Many consumers reported problems such as poor service quality, non-refunds, overcharging, and failure to honour the guaranteed 5-minute auto arrival.
The ride-hailing company Rapido has been slapped with a Rs 10 lakh penalty by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) due to misleading advertising practices. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs said on August 21, 2025, that Rapido must also compensate customers who availed the “Auto in 5 minutes or Get Rs 50” offer but never received the promised refund. This follows an investigation revealing that Rapido’s claims of “Guaranteed Auto” and “Auto in 5 min or get Rs 50” were misleading and false.
According to the Ministry, “CCPA took cognisance of the misleading advertisements of Rapido that promised consumers “AUTO IN 5 MIN OR GET Rs 50” and “Guaranteed Auto”. After detailed examination, CCPA has held these advertisements to be false, misleading and unfair to consumers and has directed to discontinue the misleading advertisements with immediate effect.”
It added: “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.”
Data from the National Consumer Helpline shows complaints against Rapido surged to 1,224 between June 2024 and July 2025, up from 575 in the previous year. Many consumers reported problems such as poor service quality, non-refunds, overcharging, and failure to honour the guaranteed 5-minute auto arrival. Despite raising these issues with Rapido, most customers did not receive resolutions.