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iPhone users have little hope of price parity

Hyderabad:The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued notices to cab aggregators Ola and Uber for alleged differential pricing for identical rides based on the user's mobile operating system such as Android or iOS.

The issue was brought to the notice of the government by cab users, who proved using a series of experiments that Ola and Uber charge different prices for the Android and IOS users.

In spite of the notice, IOS users continued to be victims of indifferent pricing as of 9 pm.

Reacting to the order by the Centr, a city resident and IOS user, Priyanka told Deccan Chronicle, “I only have hopes to be honest. Because I know for a fact that it will not be implemented so soon. These companies will react to notices; there will be legal battles, and maybe then us iPhone users will breathe a sigh of relief. Just as much as I hate this price parity, I do not have high hopes of it changing soon.”

Another resident, Nafisa, said, “For this very reason, I never took Ola or Uber. I take other local cab aggregators. They take less time to arrive for most part. Well here I could escape, but as an IOS user, I am forced to pay more on almost every application.”

Another resident, Khushboo said, "I used to feel like I was being penalised for being an IOS user, maybe now..no more."

City residents have also complained about a price difference with respect to the available battery levels. Netizens experimented how higher prices are shown in two different devices with the same account logged into them. Lower battery means higher prices. Many attributed the tactic to the aggregators’ psyche that a person with less battery and urgency might be ready to pay more for a ride.

Many city residents have also seen applications like Flipkart play the same tactic of charging higher prices for iPhone users.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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