If you have ever waited for more than 5 minutes just for a Rapido auto after seeing their “Auto in 5 minutes or Get ₹50” promise, you’re not alone, we all have been there. And now, Rapido is facing the heat.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has slamed Raapido with a ₹10 lakh fine on the ride-hailing platform for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. The action comes after Rapido’s claims like “Guaranteed Auto” and the ₹50 cashback promise were found to be false, misleading, and unfair to customers.
In a strong move to protect consumers, the CCPA has also directed Rapido to reimburse users who were eligible for the ₹50 compensation but never received it.
So if you’ve been short-changed by one of these offers, you might just be entitled to a refund. This serves as a timely reminder that catchy marketing needs to be backed by real service, or it could cost companies dearly.
Here’s Why Rapido Got Penalised By CCPA
Rapido is in hot water, and here’s exactly why:
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Spike in Complaints: Between June 2024 and July 2025, complaints against Rapido more than doubled, hitting 1,224 compared to just 575 in the 14 months before.
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Tiny, Hard-to-Read Disclaimers: The CCPA found that Rapido’s ads had crucial disclaimers in tiny, almost unreadable fonts, making it hard for users to understand the actual terms.
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₹50? Not Really: That promised “₹50” wasn’t real money. It was actually Rapido coins, valid only for bike rides, capped at ₹50, and expired within 7 days. Not quite the deal users expected.
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Dodging Responsibility: While the ads boldly promised a guaranteed auto in 5 minutes, the fine print claimed the offer was from individual drivers, not Rapido itself — a clear attempt to shift the blame.
All of this added up to a ₹10 lakh penalty and a strong message from the consumer watchdog.
“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 in a statement.
According to the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements 2022, disclaimers cannot contradict main claims or conceal material information. The CCPA said Rapido’s advertisements violated these requirements by exempting key limitations without equal prominence.
What People Are Complaining About Rapido
- while booking, Sometimes, autos don’t come on time or don’t show up at all.
- even after raising complaints, Lots of people didn’t get their money back even when they were supposed to.
- After the ride ends, Sometimes the price vary and some customers say they got charged more than what was told.
- The promise of “Auto in 5 minutes or Get ₹50” didn’t happen for many, and they were left stranded.
- Many tried to tell Rapido about these problems, but Rapido didn’t fix them, and the customer service was rated poor.
Rapido took advantage and ran this confusing and misleading campaign advertisement for more than a year, in over 120 cities and in different languages, this made it worse as alot of people got affected with that.
To Prevent Confusion, the CCPA urged consumers to be cautious about advertisements making “guaranteed” or “assured” promises without clear conditions. The authority has ordered Rapido to discontinue the misleading advertisements immediately.
(Note: Consumers facing misleading advertisements can call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 or use the NCH app or website to file complaints.)
Aishwarya is a journalism graduate with over three years of experience thriving in the buzzing corporate media world. She’s got a knack for decoding business news, tracking the twists and turns of the stock market, covering the masala of the entertainment world, and sometimes her stories come with just the right sprinkle of political commentary. She has worked with several organizations, interned at ZEE and gained professional skills at TV9 and News24, And now is learning and writing at NewsX, she’s no stranger to the newsroom hustle. Her storytelling style is fast-paced, creative, and perfectly tailored to connect with both the platform and its audience. Moto: Approaching every story from the reader’s point of view, backing up her insights with solid facts.
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