels. They replied we can not do anything now. If you not interested to travel please cancel the tickets, or travel with this problem.

But we have fought them at last they made one arrangement, they replaced us in some other seats, they assured no changes in seat replacement further.we asked so many times after travel started in between if any people getting in bus to fight for this seat that is not good, so we forced them to solve this problem for us or anyone who can sit in that seat.

But Atlast after an hour, who booked/reserved seat they get in they are coming in to fight with us, I dont want to make fight with them, becuase this travels management people cheated us for solving that problem temprovarily. Even though i asked so many times to them, but they assured no problem you can travel replaced seat till your destination.

But I went bus driver to fight for this, but he heaved ruidly manner, I cant go beyond certain limit becuase i came with my wife.

This is KPN Serice from Trichy to Bangalore, They driver ( Name:Selvaraj ) told me whereever you loge complaint against me and our travels we dont bother, what ever you want you do it we dont care and worry.

This is the worst service never i have seen in my travel.

This is Rajkumar.M. I am a regular customer of KPN. In a month I will go 2 times to Nagercoil from Bangalore. The Service was good and the drivers are friendly too.

But Yesterday(September 14) While coming back from Nagercoil. I have booked(seat No 31W) in Valliyoor stating that my boarding point is Valliyoor. I have booked 4 days before there is no window seat available in the 6.45 AC that too it is in the Last seat.

So I have booked 31W that is the first seat in the 6.30 Non AC.

Finally what happened is the bus didn’t come through Valliyoor. It went through the By Pass even though I have booked in Valliyoor. Then luckily one more Bus came. I came through that bus and I catches my Bus at Tirunelveli.

There one more disappointment that in my seat one lady allotted to 18 is sitting. If I going to 18 also, one more lady is sitting Both the ladies want the Window seat. But the Driver forcing me to go back eventhough I got the right ticket. And also Both persons are ladies they can sit together. This driver has a softcorner on that girl I think so.

Then finally I went back and got one non Window seat in the Back.

My disappointment is that the driver forcing me to go back even though I have booked 31W.

I have no sleep yesterday. This is the serious concern on the service. Please do the needful to do better service.

Even though I have travelled more than 100 times I am facing this kind of difficulties for the first time.

This is to bring to the notice of all those people traveling in KPN travels. I traveled in this bus on May 16 2008 from Bangalore - coimbatore by AC volvo. The bus started from bangalore late by 1 hour. I had a very high hope that I will reach coimbatore on time no matter how late the bus started.But I reached Coimbatore again 2 hours late the next. The story doesn't end there, the AC temperature was very low, all of the passengers were freezing inside with only a small stinking shawls to cover us given in the name of blankets. To my surprise there is no one to complain except for the driver.

There are lot more stories of my horrible experiences with KPN travels.Once I travelled from Cuddalore-Bangalore.I was seated in the last seat(the long seat at the back), it was raining outside and the rain water was leaking on me.Though I complained to the driver he very cooly refused to provide me with another seat or with any other solution.Ultimately i travelled like that all the way to Bangalore.

This is yet another story... once they didn't bother to inform me about the pick up van and had to miss my bus on that day and traveled next day by train...they said I could cancel this ticket... and with that hope I sent them a letter with an xerox of my ticket... they replied back asking me for the original ticket to give me 25% of my ticket money... to my surprise I never got any reply from them or never got my ticket money.

Though I have quoted these as stories... this is the reality which happened to me...I request all those traveling by KPN to act wisely after reading these... now that after learning so many lessons from KPN I have decided never to travel by KPN travels.

All the information in this complaint are reliable and I request all to forward to as many people as possible and it is high time KPN travels should learn from the mistakes.