Centre sends notice to Ola, Uber over different pricing for iPhone, Android commuters

New Delhi, Jan 23 Leading taxi aggregators Ola and Uber have been served notices by the Department of Consumer Affairs over differential pricing for the Android and iPhone commuters, seeking responses from the online cab-hailing platforms, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, said on Thursday.

Minister Joshi said in a post on X social media platform that the Department, through the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued notices to these cab aggregators.

“As a follow-up to the earlier observation of apparent differential pricing based on different models of mobiles - iPhone/Android - being used, Department of Consumer Affairs, through the CCPA, has issued notices to major cab aggregators Ola and Uber, seeking their responses,” the minister noted.

Uber and Ola have been directed to respond to the notices issued by the Department.

In another post, the minister said that after receiving complaints on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) regarding performance issues in iPhones following the iOS 18+ software update, “the Department, after examining these grievances, has issued a notice to Apple through the CCPA, seeking a response on the matter”.

Last month, Minister Joshi requested the CCPA to carry out a comprehensive inquiry and had warned the affected companies that there would be "zero tolerance for consumer exploitation." If differential pricing was used, he claimed it was a "blatant disregard" for the rights of customers.

"This, prima facie, looks like unfair trade practice where the cab-aggregators are alleged to be using differential pricing based on the factors mentioned in the article below. If so, this is blatant disregard for consumers' rights to know," he posted on X.

The Union Minister also ordered investigations into other industries, like online ticketing apps and food delivery, to determine whether any comparable problems were reported.

Social media was abuzz last month over cab aggregators charging different prices for users, with the prices being higher for people using iPhones to book their services.