As per an order issued by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of South Goa, Aggarwal didn’t show up for a scheduled hearing on February 4
The case pertains to a complaint filed against Ola Electric in 2024 after the complainant’s escooter went missing from service centre
The recent order has added to mounting pressures on the electric two-wheeler maker over abysmal after-sales services
A bailable arrest warrant has been issued against Ola Electric founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of South Goa.
As per the order issued on February 4, Aggarwal didn’t show up for a scheduled hearing on the day, pertaining to a complaint filed against Ola Electric in 2024.
As per the complaint filed by Pritesh Chandrakant Ghadi, an Ola Electric scooter was submitted for repair at the Vasco service centre of the company. However, the two-wheeler has since disappeared, with the company unable to track its whereabouts, according to submissions made by Ghadi during an earlier hearing in the case in January.
“It is necessary to call upon the CEO and founder of Ola Electric Ltd, Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal, to remain present in person to clarify the whereabouts of the said bike and to explain why the same has not been reported and delivered after the necessary request made by the complainant,” an order issued by the Commission in January read.
However, Aggarwal failed to appear at the next hearing set on February 4, leading to the Commission issuing a bailable arrest warrant against Aggarwal, through the Bengaluru Police, with bail set at ₹1,47,499 “with one surety in like amount” to be posted at the Kormangala station.
The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for February 23. The matter was first heard by the court in April 2024.
A questionnaire sent by Inc42 to Ola Electric remained unanswered till the time of publishing this story.
Ola Electric has been embroiled in a host of legal and regulatory issues for the past few years. In July last year, a complaint was filed in Haryana against the company for allegedly trying to sell a customer a defective scooter. When the Ola Electric dealership refused to refund the amount and insisted on the customer taking possession of the defective two-wheeler, the consumer approached the court which directed the company to refund the customer.
Mounting Pressure On Ola Electric
Especially troublesome has been Ola Electric’s track record of abysmal after-sales servicing. Thousands of consumer complaints have been filed against the company over the issue, also drawing the ire of policymakers and watchdogs. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued a show cause notice to the company in 2024 over alleged violations of consumer rights, misleading advertisements, and unfair trade practices.
It was also alleged at the time that thousands of the company’s showrooms were operating without the necessary trade licenses, leading to raids in stores located in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
In November, the Goa government suspended registrations of the company’s scooters on the VAHAN portal due to consumer complaints regarding lack of service support and prolonged repair delays.
To address the after-sales service issues, Ola Electric launched “HyperService” to offer “one-day resolution”. The programme has now been expanded to over 80% of service requests nationwide, as per the company.
In its shareholders’ letter yesterday, the company acknowledged the after-sales service execution gaps, and said these issues eroded brand trust for prospective customers. However, it claimed that the service backlogs have nearly halved, with about 80% of tickets now resolved the same day under the ‘Hyperservice’ initiative.
The customer complaints resulted in the once poster child of automobile electrification in the country seeing its share in the electric two-wheeler market steadily decline over the past year. Registrations remained below 10,000 units for a third consecutive month in January as the company slipped to the fifth position in terms of monthly sales, according to VAHAN data.
On the financial front, the company’s loss narrowed 14% during the December quarter to ₹487 Cr from ₹564 Cr in the year-ago quarter. However, this came at the cost of its top line, as operating revenue plunged 55% YoY and 32% QoQ to ₹470 Cr.
Comments are closed.