Rapido penalised Rs 10 lakh for ‘advance tipping’, asked to desist from coercing customers to pay more

NEW DELHI: Cracking down on “advance tipping”, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed Rs 10 lakh penalty on ride-hailing platform Rapido. The authority has also found “confirm shaming” and “interface interference” in the platform’s ride-booking interface and has directed it to discontinue misleading prompts and practices that steer consumers towards paying more.In an official statement, the authority has held the ride-hailing platform for “misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, unfair contract and dark patterns” in the manner in which riders were prompted to pay more before their rides were confirmed.Earlier both the apex consumer rights watchdog and road transport ministry had advised the ride-hailing platforms to stop advance tipping since this is entirely voluntary.The CCPA on Tuesday said that the action follows a sector-wide examination of cab and bike-taxi aggregator platforms undertaken by it to examine practices relating to pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing. It had earlier issued notices to platforms including Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri and to submit self-declarations regarding compliance. CCPA’s examination of Uber and Ola in this regard is currently ongoing.“During its examination of various platforms, CCPA found that the Rapido app displayed prompts such as ‘higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride’ and ‘captains aren’t accepting at Rs 60. Try adding +10, +20, +30’ while a rider’s booking was still being processed,” it said.The authority also found that the platform’s algorithm first quoted a fare to the rider and, after the rider booked at that fare, prompted the rider to pay more on the ground that captains were not accepting the original price. It said this practice creates a false impression that a rider’s chances of getting a ride quickly depends on paying an additional amount, at the precise stage when the rider has already committed to the booking and has limited scope to negotiate.“The practice was held to constitute ‘confirm shaming’, a dark pattern identified under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, as it creates a sense of urgency and fear of losing the ride if the consumer does not agree to pay more,” the CCPA said.CCPA also noted that the fare displayed to a rider at the time of booking takes into account factors including distance, time, traffic, tolls and the amount payable to the captain. In this context, it found no justification for subsequently suggesting that the rider pay an additional amount for the same ride before the ride had commenced. The authority observed that a tip is ordinarily a voluntary payment made after a service has been rendered and should not be presented as a condition for the service to be provided.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.