KOCHI: The Ernakulam Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered an electric scooter manufacturer to pay Rs 1.5 lakh as compensation for failing to deliver a pre-booked scooter on time.

The ruling came in response to a complaint filed by Neenu Saseendran, a resident of Aluva, against Ola Electric Technologies, Bengaluru.

According to the complaint, Neenu Saseendran booked an Ola S1 electric scooter in October 2021 by paying an advance amount. On March 17, 2022, Ola Electric informed her via email that the payment window was open, but the Ola S1 model had been discontinued. She was offered the upgraded Ola S1 Pro, which was within her budget. She then made the full payment of Rs 1,15,332, inclusive of the booking amount.

After completing all procedures, including order confirmation and document verification, the company provided an estimated delivery date. Based on this, Neenu Saseendran sold her existing petrol scooter. Despite multiple follow-ups, the scooter was not delivered. On May 12, 2022, Neenu Saseendran’s husband received a call from someone claiming to be from Ola, demanding an additional Rs 30,000 for delivery.

Sensing something suspicious, he disconnected the call and contacted Ola’s customer support. To their surprise, the company confirmed that no delivery would be made unless the additional payment was made.

Dissatisfied with Ola’s explanation, the complainant approached the commission, seeking the delivery of the vehicle and compensation for the mental stress and financial loss caused by the company’s service failure and unfair trade practices.

Ola Electric argued that a technical error on their website had incorrectly displayed the amount payable as Rs 1,15,332 instead of Rs 1,45,692. Once the error was identified, the company informed Saseendran about the remaining Rs 30,360. Despite this, she refused to pay the balance or cancel the order for a full refund.

The Commission ruled that Ola’s argument was unacceptable and directed the company to refund Rs 1,15,332 along with nine per cent interest for the non-delivery. Additionally, Rs 25,000 was awarded as compensation for the mental agony, emotional distress, and financial hardship caused by the delay and miscommunication, along with Rs 10,000 as the cost of the proceedings. The company was given 45 days to comply with the order.