The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has fined Ola operator ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd ₹10 lakh and directed the ride-hailing platform to immediately stop soliciting additional payments before the completion of a journey, calling the practice misleading, unfair and a form of dark pattern.
The action concerns Ola’s pre-ride ‘tip’ or ‘add-on’ feature, which prompted consumers to make an additional payment before their rides began. According to the CCPA, the interface created the impression that paying extra could help secure a ride or lead to faster confirmation, although Ola’s own booking data did not support that suggestion.
The Authority noted that ride requests carrying an add-on were accepted less frequently than requests without one. It also pointed to a contradiction in Ola’s position: while the company stated that the additional payment did not affect ride allocation, the app suggested that paying more could improve the chances of obtaining a ride sooner.
The CCPA said consumers were not informed that requests carrying an add-on had lower acceptance rates, nor were they told how the suggested payment amounts were calculated. It held that these omissions amounted to concealment of material information under Section 2(28)(iv) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a post on X that the CCPA’s action was against dark patterns, unfair practices and misleading claims. He said the order reaffirmed the government’s commitment to consumer rights and transparency.
The Authority also rejected the distinction between a ‘tip’ and an ‘add-on’ when the payment was sought before the service was provided. It said a tip is ordinarily a voluntary payment made after completion of a service, while soliciting it before a ride effectively converts a gratuity into a pre-service payment. Renaming the feature did not alter the nature of the practice, the CCPA said.
The action comes against the backdrop of Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicles Aggregators Guidelines, 2025, which provides for a tipping feature only after the completion of a journey. The CCPA said Ola continued to display the pre-ride prompt even after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways clarified on August 11 that such prompts could not be shown before a ride was completed.
The Authority held that the prompts fell within the definition of an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. That provision covers unfair or deceptive methods and false or misleading representations about the benefits or usefulness of a service.
The CCPA further said the interface implied that consumers who did not pay extra could face delays or might not obtain a ride. It classified this as ‘Confirm Shaming’ under the guidelines for prevention of dark patterns, because the design could create a sense of fear around declining the payment. It also raised concerns about pre-set payment amounts displayed below the prompt, saying they anchored consumers to higher figures.
The CCPA has directed Ola to discontinue the practice. The order places the platform’s payment interface under the same consumer-protection scrutiny as the service it facilitates, with the Authority’s directions focused on how urban mobility platforms present choices and additional charges to passengers.
