Company maintains that it will only charge those who book through the call centre, though say they will remove the reference from their website

No clarity on Meru's convenience charge

Company maintains that it will only charge those who book through the call centre, though say they will remove the reference from their website

After MiD DAY published about Meru Cabs collecting a 'convenience charge' from customers who book through their call centre, the Transport Department has asked service not to do so.

Joint Commissioner Transport (Enforcement) D Vijay Vikram said, "After the article was published I had asked our officials to talk to them and have asked to issue a show-cause notice the service. But yesterday, the company's VP had come to meet me and has given a written explanation. He said that it was done to encourage web bookings.u00a0 He also said that they would remove the reference from their website."

According to the Motor Vehicle Act, no one is allowed to charge any such extra charges from the customers or unless it is mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). No other taxi services collect such charges from the customers.

"Unless and until a proposal is submitted to the Department and taken the approval they are not supposed to collect any extra charges from the customers. This is illegal and they were not supposed to do so," said Vikram.
An official said that Meru had started collecting convenience charge from the customers to make do for the huge amount they have invested in networking.

A Meru Cabs official said that they have a dedicated call centre for which they have invested a lot.
A spokesperson from the cab company said, "We have not hiked the fare, but we are charging a 'convenience charge' for those who book through our call center. If booked online, for street pick-up or booked at the Airport, there is no extra charge. We have spent a lot to set up our hi-tech call center." He added, "We are in touch with the Karnataka State Transport Department."

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