Uber's "Advanced Tip" Feature For Faster Service Got Government Notice

Uber's new feature, "Advanced Tip," has sparked serious debate on social media, with users accusing the ride-hailing company of forcing them to pay extra money just to get the ride faster before the booking.

And now, after the backlash, the company got an official notice from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA). Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also slammed the move, calling it "unethical and exploitative."

He said, "This kind of feature falls under unfair trade practices and ordered a full investigation. Under this feature, the Uber app asks users to add a tip of Rs 50, Rs 75, or Rs 100 while booking a ride. The app tells users that adding a tip could improve the chances of a driver accepting the trip."

Furthermore, Consumer Affairs Secretary and CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare also said that such practice leads to “exploiting consumer choice.” She added, “This is unfair trade practice and manipulating customer choice. We are keeping an eye on other platforms in this sector that have such features.”

In fact, according to sources, authorities are also looking into similar practices by other platforms such as Rapid and Ola.

Moreover, this is not new; earlier this year, ride-hailing companies, including Uber and Ola, got an official notice over the complaint that they were charging different fares depending on whether customers used an Android or an iPhone device.