This was one of the most requested features by train travellers across India and IRCTC has obliged. They have now launched a service aptly called, ‘Pay on Delivery’, which means you can book your tickets online and get them delivered to your doorstep!
So, next time you visit IRCTC to book the tickets, you will see ‘Pay on Delivery’ as an extra option (after you register for this facility) along with the card, wallets, net banking & others. Just choose that option while booking and tickets will be sent to your home address. In the press release, IRCTC has said, “‘Pay on Delivery’ payment option would allow the user to pay at the time of delivery through any payment mode including cash.
Online payments for train ticket bookings has always been a problem for train travellers. Many times, travellers are unable to book tickets due to issues with online payments. In fact, according to IRCTC survey in 2015, most online payment options including net banking had a failure rate of upwards 30%. Which means 3 out of 10 people could not book tickets as they could not do the payments.
In addition to this, the majority of travellers do not have a credit, debit card or net banking access, due to which they are not able to book tickets all together. These travellers then have to rely on an agent or have to visit a physical train ticket booking counter to book tickets.
The press release stated, “Security element attached to revealing their card details on Websites/Apps has often acted as a hindrance to Indian Consumers. Delivering tickets at the consumer’s doorstep by offering the pay-on-delivery option will facilitate those consumers who book through travel agents to move to online medium,”.
With the launch of ‘Pay on Delivery’ service, consumers can now rest easy and book tickets without worrying about online payments.
Online ticket booking on IRCTC should definitely see an increase in coming days because this new offering will encourage users to ditch the agent and book the tickets online themselves.
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Is Pay on Delivery Available Everywhere?
In the first phase, Pay on Delivery is available in 600 towns cities across India. This option will be available until 5 days prior to the date of the journey, after which the consumers will not be able to use this option.
How Register for Pay on Delivery?
The consumers will need to do a one-time registration to avail Pay on Delivery as a payment option. For this, they will have to furnish either their AADHAAR Card or PANCARD, which will be verified and then the option for Pay on Delivery will be enabled.
How Much Does Pay on Delivery Cost?
Pay on Delivery comes at a cost. The service charges for this option is Rs 90 + service tax for total ticket cost of up to Rs 5,000. For total ticket cost exceeding Rs 5000, the delivery charges will be Rs 120 + service tax.
What if You cancel/refuse to take tickets?
You cannot do that. As per the press release, “In the case of refusal/cancellation before delivery, the customer will be liable to pay the cancellation & delivery charges. Strict action as per law may be initiated if the customer defaults to pay the booking/cancellation charges and the user id will be deactivated”.
In addition to this, Customer’s CIBIL score would also be negatively affected in case of non-payment of dues. The refunds against cancellation would be tendered to users’ bank account only.
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Before booking the tickets on IRCTC make sure there is an availability of seats…!!! btw this will not gonna help us unless IRCTC should work for seat availability..!