Ganesh Kendale
Central Consumer Protection Authority on Sunday has directed Ola to develop a mechanism which would provide consumers with choice regarding the refund mode. According to the directive, consumers may choose refund via bank account or coupon in Grievance Redressal Process.
The directive follows a show-cause notice issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority to Ola earlier in the week.This notice was prompted by numerous customer complaints, including issues like manufacturing defects in vehicles, the sale of second-hand scooters, failure to provide refunds for cancelled bookings, persistent post-service problems, overcharging, billing discrepancies, and frequent battery-related troubles.
On Wednesday, the ministry of heavy industries (MHI) asked vehicle testing agency ARAI to provide details regarding alleged violations of consumer rights by Ola Electric.
“Ola Electric is a beneficiary under the scheme whose eligibility criteria under FAME-II and PM E-DRIVE has been issued by ARAI. Therefore, you are required to provide your comments on the issue to MHI at an early date,” the ministry’s letter to the testing centre said.
Under the Consumer Protection Act, the CCPA can initiate “class action” when there are similar complaints that can impact a large section or ‘class’ of consumers. As per the CCPA notice, there were over 10,600 complaints against the EV two-wheeler maker.
