The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates ride-hailing platform Ola, for soliciting additional payments from customers before the completion of their trips through a feature deemed misleading and deceptive.
The consumer watchdog found that Ola's pre-ride 'tip' or 'add-on' feature violated fair trade practices by employing dark patterns to influence customers into making additional payments.
The order, passed by CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, directed the ride-hailing company to discontinue the practice immediately.
๐ ๐ถ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐
According to the regulator, Ola's application prompted customers to pay an additional amount while searching for a driver, suggesting that offering a tip could improve their chances of securing a ride more quickly.
The authority examined the feature and concluded that it misled consumers by encouraging them to make payments without any assured benefit.
Ola subsequently renamed the 'tip' feature as an 'add-on', but the CCPA found that the underlying practice remained unchanged.
The regulator held that merely changing the terminology did not address the deceptive nature of the payment prompt.
Dark patterns refer to deceptive design techniques used by digital platforms to influence consumer behaviour, often encouraging users to make purchases or payments they might not otherwise have intended.
Such practices can include misleading prompts, hidden charges and subscription mechanisms that make cancellation difficult.
๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐
The CCPA has also initiated suo motu action against other cab aggregator platforms over similar practices involving additional payments before ride allocation.
The authority had earlier imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Rapido, operated by Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd, for a comparable practice.
Proceedings against Uber and Namma Yatri are currently under investigation.
The action forms part of the consumer regulator's scrutiny of deceptive digital practices in the ride-hailing sector, particularly features that may influence customers into paying additional charges without clear information about the benefits.