CCPA orders Ola to implement refund options and auto-ride receipts

New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has directed ride-hailing platform Ola to implement consumer-friendly changes, including offering refund options and providing receipts for auto rides.

As per a Newsdrum report, The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has been getting complaints against Ola Electric for the last one year, which were escalated to higher levels at the company for redressal, "but there was little interest shown in redressing these complaints," said a source.

Subsequently, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) "started examining these complaints for class action and found that over the last one year, NCH received over 10,000 complaints," the source added.

According to the source, the major categories of consumer complaints include charging during the free service period/warranty, delayed and unsatisfactory services, refusal or delay in warranty services, inadequate services, recurrent defects despite services, inconsistent performance with advertised claims, overcharging and inaccurate invoices.

Also, failure to provide refunds and documentation, unprofessional conduct and complaint closure and multiple issues with batteries and vehicle components were highlighted by the aggrieved consumers, a source said.

As per the CCPA, the major grounds for issuing show cause notice are alleged violation of consumer rights, deficiencies in services, misleading claims, and unfair trade practices.

The CCPA, led by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare, observed that Ola's no-questions-asked refund policy only provided coupon codes for future rides without giving consumers a choice for bank account refunds.

"This (practice) violates consumer rights," the CCPA said in a statement. "The no-question-asked refund policy cannot mean that the company incentivises people to simply use this facility for taking another ride."  

The regulator also mandated Ola to issue bills or invoices for all auto rides booked through its platform, citing the absence of such documentation as an "unfair trade practice" under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

On October 7, the CCPA issued the show cause notice against Ola Electric and gave 15 days for the company to respond.

Following the CCPA's intervention, Ola has implemented several changes, including displaying contact details of grievance and nodal officers on its website, clearly mentioning cancellation policies and fees at the time of booking, adding more options for ride cancellation reasons, and publicizing fare component breakdowns.

The other changes implemented were showing addresses of both pickup and drop locations to drivers and revised payment cycles for drivers for swift payment.

The CCPA reported 2,061 complaints against Ola from January to October 2024, with top issues including overcharging, refund delays and driver-related problems.

Before issuing the notice, the CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, examined those consumer complaints for class action.

On October 7, Ola Electric informed stock exchanges that the company received the show cause notice from the CCPA. The authority has provided a timeline of 15 days for the company to respond to the show cause notice, the filing had said.

The company said it would respond to the authority within the given timeframe with the supporting documents.

Last week, a war of words broke out between Ola founder Bhavish Agarwal and stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on social media platform X over the after-sales and service quality of the company's electric scooters.

Kamra had taken up after-sales and service issues faced by Ola Electric customers.