- by koyel majhi
- 2025-01-17 07:19:45
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The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Thursday ordered Rapido to pay a penalty of Rs 10 lakh for publishing misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices.
Ride-hailing service Rapido has been fined ₹10 lakh by the consumer protection watchdog CCPA for misleading advertising practices, further directing the company to reimburse customers who used the company's "Auto in 5 minutes or Get ₹50" offer but did not get the promised reimbursement, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a release on Thursday, August 21, 2025.
The action comes after rapido's advertisements, which promised "Auto in 5 minutes or Get ₹50" and "Guaranteed Auto," were examined and found to be false and misleading to consumers.
“CCPA took cognizance of the misleading advertisements of Rapido that promised consumers “AUTO IN 5 MIN OR GET ₹50” and “Guaranteed Auto”. After detailed examination, CCPA has held these advertisements to be false, misleading and unfair to consumers and has directed to discontinue the misleading advertisements with immediate effect,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs noted.
It further added, “while the advertisement prominently claimed “Auto in 5 min or get ₹50”, the Terms and Conditions stated that the guarantee was being offered by individual captains and not by Rapido itself. This contradictory stance attempted to shift liability away from the company, misleading consumers about the very assurance made in the advertisement.”
According to data from the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), the complaints against Rapido rose rapidly to 1,224 from June 2024 to July 2025. From April 2023 to May 2024, the total complaints stood at 575.
NCH has received an increasing number of complaints from consumers against Rapido. Many of these grievances concern service deficiencies, non-refund of payments, overcharging, failure to deliver promised services, and the non-fulfilment of the guaranteed “5-minute” service. The steady rise in such complaints indicates a broader pattern of consumer dissatisfaction. Most of these grievances remain unresolved despite being communicated to Rapido, the Ministry said.
Additionally, the CCPA probe noted that fonts displayed on Rapido's were extremely small, while the promised ₹50 benefit was not actual currency but "Rapido coins" worth “up to ₹50.” These coins could only be used for bike rides and expired in seven days.
"Such restrictions materially reduced the value of the offer and effectively compelled consumers to use another service from Rapido within an unreasonably short time," the ministry said.
CCPA has instructed Rapido to discontinue the misleading advertisements immediately.
Consumer experts said the CCPA’s action sends a strong message for accountability in the rapidly growing online mobility sector. “Such misleading campaigns not only undermine consumer trust but also distort competition. Strict enforcement is necessary to ensure platforms are transparent about their services,” said Ashim Sanyal, CEO of Consumer Voice, a consumer rights advocacy organisation.
