Bengaluru Man Wins Case Against Ola Over Defunct AC in Cab, Receives Rs 15k As Compensation

Ola's Co-founder and CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, has been ordered to pay Rs 15,000 in restitution to a disgruntled client who filed a lawsuit against the company due to a broken air conditioning unit in one of their vehicles. 

Vikas Bhusan, a Bengaluru-based customer, filed a service failure complaint against Aggarwal with the Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in March 2022.

His complaint was based on an incident that occurred in October 2021, after Bhusan, 36, made an eight-hour reservation for an Ola Prime sedan. Bhusan was disappointed to discover that the cab's air conditioning did not function, forcing him and his fellow passengers to complete their journey in discomfort despite having been promised an air-conditioned car with extra leg room. 

At the end of the ride, the Bengaluru man was asked to pay Rs 1,837 in cab fare. Bhusan contacted Ola's customer service, claiming that air conditioning was included in the fare and requesting a refund from the cab aggregator because it did not work during his trip.

According to media reports, he was informed that he had been charged in accordance with the rate card and that there was no additional charge for air conditioning. 

Bhusan then attempted to contact Bhavish Aggarwal. In emails to Aggarwal, he reiterated that the fare included AC in accordance with the rate and original rental agreement. He also attempted to contact Aggarwal via Twitter, but received no response. 

Bhusan later complained about Ola to the National Consumer Helpline and requested a refund in November 2021. Ola finally admitted in an email that his cab's air conditioning was broken, but refused to refund his fare. Instead, they presented him with a Rs 100 voucher.

This was the final straw for the Bengaluru businessman, who filed a complaint with the Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against Aggarwal.

The judges looked over Bhusan's complaint and observed that, despite the vehicle's broken AC, Ola had received the full amount of Rs 1,837, as the company admitted in the email. The judges said, “Ola is duty-bound to provide all services to customers as promised. In the Bengaluru man's case, they have caused the customer inconvenience and mental agony without providing AC service for the entire trip period of eight hours."

The court ruled in favour of Bhusan and ordered Aggarwal to pay him Rs 10,000 as compensation for his suffering and inconvenience. He was ordered to pay Rs 5,000 for the complainant's legal expenses in addition to returning the full fare of Rs. 1,837 plus interest.