New Delhi, Aug 21: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10,00,000 on online ride-hailing platform Rapido (Roppen Transportation Services) for publishing misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices.

The regulator also directed Rapido to ensure that all consumers who availed the “Auto in 5 min or get Rs 50” offer receive the promised Rs 50 “amount in full without any further delay or condition".

The directive comes as the CCPA took cognisance of the misleading advertisements of Rapido that promised consumers “Auto in 5 min or get Rs 50” and “Guaranteed Auto”, which often tend to be false, misleading, and unfair to consumers.

The regulator also directed Rapido to discontinue the misleading advertisements with immediate effect.

As per data from the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), there have been 575 complaints against Rapido between April 2023 and May 2024, and 1,224 complaints between June 2024 and July 2025.

The investigation led by the CCPA found that “not only was the disclaimer 'Terms and Conditions Apply’ in Rapido’s advertisements displayed in extremely small and unreadable font, but the promised Rs 50 benefit was compensated in 'Rapido coins' and not in actual currency".

These coins could only be redeemed against Rapido bike rides and carried a validity of just seven days.

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Further, while the advertisement prominently claimed, “Auto in 5 min or get Rs 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," the CCPA said.

It also created an impression that consumers would invariably receive Rs 50 if the auto was not provided within 5 minutes.

However, the material limitation that the benefit was restricted to ‘up to Rs 50’, and that too only in the form of Rapido coins with a short validity, was either omitted or not disclosed with equal prominence.

"This concealment and lack of clarity rendered the advertisement deceptive," the CCPA said.

Rapido operates in over 120 cities, and the misleading advertisement was actively run for nearly 1.5 years (around 548 days) in multiple regional languages across the country.

CCPA urged "consumers to be cautious about advertisements that make tall promises or use phrases like 'guaranteed' or 'assured' without explaining the conditions".

Consumers facing any issues of misleading advertisements or unfair trade practices can call the National Consumer Helpline (1915) or use the NCH App or website to file complaints.

(IANS)

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