Goa govt suspends sale of Ola electric scooters as complaints rise
The Goa government has also issued show cause notices to Ola Electric as to why their trade certificate should not be cancelled or suspended
PANAJI: The Goa government has suspended the VAHAN registration of the Ola Electric vehicles and has issued a show cause notice to the company asking to explain why its trade certificate should not be cancelled, after frustrated buyers approached the department alleging lack of after sales service, unavailability of spare parts and a pile up of unserviced scooters at the Goa service centre, the state’s director of transport P Abhishek, said on Tuesday.
“We have taken note of all the hardships that the customers are facing and we have currently blocked their VAHAN registration and we have also issued show cause notices as to why their trade certificate should not be cancelled or suspended,” Abhishek said.
Suspension of the VAHAN registration means that dealerships cannot register the sale of new vehicles within the state of Goa.
The department received more than 20 complaints from buyers of the vehicle, who had begun to hold protests against the company for failing to service their vehicles.
“Last year also this kind of an incident happened in Goa wherein several Ola scooters were left unattended due to want of spare parts, delays in maintenance, etc. So in November last year, we suspended their trade certificate and conducted a hearing in which they assured us that this instance will not happen. But it is unfortunate that a year later a similar kind of incident has happened,” Abhishek said, adding that the department is also assisting buyers of the scooter in filing cases in the consumer court against the company.
Ola Electric didn’t immediately respond to requests for a comment concerning the regulatory action in Goa.
However, officials of the company met the Goa Transport Department and assured they were working to clear the backlog of unrepaired scooters and ensure availability of spare parts.
“Representatives of Ola scooters have also come and met me. They have informed me that they’ve increased the staff strength by almost eight times. They’ve also brought in spare parts to clear all the pendency that is there in several locations in Goa. I will take stock of the situation only by the end of this week, by sending the RTOs concerned for inspection and only when the department is fully satisfied that they have taken all measures to address all the concerns of the customers then we will consider revoking the suspension,” Abhishek said.
