India Warns Ola Electric After 10,000 Complaints

Photo: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas

NEW DELHI, (REUTERS) – India’s consumer rights agency received unusually high 10,000 complaints against Ola Electric over a year and has sent a notice seeking explanation from the SoftBank-backed e-scooter maker, a top official at the watchdog said.

Following a stellar market debut in August, shares in India’s biggest e-scooter maker have fallen around 40% in recent weeks as sales have dipped with angry customers taking to social media to complain about its after-sales service.

Ola has also been in the spotlight following a public spat between its founder Bhavish Agarwal and comedian Kunal Kamra which revived questions over its service and prompted a wave of complaints online.

India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority has sent a show cause notice to Ola after the government received more than 10,000 complaints between September 2023 and August 2024 about issues such as delayed and unsatisfactory services and inaccurate invoices, said Nidhi Khare, the consumer affairs secretary.

Such several complaints are too high, Khare told Reuters, adding the agency took the step as “you cannot leave it to individual consumers to fight their way out”.

“Repeatedly similar complaints are coming, it is affecting a large number of consumers,” Khare added, citing some complaints were related to allegations about the company’s “unprofessional conduct”.

Ola, has a 27% market share in India’s e-scooter market.

The Indian authority has the power to direct the company to discontinue its practices and reimburse consumers, failing which it can also impose a fine of up to 2 million rupees or order imprisonment of staff found guilty of malpractice for up to six months, or both.

HSBC analysts said in a September note they visited multiple Ola service hubs and most “appeared overwhelmed by the service requests”.