The government on Sunday directed Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola to implement a mechanism allowing consumers to choose their preferred method of refund, and to provide consumers with a bill or receipt or invoice for all auto rides booked through its platform.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) directed the ride-hailing platform to develop a mechanism providing choices to consumers regarding refund mode — either directly to their bank account or via coupon — during the grievance redressal process.

As per information on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), 2,061 complaints have been registered against Ola from January 1, 2024, till October 9.

The top categories of complaints included higher fares charged from consumers than what was shown at the time of booking the ride; non-refund of the amount to the consumer; driver asking for extra cash and driver not reaching the correct location or dropping at an incorrect location.

The regulator observed that whenever a consumer raised any grievance on the Ola app, as part of its no-question-asked refund policy, Ola only provided a coupon code which could be used for the next ride without providing a clear choice to the consumer to opt between a bank account refund or a coupon.

“This violates consumer rights and the no-question-asked refund policy cannot mean that the company incentivises people to simply use this facility for taking another ride,” said the CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare.

According to the regulator, if a consumer attempts to access an invoice for Auto rides booked on Ola, the app shows the message ‘Customer invoice for Auto rides will not be provided due to changes in Ola’s auto service T&Cs’.

It was observed that not issuing a bill or invoice or receipt for the goods sold or services rendered constitutes an “unfair trade practice” under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

CCPA’s intervention has led to some consumer-centric changes in the Ola app like the name, phone number and e-mail of the grievance officer and nodal officer are mentioned in the support section of the website. The cancellation fee amount is now clearly mentioned on the ride-booking page.

Meanwhile, Ola Electric has received a show-cause notice from the CCPA over poor conditions at its service centres and rising complaints regarding its electric two-wheeler, asking the company to reply within a timeline of 15 days.

–IANS

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The post Centre Directs Ola To Let Consumers Choose Preferred Refund Mode As Complaints Rise appeared first on The Commune.

From a show-cause notice from the government to consumers flooding social media platforms over myriad complaints regarding its e-scooters and service centres—while its share continues to slide—there appears no respite for Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola Electric.

On Tuesday, Ola Electric’s share touched its lowest at Rs 86 apiece before recovering a bit—a massive 43-35 per cent drop from its all-time high of Rs 157.40 a few days earlier.

The stock made its public debut at Rs 76 a piece. In a stock exchange filing, the EV company admitted that it has received a show-cause notice from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).

“The Central Consumer Protection Authority has provided a timeline of 15 days to the company to respond to the show cause notice. The company will respond to the CCPA within the given timeframe with the supporting documents,” said the EV company.

According to the show-cause notice, Ola Electric “appears to be in violation of several provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.”

It took serious note of the complaints by consumers related to manufacturing defects, partial or no refunds on booking cancellations, recurring defects despite servicing, overcharging, inaccurate invoices, and multiple issues with batteries and vehicle components.

The National Consumer Helpline, operated by the Department of Consumer Affairs, received 10,644 complaints since September last year related to Ola Electric.

Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, said: “The CCPA is looking into a large number of complaints about Ola Electric, mainly related to service inefficiencies.” “We hope the company addresses these concerns promptly and resolves the issues faced by consumers,” she mentioned. Meanwhile, aggrieved customers continued to flood social media platforms, sharing their plight with hardware and software issues with its flagship electric two-wheeler.

“Even after the big announcement in service expansion, service centres are working the same. I delivered my scooter to Ola 3 weeks ago and received it last Saturday after completion of repair. Though it’s not properly fixed, OLA asked me to book RSA under my cost. I regret my decision to buy this scooter in 2022 even without a review. @bhash check yourself on this to understand what is going on,” posted an angry user on X.

Another commented: “Ola scooters, at their core, are poorly engineered products. People got carried away by the design aspect. The OLA updated 2.0 platform has taken away any repairability in the product and replacement is the only way for even minor issues. How is any of this GREEN?”

–IANS

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The post Govt Notice, Poor Service, Tanking Stock: Ola Electric Skids Off The Road appeared first on The Commune.

An aggrieved Ola Electric bike customer set a company showroom on fire in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi city after arguing with the staff over issues with his newly purchased electric vehicle.

