"Advance Tip For Booking Cabs Unethical": Pralhad Joshi Sends Notice To Uber

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued a notice to major cab aggregator Uber for nudging users to pay an advance tip to avail quicker services, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday said.

Mr Joshi said the practice of "Advance Tip" is worrisome and termed it "unethical" and "exploitative".

The CCPA falls under the consumer affairs ministry. There was no immediate response from Uber on the matter.

In a post on X, Mr Joshi said: "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 added: "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 minister said that fairness, transparency and accountability must be upheld in all customer interactions.

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

While trying to book a ride on the Uber app, the user is given a choice to pay a tip of either Rs 50, Rs 75 or Rs 100 for a faster confirmation and pick-up. 

"Add a tip for faster pickup. A driver may be more likely to accept this ride if you add a top," the message by the cab aggregator shows.

It also says that the driver receives 100% of the tip. "If you add a tip now, you can't change it later," it says.

Earlier in January, the CCPA had issued notices to Uber and another cab aggregator, Ola, over allegations of differential pricing for identical rides based on users' mobile operating systems - Android or iOS. 

"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," Mr Joshi had said on X on January 23. 

Both Uber and Ola, however, denied the charges and said they do not set fares based on a user's phone model.