Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal engaged in an online spat with comedian Kunal Kamra this Sunday. The company’s shares fell 9% on Monday as angry customers flooded social media. Issues do not seem to go away anytime soon for Ola Electric. The electric vehicle manufacturer has received a show-cause notice from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) against poor conditions at its service centres across the country.
Ola Electric shares further dopped 6% at Rs 85.21 on BSE today.
What the notice against Ola Electric says
According to reports, CCPA has taken cognisance of thousands of complaints against Ola Electric which are growing by the day. The National Consumer Helpline, managed by the Department of Consumer Affairs, has registered 10,644 complaints against Ola e-scooters from September 1, 2023, to August 30, 2024. Of these, 3,389 relate to service delays, 1,899 pertain to delays in the delivery of new vehicles, and 1,459 involve unfulfilled promised services.
The show-cause notice points to user complaints such as manufacturing defects, partial or no refunds on booking cancellations, recurring defects despite servicing, overcharging, inaccurate invoices, and multiple issues with batteries and vehicle components.
As per the notice, the Bhavish Aggarwal-run EV company is required to respond to the notice within 15 days of receipt.
Confirming the extent of complaints related to Ola Electric, Nidhi Khare, Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, said “The CCPA is looking into a large number of complaints about Ola Electric, mainly related to service inefficiencies. We hope the company addresses these concerns promptly and resolves the issues faced by consumers.”
Bhavish Aggarwal vs Kunal Kamra
Last week, kamra raised concerns about the service centre situation of the company’s electric scooters in a post on X. Sharing an image depicting a large number of EV scooters being parked at an Ola service centre, he wrote “Do indian consumers have a voice? Do they deserve this? Two wheelers are many daily wage workers lifeline…”
Kamra’s post got a reply from CEO Bhavish Aggarwal who said that it is a paid post and that Kamra can ‘come and help’.
“Since you care so much @kunalkamra88, come and help us out! I’ll even pay more than you earned for this paid tweet or from your failed comedy career. Or else sit quiet and let us focus on fixing the issues for the real customers. We’re expanding service network fast and backlogs will be cleared soon.”
Also read: Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal to Kunal Kamra: ‘I’ll even pay more than you earned…’