How much was your last Grab fare? Have you checked if you've been refunded already?
Last week, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) ordered Grab Philippines to pay a fine of P23.45 million and refund its passengers a sum of P5 million for allegedly violating its commitment to regulate prices and improve its service quality, according to a report by Business Mirror.
This week, Grab Philippines president Brian Cu said that the company “has no liability to pay any fine.” Cu clarified that Grab’s fare matrix is based on the schedule set by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). However, that does not mean that it will not pay the fine or refund passengers, said Cu in the Business Mirror report.
“We complied with our regulator but in the interest of showing good faith, we will comply with the PCC although clearly we could have filed a motion for reconsideration or appealed to a higher authority, which we did not since we want to focus on our business instead,” he said.
How Passengers Will Be Refunded
Grab was directed to refund passengers through their accounts using its mobile wallet GrabPay. “To kick off the refund system, the disgorgement mechanism shall be applied on the third-quarter fine, with Grab being ordered to refund P5.05 million to affected riders,” said PCC chairman Arsenio Balisacan in a press conference. Grab has 60 days to implement to refunds.
In a report by CNN Philippines, Cu said that around three million Grab users who booked rides in February to May will be refunded using rebates through GrabPay. These refunds will be from P1 to P100 depending on the number of trips the passengers booked.