The accused was identified as 26-year-old Mohammad Nadeem. Earlier, the police suspected that a short circuit may have caused the fire.

However, investigations revealed that Nadeem set the Ola bike showroom on fire on Tuesday. The incident gutted six new Ola electric vehicles and other materials worth lakhs of rupees.

The police probe revealed that the accused, Nadeem, had bought the new electric bike 20 days ago. It developed snags, requiring repeated visits to the showroom for repair work. The police said Nadeem argued with the showroom staff, alleging that his vehicle was not being properly repaired.

Frustrated with repeated arguments following the breakdown of his vehicle, Nadeem bought petrol and poured it on the showroom early in the morning when it was locked and set it on fire.

After noticing the thick smoke billowing from the showroom, the locals informed the owner and the police. The showroom was gutted when the fire brigade and emergency services reached the spot and extinguished the fire.

The authorities managed to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent showrooms in the building. Chowk police, who initially registered the incident as a possible fire incident, cracked the case after preliminary investigations and detained Nadeem, who confessed to the crime during questioning. Police sources said the accused will be arrested and produced before the court.

The investigation is on. Videos and photos of the incident have gone viral on social media. However, the police have not issued an official statement regarding the incident.

This story is based on an IANS wire feed. Only the headline has been changed.

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The post Aggrieved Customer “Mohammad Nadeem” Torches Ola Bike Showroom In Karnataka appeared first on The Commune.

A concerning incident has come to light in Bengaluru on Thursday involving a young woman being abused, slapped, and harassed by a middle-aged auto driver associated with Ola for cancelling a ride. The incident has been reported to the police, and an investigation has been launched.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vijayanagar sub-division Chandan Kumar, responded by assuring the victim that the police would register a case, conduct an enquiry, and take legal action.

Meanwhile, Ola Support has sent a request to the victim’s registered email ID to investigate the matter further. The young woman, Niti, stated that she faced severe embarrassment and was physically assaulted by an Ola driver after a simple ride cancellation.

On September 3, the victim and her friend booked two autos on Ola due to peak hours. The victim cancelled her trip as her friend’s vehicle arrived first and boarded that vehicle. The other auto driver followed them, and after stopping the vehicle, she was travelling in, he furiously started shouting and hurling abuses.

“The auto driver went on to verbally assault us, questioning whether the auto belonged to my father and making derogatory comments. I began recording, which enraged him further. When I mentioned reporting him, he challenged me, showing no fear of consequences,” the victim stated.

The victim also shared videos showing the Ola auto driver hurling vulgar abuses at her, claiming that he was made to wait for five minutes after arriving at the spot and questioning whether her father would pay for the gas since she decided to cancel the ride. The victim asked the driver not to shout and abuse her, to which the driver asked her what else he should do.

When the young woman told him that she would approach the police, the auto driver challenged her to go to the police right away. The video shows the auto driver grabbing her phone.

The victim alleges that he slapped her. The young woman is seen in another video questioning the auto driver about why he slapped her and what she should do about it. The auto driver told her to lodge a police complaint.

The young woman is also heard saying that she was still addressing him respectfully and questioning how he could talk to her in that manner. The young woman asked the auto driver in Hindi whether cancelling a ride was a crime.

Using vulgar language, he told her to speak in Kannada. He could also be heard saying, “Let anything happen today; I am not going to be quiet.” The victim wrote to Ola, stating, “Despite reporting, your customer support has been unresponsive. Immediate action is needed.” Meanwhile, the rival cab aggregator ‘Namma Yatri’ company, apologised for the incident involving the victim on Thursday.

On social media platform X, Namma Yatri told the victim, “We hope you are doing well. We are sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident. We wanted to get in touch with you to know the auto driver’s details so we can take precautionary steps on our platform.”

Police sources said they tracked down the auto driver and identified him as one Mutturaj. They questioned him and asked the victim to come to the police station to record her statement.

This story is based on an IANS wire feed. 

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The post Ola Driver Abuses, Slaps Woman In Bengaluru Over Ride Cancellation, Cops Launch Probe appeared first on The Commune.