Be careful with your language and make your statement successful. This short line suits Ola Electric and its CEO Bhavish Aggarwal just fine these days. In fact, there was a fierce debate on X recently between Bhavish and comedian Kunal Kamra. Maybe they didn’t even realize that the conversation that started as a joke turned into a heated argument. However, the outcome of this debate did not turn out to be good for Ola Electric. In fact, when the debate broke out, even Ola customers who were unhappy with the company’s service got upset. This customer anger manifested itself on social media in such a way that the company’s shares fell 9% in a single day.
Now, the Central Consumer Protection Authority has also looked into the growing complaints from Ola customers. He issued a show cause notice to the company. In fact, over the past year, the National Consumer Helpline has received over 10,000 complaints related to Ola Electric. Over the past few months, such videos or other posts from customers have surfaced on social media, which has continually created problems for the company. For this reason, the company also recently launched its hyperservice. However, Meherbaan took a long time to arrive.
Social media becomes a platform to denounce Ola’s poor service
>> In July, a video went viral on social media. A young man was so upset by the repeated breakdowns of his new electric scooter that he broke it with a hammer outside the showroom and left it there. It was said that despite the same problem happening again and again, the people at the service center were not able to repair the scooter that’s why the angry young man took all his anger out on the car and broke it with a hammer. This incident took place in Gwalior.
>> In the next month of July i.e. August, Sagar Singh loaded his Ola electric scooter onto a bike cart and reached the showroom where he had purchased the bike. Then he went there and started singing “Tadap tadap ke is dil se aah nikalti rahi raha, mujhko saja di Ola ne, aisa kya gunah kiya, yes, loot gaye, hum loot gaye”. His complaint was that the company failed to help him after the vehicle allegedly had a defect.
>> After August, a heartbreaking incident broke out in September. In fact, a person named Mohammad Nadeem set fire to Ola’s showroom in Kalaburagi, Karnataka. He did this because he wasn’t getting adequate service for his new electric scooter. In such a situation, upset, he set fire to the entire showroom. Nadeem had bought an electric scooter worth Rs 1.40 lakh a month ago, but after a day or two, it started having problems.
CCPA received 10,000 Ola-related complaints
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has found over 10,000 complaints received on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH). In such a situation, sources told CNBC-TV18 on October 7 that a show cause notice has been issued to Ola Electric. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways may seek clarification from Ola Electric regarding customer complaints. He said the ministry was aware of customer complaints against Ola Electric but no action had been taken so far. Under motor vehicle rules, car manufacturers can announce voluntary recalls. The Ministry of Roads has not yet asked the company to recall the vehicles.
Speaking to CNBCTV-18, Consumer Affairs Secretary and CCPA Chairman Nidhi Khare said that he was receiving complaints against Ola Electric on NCH’s toll-free number 1915. NCH brought them to higher levels in the OLA, but showed little interest in repair. When the CCPA began investigating class action complaints, it found that NCH had received more than 10,000 complaints in the past year. The CCPA has divided the more than 10,000 complaints into 10 broad categories and asked Ola Electric for immediate relief.
The main grounds of justification received by Ola Electric are deficiency in service, misrepresentation, unfair trade policy and violation of consumer rights. According to him, the main complaints and grievances of consumers have been divided into 10 main categories.
1. Free charging during service/warranty period
2. Delay and unsatisfied service
3. Delay or refusal of warranty service
4. inadequate services
5. Repeated problems after service
6. Performance inconsistent with announced claims
7. Overbilling and false invoices
8. Failure to provide reimbursement and documentation
9. Unprofessional Conduct and Complaint Closure
10. Multiple issues with battery and components
Due to these issues, the CCPA decided to issue a show cause notice to Ola and gave the company 15 days to respond. After receiving the CCPA show cause notice on October 7, Ola Electric filed a notice with the exchanges acknowledging receipt of the notice and indicating that it would respond within the stipulated time, along with supporting documents. Ola also said in its notification that at present, the show cause notice has no impact on the company’s finances, operations or other activities. Further, the show cause notice does not impose any penalty or financial penalty.
Sharp drop in Ola Electric sales
When the figures for the electric two-wheeler were revealed in September, they surprised everyone. Ola’s sales fell 27% in September. It was 50% in April. This is also the first time that Ola Electric’s sales have remained below 30%. Ola Electric has dominated the Indian electric two-wheeler market for the past three years, but September 2024 is seen as a turning point. In fact, for the first time in the last 12 months, Ola’s market share has fallen below 30%. To increase its sales, the company also launched a sale called BOSS.