- Several companies charge extra if a consumer opts for cash-on-delivery, rather than pre-paying for the order
- Dark patterns are tactics used by companies to extract money or data from consumers without them realising
- Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said platforms violating consumer rights will face action
Cracking down on 'dark patterns' employed by e-commerce companies, Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has said firms that charge extra for cash-on-delivery will now face action.
Several companies make consumers pay an extra fee if they opt for the cash-on-delivery option rather than pre-paying for the order online.
Railing against such practices, an X user had, on Wednesday, posted about an experience he had with an e-commerce firm in which he was charged Rs 226 in the name of 'offer handling fee, payment handling fee and protect promise fee'.
"Forget Rain Fee by Zomato/Swiggy/Zepto. See the masterstroke by Flipkart: Offer Handling Fee (for giving me the discount you advertised??); Payment Handling Fee (for letting me pay you??) and Protect Promise Fee (protecting me from what... satisfaction?)," he wrote
"Next up: "Scrolling App Fee"," he joked.
Responding to the post on Friday, Joshi said such practices will be scrutinised and platforms violating consumer rights will face action.
"The Department of Consumer Affairs has received complaints against e-commerce platforms charging extra for Cash-on-Delivery, a practice classified as a dark pattern that misleads and exploits consumers," the minister wrote.
"A detailed investigation has been initiated and steps are being taken to scrutinise these platforms closely. Strict action will be taken against those violating consumer rights to ensure transparency and uphold fair practices in India's growing e-commerce sector," he added.
Dark patterns are tactics used by companies to extract money or data from consumers without them realising
These practices include platforms showing there are only one or two pieces of an item left to speed up a buyer's purchase decision when, in reality, there are several more in stock, or setting a fake time limit - like 'offer expires in 10 minutes' - to achieve the same end.
Using confusing language for fees or making them harder to spot by putting them at the very end of a long list also qualifies as a dark pattern.
The Centre has earlier called meetings with e-commerce companies to ask them to desist from such practices and is working on legislation to fix the problem.
Consumers can also report such practices on the Jagriti app.
