Govt Warns Of Hidden Extra Charges On Online Shopping, Food Delivery Apps: How To Raise A Complaint Instantly

In sales like Flipkart Big Billion Days, Amazon Great Indian Festival, or even while ordering something from Zepto, you must have noticed a pattern where a product is marketed at a discount, but at the

end, after adding all the fees here and there, you end up paying the original price. This comes under a dark pattern that is followed by a number of brands to fool the customers. However, do you know that you also have a solution for the same? The National Consumer Helpline offers you the service to raise a complaint against platforms for these practices. Pretty recently, the government of India has issued a warning related to the drip pricing scam that inflates your final bill even after showing a discount.

What Is Drip Pricing?

Let's make you understand with an example, suppose you see a headphone on an ecommerce platform for Rs 6000 after all the discounts. Now, once you add it to the cart and check out, the price jumps by a couple hundreds or more, that's drip pricing for you. These extra charges are hidden from the users in the first place.

What Are Other Dark Patterns Related To Hidden Extra Charges?

-Your online cart shows a particular price, and when you checkout, then you get additional heavy ones like platform service charge.-GST reductions take place, but the price you are paying for a product doesn't reflect it.-You sign up for a subscription, and then you get to see a processing fee added to the original value.-A promotion deal showing no delivery charge, but in the invoice, you can see the same.Also Read: Investment Scams Are On Rise In India: This Chandigarh Man Loses Over Rs 15 Lakh On Telegram, Tips To Stay Safe

How To Raise A Complaint With the National Consumer Helpline In India?

Raising a complaint on the National Consumer Helpline is no rocket science. You just need to make a call on 1915 and register the complaint against the product and the platform that is showing the drip pricing. By actively complaining against malpractices, you can make sure that the buying experience of yourself and others is seamless.