Illegal markup on booking tickets- Order RN-202605-2411732
Order RN-202605-2411732 — KTX010 Busan → Seoul, 19 May 2026, 2 passengers. The KORAIL face value printed on the issued tickets is KRW 59,800 per passenger (KRW 119,600 total). Rail Ninja charged me INR 13,842/- for the exact same tickets, a markup of approximately 85-90% over the official KORAIL fare. The "service" Rail Ninja provided was a 5-minute online checkout that any traveller can do themselves in English on the official KORAIL site (letskorail.com) or the KORAIL TALK app — for free, with the same seat allocation, same booking flexibility, and the same e-ticket QR code. The breakdown of fees was not transparently presented at checkout. There is no separate line item for "service fee" or "markup" anywhere I can find in the confirmation. The user is led to believe they are paying a rail fare. This isn't a "convenience" premium — it's an opacity premium. A reasonable booking fee on a KRW 60,000 ticket would be KRW 3,000–6,000 (5–10% industry standard). Anything beyond that needs to be clearly itemised at the moment of payment under EU Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices, which applies to Rail Ninja's Estonian operating entity. I have written to Rail Ninja support requesting a full breakdown and a refund of the undisclosed component. If a satisfactory response is not received within 7 business days I will: (1) file a Visa chargeback under "services not as described", (2) raise the matter with the Estonian Consumer Protection Board (TTJA), and (3) lodge a complaint via the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform. For future travellers: book your KORAIL tickets directly at letskorail.com. Same tickets, no markup, no friction.