The Center has slammed cab aggregators, including Ola and Uber, for alleged unfair trade practices and warned them of strict action if they fail to reform their systems and address rising consumer complaints. The meeting was attended by representatives of Ola, Uber, Meru, Rapido and Firefly.
Government meeting held on Tuesday ride-hailing platform Since consumer complaints have increased significantly against them with respect to unfair trade practices, including ride cancellation policy, drivers forcing customers to cancel trips, etc.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said, “We told them about the rising consumer complaints against their platform. We also gave them the statistics. We have asked them to improve their system and redress consumer complaints otherwise efficient. The authorities will take strict action.” A senior official gave this information after the meeting.
Referring to consumer complaints Wake up customer wake up The helpline is just the tip of the iceberg, with Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) chief commissioner Nidhi Khare insisting that cab aggregators should find solutions expeditiously. “The authority may issue an advisory to ensure that unfair trade practices by cab aggregators are not infringed upon the rights of the consumers,” he added.
Khare also said that the government has informed that there will be “zero tolerance against such malpractices” by cab aggregators.
Last week, the CCPA received several complaints from consumers regarding the cancellation and pricing policy of cab aggregators. “The number of complaints is huge and hence we have called the cab aggregators to clarify their policies,” Khare said.
Citing a few instances, it had said that the regulator has received several complaints of alleged unfair trade practices, including cab drivers forcing consumers to cancel a trip and bear fines because the driver was unable to ride a ride for any reason. do not want to accept.
Khare further said that existing consumers are being charged higher rates for a ride, while new users are lured with lower charges for the same distance.
(with inputs from agencies)