Bangalore Consumer Commission Directs OLA To Pay Rs 15000 To Customer Who Took Ride For 8 Hours Without Air Conditioning

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Synopsis

The commission noted that it is the duty of the cab aggregator to provide services as per the promise made to the customers.

The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission Bangalore has recently asked cab aggregator OLA to pay a sum of Rs. 15000 to a consumer for deficiency of service as the air conditioning of the cab was not working during a ride. 

A bench comprising M. Shobha (President), Suma Anil Kumar (Member), and Jyothi N (Member) said that it is the duty to provide service to all the customers as per the promise made to them. The order read,

“It is the duty of the OP to provide all services to the customers as per promise made by them. They have made the customer complainant to suffer inconvenience and mental agony during his trip without providing the service of AC for the entire trip period of 08 hours. Therefore, the OP has committed deficiency of service and also unfair trade practice on their part. Hence, the complainant is entitled for the relief. Hence we answer point No.1 in affirmative and point No.2 partly in affirmative.”

The complainant with his business partner in October 2021 had booked a Prime Sedane Taxi for eight hours 80kms. As per the information on the application, the said ride had air conditioning, extra legroom, etc. However, the air conditioning was not working during the 8-hour ride.

The complainant then approached customer service on the same day but no refund was issued to him since customer service said that there was no additional charge for AC.

The complaint was then forwarded to the senior management and a refund voucher of Rs. 100 was issued to the complainant without any communication.

The complainant then filed a complaint through the Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Good and public distribution department of consumer affairs, and the National Consumer Helpline.

The cab aggregator did not file its reply within 45 days of the notice and therefore the commission rejected its written reply while noting that after the opportunity was given to OLA, it did not appear to argue and file its reply.

In its order, the commission noted that through an email OLA had sought an apology for the non-working of the air conditioning and had stated that the rate card did not include any additional charges for AC. The order read,

“It is clear from the very admission made by the OP that they have send the Ola cab even though the AC was not working in the said car after collecting the entire amount ofRs.1,837.”

The commission then directed OLA to pay the refund of Rs. 1837 with 10% interest, Rs. 5000 as litigation expense, and Rs. 10000 as compensation to the complainant.

Case Title: Vikas Bhushan vs Bhavish Aggarawal