After the news broke that oBike was closing, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) directed customers to file their complaints with the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE). And complain, they did.
Over just a 24-hour period, CASE received 259 complaints against the bike sharing company, according to a post on their Facebook page. That’s nearly 10 times the number of complaints against oBike for all of 2018. Obviously, most of the calls were from people seeking information about getting their deposits refunded.
You see, to start using oBike’s service, one will have to deposit $49 (or $19 if you’re a student) within their app — to ensure user responsibility, according to the company.
But with the sudden decision to pack up and leave the country, it seems like oBike is (allegedly) absconding with all our deposits. Users are finding it really, really hard to start the refunding process. According to online chatter, the button to get deposits refunded mysteriously disappeared. Even if one did manage to tap it, nothing would happen. It was so maddening that someone started a petition about the issue. Over in Australia, oBike users in Melbourne found that their deposits were mysteriously converted into long-term subscription plans without their knowledge.
“CASE is deeply concerned about the abrupt decision by oBike to cease operations in Singapore and its failure to provide clarity to consumers about their deposit paid and/or membership purchased,” they said in their Facebook post. The post also said that CASE has reached out to oBike for information about their plans to issue the refunds they owe and will update the public accordingly.
The case against CASE
Here’s the thing. CASE is just a non-governmental organization that acts as a watchdog and has no legislative powers at all. In the past, critics have called CASE “toothless”, capable of simply sending strongly-worded warnings to errant businesses without having the authority to actually penalize them.
Then there’s the other issue about mandatory fees people need to fork out to even lodge a complaint. Here’s the process of getting your complaint heard, handled and resolved by CASE.
- If you are not a member of CASE, you’ll have to sign up as one. “This is to establish a relationship between the association and you, so that we can follow up on the dispute on your behalf.”
- Apply for the type of membership you want. You could be paying $26.75 to $32.10 a year, or plop down $428 for a lifetime membership.
- There’s an administration charge too. Since we’re disputing over a $49 deposit refund, the administration fee for claiming an amount below $5,000 is $10.70.
- A CASE officer will help to correspond with the errant retailer or company on your behalf. If that doesn’t produce any satisfactory result, the officer will simply “advise you on your available options, such as mediation, going to Small Claims Tribunals or other legal options”.
So on top of the $49 you might have lost, you’ll have to fork out another $26.75 to get your complaint heard by CASE and another $10.70 in administration fees. Altogether, it’s an extra $37.45 without the promise of getting one’s claim resolved. Even if you do get back the deposit, is the $11.55 remaining really worth all the hassle? Is this going to be a pyrrhic victory?
It’s something that already irate oBike customers are getting even more incensed about.
At this point in time, we’re sorry to say that all our attempts to get our refunds honored will come to nothing. According to legal information platform SingaporeLegalAdvice.com, end users like us are at the bottom of the rung when it comes to oBike paying its outstanding debts during the liquidation process.
