GRAB Philippines will start giving refunds, which start at P1, to select Grab passengers on Dec. 31 as ordered by the country’s competition watchdog.
In a statement, Grab Philippines said the total refund of P19.2 million is being distributed to select passengers in compliance with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) order.
The company said the total computed administrative penalty of P5.05 million will be “proportionately distributed to GrabCar riders who took GrabCar in Metro Manila from 10 Feb. to 10 May 2019.”
Another penalty of P14.15 million will be “proportionately distributed to GrabCar riders who took GrabCar in Metro Manila from 11 May to 10 Aug. 2019,” it added.
Grab Philippines said a total of 2.7 million passengers for the February to May period are eligible for disbursement. Around 2.8 million passengers for the May to August period may receive refunds.
“Select riders with total fares of every P1,200 from 10 Feb. until 10 May 2019, and of every P450 from 11 May until 10 August 2019 will be eligible for P1 to the GrabPay Wallet for each of the relevant periods,” it added.
The PCC had fined the company some P23.45 million for breaching its initial pricing commitments. The penalty includes a P5.05-million refund to Grab riders who used the service between February and May.
Last week, the PCC slapped Grab again with a new set of fines including P14.15 million for pricing deviations and P2 million for driver cancellations of 7.76% of rides, instead of the 5% ceiling.
Grab said that it continues to comply with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) fare matrix, which takes into consideration the time and distance travelled by the customer.
The PCC said Grab’s pricing commitment is separate and independent from the LTFRB fare matrix. — Arjay L. Balinbin
