The Central Consumer Protection Authority has directed the cab service provider Ola to provide an easy and consumer-friendly option to its consumers for choices of refund options.
According to the Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution Ministry. The move has given consumers an alternative of refund either directly to bank accounts or through coupons. The new policy represents a major shift from Ola’s earlier one in which it would only provide coupon codes for future rides.
The order by CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare seeks to reinforce consumer rights and bring transparency in service. Instead of providing customers with a fair choice for refunds for its “no-questions-asked” refund policy.
This could amount to a violation of consumer rights because the company would only be encouraging them to book more rides rather than directly offering any monetary refund. According to CCPA, a fair refund policy should give a choice to consumers. Without prompting them unnecessarily toward the usage of the same service.
CCPA also raised objections over Ola’s billing policy for auto rides. It said customers were trying to look into the invoices of their auto rides. And saw the following message being flashed: “Customer invoice for Auto rides will not be provided due to changes in Ola’s auto service T&Cs.” CCPA termed this an “unfair trade practice”. Because, according to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, every business has to issue bills receipts, or cash memos for services availed.
Following the intervention by CCPA, Ola has now brought in a number of changes. With the aim of being transparent and gaining consumer confidence. The contact details of the grievance officer and nodal officer are displayed in the support section of its website. The details include the name of the officer, his phone number, and e-mail address.
Ola, too, has made some improvements in its cancellation policy. Ola now shows the allowed time for ride cancellations and the cancellation fee while the customer is making a booking. In an attempt to reduce confusion, Ola has introduced a new acceptance screen for drivers that carries both pickup and drop locations. Further, Ola shows more reasons for the cancellation of rides along with vital fare information. Like base fare, charges per kilometer, and pre-wait charges.
It has also made some efforts to enhance the driver experience with incentives for digital payments. And timely earnings by offering corrected payment cycles.
The direction from CCPA followed after it received 2,061 complaints against Ola from January 1, 2024, to October 9, 2024. These were related to higher fares, non-refunds, drivers requesting extra cash, and wrong pickup or drop locations.
ANI
