An Uber user from Delhi recently won a case against the ride-hailing app after it failed to provide him a cab on time, causing him to miss his flight. Uber was directed to pay compensation of Rs 54,000 to the complainant in the case addressed by the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The complaint was filed in 2022 after the user missed his flight because the booked Uber cab did not arrive, which the court termed ‘deficiency in service’ and cited the company’s lack of accountability.

The incident reportedly took place in November 2022 when Upendra Singh had booked an Uber cab at 3:15 am to reach Delhi airport for a flight to Indore. But despite the booking, no cab arrived at the scheduled time and as per the Times of India report, repeated attempts by Singh to contact the company went unanswered.

Facing delays, Singh and his wife decided to hire a local taxi and despite all the delays they reached the airport at 5:15 am, however, by then, the couple had missed their flight. The missed flight further disrupted his travel plans, leaving him only a brief window to spend time with family in Indore, as his return ticket to Delhi was already booked.

Frustrated with Uber’s lack of response, Singh took the matter forward by sending a legal notice to the company on November 23, 2022. However, no response was received to the notice either, following which he was forced to file a formal complaint with the Delhi District Consumer Commission. The district commission has now ruled in Singh’s favor in the case and held Uber responsible for “deficiency in service”, reports Hindustan Times. Uber later appealed against this decision in the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. However, the state commission upheld the earlier decision, emphasizing that Uber neither gave any satisfactory explanation for its failure nor produced evidence to justify the omission.

In its November 11 order, the Commission remarked: “As a service provider facilitating the transportation process, the Appellant (Uber) has an obligation to ensure that the services are provided without any delay or inconvenience. His inability to fulfill this responsibility constitutes a clear deficiency in service, and the Appellant should be held accountable for the consequential loss caused to the Complainant.”

The court has ordered Uber to pay compensation to Singh including Rs 24,100 for financial loss and inconvenience and an additional Rs 30,000 to cover mental distress and legal costs during the process. Note, Uber has not yet commented publicly on the decision.