Problems for Ola Electric: A Consumer Watchdog Recommends that Complaints be Looked into

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Nov 15, 2024 — 3 min read

Ola Electric in Hot Water Consumer Body Calls for Investigation

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has ordered a thorough investigation into suspected "deficiencies" in Ola Electric's services and products, particularly with regard to its scooters, indicating further difficulty for the company. This action comes after Ola addressed previous regulatory notifications about outstanding customer complaints.

Nidhi Khare, the consumer affairs secretary, announced on 14 November 2024 that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has been instructed by the top consumer rights regulator to confirm the company's statements about how it resolves customer complaints.

The investigation was formally started on November 6, and the BIS director general, acting as the ex-officio Director General of Investigation, has been given 15 days to provide a detailed report.

Plethora of Complaints Triggered the Investigation

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) received 10,644 complaints against Ola Electric between September 2023 and August 2024, which sparked the investigation. According to a response from Ola Electric dated October 21, 99.1% of consumers were satisfied with the company's complaint resolution procedure. A sample of consumers was then contacted by the CCPA to get their opinions on grievance redressal.

According to an investigative official, 130 of the 287 customers that the NCH call agents dealt with were dissatisfied with the company's answer (79.2%). It was merely a sample test to confirm Ola's claims. Their claim of 99% satisfaction ought to have been mirrored in the cross-verification as well.

Customers are Not Satisfied With the Resolution

According to numerous clients, problems continued even after complaints were resolved, and some cases were closed too soon without being satisfactorily resolved, the official continued. Ola Electric insisted in a regulatory filing that it has settled 99.1% of the CCPA's objections. The company also stated that it had submitted comprehensive responses to a show-cause notice issued by the CCPA on 7 October, which detailed alleged consumer rights violations, misleading advertising, and abusive trade practices.

Who is BIS?

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is India's national standards body. BIS is in charge of the smooth operation of the standardisation, marking, and quality certification of goods processes as well as any related or incidental issues.

The national economy has benefited from BIS's primary functions of standardisation and conformance assessment by supplying safe, dependable, and high-quality products; reducing consumer health risks; safeguarding the environment; encouraging imports and exports as alternatives; managing the overabundance of varieties, etc. In addition to helping consumers and businesses, BIS's standards and certification programme also assist a number of public policies, including those pertaining to building and construction, consumer protection, food safety, product safety, and the environment.

Through its standardisation and certification efforts, BIS has recently sought to directly address a number of national priorities as well as other government projects, including Digital India, Make in India, Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, and ease of doing business. When developing standards, BIS keeps up with the latest developments in technology, climate change, energy and environmental conservation, health and safety conditions, and trade facilitation.