Business ProfileforTrip.com

On September 22nd 2024 I embarked on a flight to a wedding of my friend in ******** from *****, ***********. As soon as I got off of my first flight in ********* I decided to check-in because I saw no need to enter the country although I am an American and could easily enter. I received a boarding pass from ****** and it said " You've checked in" and on the e-boarding pass given to me it said in writing" Please proceed to the gate". So I'm thinking I have checked in so I wait for the 3 hours of my layover to complete. When I attempted to go through the gate I was told I needed a physical pass. I then proceeded to the transfer desk of InDigo which is in the terminal. I asked for a physical boarding pass and they refused by telling me that they could only do it if I entered the country first. They also told me I was "checked-in and boarding the flight" to ***** (2nd flight). What is the point of the transfer desk if you have to go into the country and then back through immigration just for them to help you? The law states that I only need to enter the country to collect a ticket or transfer my bags. I had no checked baggages . I've already been through immigration and security checks at the start of my trip And the big kicker is that all security checks are done at the GATE in ********* unlike other countries in which it is done pre-entry into the terminal. So I called trip.com thinking they would understand after IndiGo deceived me into missing my flight. Trip.com responded with policy and stated I had to Self-transfer. Well I did. All you need to travel is a boarding pass. They didn't consider what led to the missed flight, they didn't contact Indigo to see if I was unjustly denied boarding but they instead regurgitated policy. So I was left stranded in ********* for 2 days having to increase my budget to accommodate 2 nights in a hotel and another flight. I don't hold Trip.com responsible for my experience but I hold them responsible for their response.