Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)- Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges– Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) in News
- Recently, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued notices to Ola and Uber, the two online ride hailing platforms for unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights.
- As per the data from the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), from 01.04.2021 to 01.05.2022, 2,482 grievances were registered by consumers against Ola and 770 grievances were registered against Uber.
Associated issues with Ola, Uber
The primary issues raised in the CCPA notices include: –
- Deficiency in servicewhich includes-
- Lack of proper response from customer support,
- Driver refusing to take payment by online mode and insisting for cash only,
- Higher amount charged despite going on the same route previously at a lesser charge,
- Unprofessional driver behaviour and
- Driver refusing to switch on AC when the consumer is promised AC ride on the app.
- Inadequate consumer grievance redressal mechanism in absence of both customer care number and details of grievance officer as required to be mentioned on the platform.
- Unreasonable levy of cancellation charge wherein users are not shown the amount of time within which cancelling a ride is permitted.
- Lack of any information on the algorithm or method used by the company to charge different fares for the same route from two individuals.
- Inclusion of charges for add-on services by pre-ticked boxes for including add-on services without obtaining consent by explicit and affirmative action before each ride.
Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021
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