CCPA issues notices to Uber, Ola for unfair trade practices
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Friday said it has issued notices to cab aggregators Ola and Uber for unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights. The authority has given these two companies 15 days to reply to the notices.
“We have issued notices to both Ola and Uber. Most of the consumer complaints received in the last one year are related to the deficiency in services and other unfair trade practices,” CCPA chief commissioner Nidhi Khare said.
The CCPA has issued notice to the online ride-hailing platforms concerning unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights.
The authority pointed out that a significant number of complaints have been lodged by consumers across the country on multiple issues, which affect their rides booked through both the ride-hailing platforms.
According to the data from the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), as many as 2,482 grievances were registered by consumers against Ola, while 770 grievances were registered against Uber from April 1, 2021, to May 1, 2022.
In the case of Ola, 54% of the complaints were related to the deficiency in services, while in the case of Uber, the figure was 64%.
The notices to the two companies have been issued just days after the consumer affairs ministry called a meeting on May 10 with cab aggregators.
During the meeting, the government had warned of strict action unless the aggregators improve their systems and redress rising consumer complaints.
”We told them about the rising consumer complaints against their platforms. We gave them the statistics also. We have asked them to improve their system and redress the consumer complaints otherwise the competent authority will take strict action,” consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said after the meeting.