An Uber customer from Chandigarh found himself in a dilemma when he was charged a whopping Rs 1,334 for a short ride of just 8.83 km on August 6, 2021. According to The Indian Express, the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh intervened and ruled in the favour of the customer, by granting him compensation of Rs 10,000. Additionally, the company was also asked to cover legal expenses with an extra Rs 10,000. The customer, identified as Ashwani Prashar, recounted that despite the ride lasting for 15 minutes, from AG Colony, Audit Phool Colony, Sector 41-B, Chandigarh, to Sector 48-B, Chandigarh, he was asked to pay a massive amount. Despite his attempts to contact officials through customer chats and emails, he received no satisfactory response from Uber.
Meanwhile, the company explained that the initial fare shown to the rider was Rs 359, but multiple route changes during the journey led to the final fare of Rs 1,334. Despite being unable to determine whether the driver took diversions from the designated path or the customer requested, Uber refunded Rs 975 worth of Uber Credits to the complainant’s account as a kind gesture to maintain their reliability.
Reportedly, the commission highlighted that Uber India is putting the entire blame for the service fault on the cab driver. However, based on the records, it appears that the complainant was forced to pay the driver as instructed on Uber’s app.
The Commission stated, “Practice of charging excess fare than that of actual contracted fare at the time of advance booking is unfair trade practice, which needs to be deprecated and as such the complainant is entitled for compensation for mental agony and harassment and also to litigation expenses. In order to keep check on such unruly service providers, who commit breach of assurances, promises and commitments at the nick of time, they are required to be dealt with heavy hands and as such OPs must be made to deposit at least Rs 10,000 as compensation in Consumer Welfare Fund of this Forum, in addition to the amounts payable to complainant as compensation and litigation expenses.”
The consumer court also mentioned that regular people aren’t aware about the details of the contract between Uber and its drivers. When someone uses Uber, they naturally trust the company, not the drivers. So, even if there are hidden agreements between Uber and its drivers, the company still has to take responsibility for any problems.
Comments
0 comment