Key Highlights
- District Consumer Commission directs Ola to refund Rs. 1.63 lakh to e-scooter customer
- Customer facing issues with Ola e-scooter since delivery
- Additional compensations to be paid as well
It seems gloomy days aren’t going away for Ola Electric anytime soon. The company has been facing criticism consistently for its bad after sales services leaving numerous of its customers stranded with faulty e-scooters. The company has even received directives from CCPA to address the surging customer complaints and respond to its unfair trade practices. And now, the District Consumer Commission has also came into the picture and has directed Ola to refund Rs. 1.63 lakh to one of the e-scooter owners who have been experiencing issues since the day of delivery. Here’s what happened:
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Why Ola Electric Is Asked For A Full Refund And Additional Compensations To Its Customer
This fresh case where Ola is being directed by a higher authority for refund is reported from Bengaluru. This time the company has been asked to give a refund after an inspection from the RTO (Regional Transport Office). According to the reports, an Ola electric scooter owner has been experiencing issues right after the delivery.
The complaint filed by customer suggests that the new e-scooter started malfunctioning after a month of its purchase. The model in question is the S1 Pro which is the flagship e-scooter model in the Ola S1 lineup. The e-scooter was purchased from Ola’s authorized service station situated in Kalyan Nagar, Bangaluru in July 2023. The customer had paid a total sum of Rs. 1.86 lakh for the e-scooter combined with all monthly payments.
Within a short span, the customer started experiencing issues with the e-scooter where its handle locked up automatically in between rides. After visiting the service centre, the OTA updates were said to be the primary reason for the issue. Additionally, the customer also experience frequent issues with the e-scooter’s battery with no resolution being provided. In fact, the e-scooter stayed at the service station since August 2023.
A legal notice was sent to Ola regarding this matter in October 2023 and after no response from the company, the customer took to commission for a resolution. Looking at the matter, an ex-parte order was issued to Ola for its unfair trade practices. The company is asked to refund the full amount to the customer (Rs. 1.63 lakh) along with additional compensations including a direct Rs. 10,000 and 9 percent interest from August 2023 until the payment is received by the customer. If Ola Electric fails to do so (within 45 days), the interest amount would be increased to 12 percent annually.
