Ola Fine: A Hyderabad resident has been awarded a compensation of Rs 1 lakh from ride-hailing firm Ola following an incident where the company's driver allegedly forced the passenger to cancel his ride midway due to rude behaviour, as per reported by the Times of India.
According to the TOI report, Jabez Samuel, who had booked an Ola cab for a four-hour trip for personal work, boarded the vehicle with his wife and a helper at 10 am. Shortly after the journey began, Samuel noticed the car was unclean and requested the driver to turn on the air conditioning. The driver declined and allegedly spoke rudely to Samuel.
After traveling about 4-5 km, the driver abruptly asked the trio to exit the vehicle, leaving Samuel and his companions stunned by the driver's behaviour. They complied calmly to avoid confrontation.
Samuel lodged a formal complaint via email, seeking a refund and compensation for the inconvenience he experienced. He also spoke with customer care executives regarding the trip. Despite frequent calls asking him to clear the bill, Samuel paid the amount to avoid further complications.
Ola response
In response, Ola argued that Samuel had incorrectly involved the company instead of the driver directly. The firm said that ‘Ola Cab’ is merely the name of an internet-based application and not a legal entity, suggesting the case should be dismissed. However, the local consumer disputes redressal commission ruled that the driver's behaviour constituted unfair trade practice and a deficiency in service. Consequently, they directed Ola to pay Samuel the compensation.
This case adds to a growing list of customers winning compensation from Ola. Earlier in January 2023, a Bengaluru man was awarded Rs 15,000 after suing the company over a malfunctioning air conditioning unit in an Ola cab.
Ola shuts global operations
Meanwhile, recently Ola decided to halt its international operations in their current form to focus on expanding its electric fleet within India, as per media reports. Backed by SoftBank, the company is scaling back operations in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand to concentrate on its domestic business ahead of an initial public offering (IPO), according to an Ola spokesperson quoted by TechCrunch.