HOODWINKED IN APP-VERSE

Chandra Ramanujan’s father is a man in his late 60s. One day in December last year, Ramanujan’s father wanted to get his hair cut. He reached for his phone, logged into home services app Urban Company, and saw a haircut would cost him ₹449 excluding taxes. Without thinking much, he placed a request. And minutes later, he realised he had been charged ₹752. Confused, he checked the app again only to discover that not only will he get his hair cut, but he is also now the owner of a six-month subscription to UC Plus, Urban Company’s premium offering, a service Ramanujan’s father had no intention of buying.
“This is basket sneaking and is illegal,” an outraged Chandra Ramanujan, a product designer by profession, wrote on X, after getting to know how his father had been hoodwinked by what he called ‘one of the worst dark patterns’ he had ever seen. Urban Company’s director of design Amit Jaglan wrote back to Ramanujan on the same X thread acknowledging the issue and said the company would resolve the problem within a week.
Sanskriti Dalmia, 22, was working as a content writer in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. In February this year, she found a job that allowed her to work from home. She was packing up her things and wanted to end her Wi-Fi subscription. She thought she could just end the subscription on the Airtel app.
“The app does not have an option to close the subscription. I got in touch with customer care over the phone and email, but nothing helped,” she says. She visited one of the stores of the telecom major. “At the store, the customer care representative said: ‘You will get a call to try to convince you to keep it [the subscription]. You tell them you do not want to. Then, after seven days, someone will come and pick up the modem'.”
Airtel refused to comment on the matter.
That Sneaky Add-On
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2024-Ausgabe von Outlook Business.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2024-Ausgabe von Outlook Business.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Driving Towards Sustainable Mobility
As India transitions into the era of cleaner and more sustainable mobility solutions, it has become imperative for automakers to do more than just electrify their line-up.

A Historic Blunder
A ceasefire has been announced post-Operation Sindoor that destroyed nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), its air defence infrastructure and other military bases.

‘India serves as a testing ground for scalable solutions’
Swetha Ramdas, principal, APAC sustainability, Amazon tells Sudipto Dey in an email interview that the company is delivering orders with reduced or no packaging in over 300 cities in India. Edited excerpts

Third Time's A Charm?
As payments and lending lose their sheen, fintechs are betting on broking and wealth management as their next engines of growth

NSIC has been imparting skill training amongst aspiring entrepreneurs
National Small Industries Corporation’s CMD Subhransu Sekhar Acharya tells Outlook Business how the organisation is helping MSMEs grow. Edited excerpts:

War will affect India's attraction as an FDI destination
Ajit Ranade, senior fellow at Pune International Centre, tells Pushpita Dey that it is in India's interes to contain border conflicts. Edited excerpts

Building Blocks of a Circular Economy
Across our planet, the consumption of finite natural resources is placing a large strain on the environment, with changing geopolitical dynamics adding new dimensions to the challenge.

Mankind Gets A Booster Dose
The pharma company under Sheetal Arora is looking to increase its footprint on foreign soil by leveraging its recent acquisitions and increasing investments in R&D

Our Tier-II and Tier-III cities present youthful demographics and cost-efficient operations
Ekroop Caur, secretary, Department of Electronics, Government of Karnataka in an email interview with Shruti Tripathi discusses the state's vision to strengthen the digital ecosystem. Edited excerpts:

Taste of Tradition
An iconic sweet shop from Pune is defying the three-generation rule to scale up the business and take its products global