New Delhi: Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday that Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued a notice to Uber, a major cab aggregator for nudging users to pay an advance tip so that they can get quicker services. He described the the practice of nudging to give advance tips as worrisome and termed it “unethical” and “exploitative”.
While the CCPA is under the purview of the Consumer Affairs ministry, Uber did not give any immediate response on the matter. Joshi took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle and wrote, “The practice of ‘Advance Tip’ is deeply concerning. Forcing or nudging users to pay a tip in advance, for faster service is unethical and exploitative. Such actions fall under unfair trade practices. Tip is given as a token of appreciation not as a matter of right, after the service.” He also wrote, “Taking cognisance of this, I had asked CCPA to look into it and today CCPA has issued a notice to @Uber in this regard, seeking explanation from the platform.”
The practice of ‘Advance Tip’ is deeply concerning. Forcing or nudging users to pay a tip in advance, for faster service is unethical and exploitative. Such actions fall under unfair trade practices. Tip is given as a token of appreciation not as a matter of right, after the… pic.twitter.com/WaPH26oT9G
— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) May 21, 2025
Joshi said that every customer transaction must be fair, transparent, and should come with accountability. To those who are uninitiated, the Uber app is offering its user trying to book a cab to pay a tip of either Rs 50, Rs 75 or Rs 100 so that they get faster confirmation and pick-up. The message from Uber reads, “Add a tip for faster pickup. A driver may be more likely to accept this ride if you add a top.”
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The app cab aggregator claimed that the driver get the entirety of the tip and if someone adds a tip, then the person cannot change it later. In January, the CCPA issued notices to Uber and Ola, another major app cab aggregator over allegations of differential pricing for identical rides based on the kind of mobile operating systems that the user was using, Android or iOS. On January 23, Joshi wrote in a post on X, “As a follow-up to the earlier observation of apparent #DifferentialPricing based on the different models of mobiles (#iPhones/ #Android) being used, Department of Consumer Affairs through the CCPA has issued notices to major cab aggregators #Ola and #Uber, seeking their responses.” However, both Ola and Uber denied the charges.
