Ola Electric Claims Of Near-100% Complaint Resolution Found Lacking
The CCPA found discrepancies in Ola Electric’s claim of near-100% complaint resolution after a random survey of customers revealed dissatisfaction with the company’s grievance redressal efforts.
India’s consumer rights regulator has found discrepancies after Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. claimed that nearly all customer complaints were resolved.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority, a regulatory body that protects consumer rights and prevents unfair trade practices in India, called at random 250 Ola Electric customers to check the veracity of the claims made by India’s largest electric two-wheeler maker, people aware of the matter told NDTV Profit. They were not happy, even dissatisfied, with the resolution provided.
As a consequence, on Dec. 4, CCPA shot off an email to Ola Electric, “seeking additional documents and information in relation to the previous response submitted by the company,” the Bengaluru-based automaker said in an exchange filing on Thursday.
Ola Electric has 15 days to submit its response.
NDTV Profit has sent an email to Ola Electric for a comment on the alleged discrepancies. This story will be updated as and when the company responds.
In The Dock
To be sure, this is the second time the CCPA has sought information from Ola Electric over customer complaints stemming from after-sales and service issues.
On Oct. 7, Ola Electric informed the stock exchanges that it has received a showcause notice from the CCPA to explain within 15 days the alleged violation of “consumer rights, misleading advertisement, and unfair trade practices.” The action follows more than 10,000 complaints received by the National Consumer Helpline in the past year over the quality of Ola Electric scooters.
On Oct. 21, Ola Electric said that nearly all of the complaints were resolved.
“The company has provided the requested information and clarifications in response to the show cause notice issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority,” Abichandani has said in an exchange filing on that day. “In fact, we wish to emphasise that out of the 10,644 complaints that we have from the CCPA, 99.1% were resolved to the complete satisfaction of the customer as per Ola Electric’s robust redressal mechanism.”
But on Nov. 14, the CCPA directed the Director General of Investigation, who is also head of the Bureau of Indian Standards, to investigate Ola Electric, citing concerns over alleged whitewashing of consumer grievances. An order to this effect was issued on Nov. 6, and the BIS DG had to submit the investigation report within 15 days.
“The investigation has been ordered because the company, in response to the CCPA show cause notice, said it has resolved 99.41% of the 10,644 complaints lodged with the CCPA,” Nidhi Khare, secretary at the Department of Consumer Affairs, had said then. “However, when a sample of complainants was contacted, they expressed dissatisfaction. The consumers said their grievances were only whitewashed and closed.”
On Friday, Ola Electric shares fell 2.69% to Rs 95.85 apiece on the BSE even as the benchmark Sensex ended the day 0.07% lower at 81,709.12 points.
