1. Does the service provider (taxi aggregator or carrier, car sharing operator) have the right to collect money from the linked bank card without my further consent? How can I protect myself from punishments that in my opinion are not reasonable (fines, commissions, erroneous payments)?
Answer: The terms of the contracts for the use of taxis, carsharing and other services that contain the consent of retention (withholding of funds to ensure payment) and/or direct debit of funds for the service received from the bank card attached to the account of the user have given their consent in advance for the transfer of funds.
The inclusion of such a condition in the contract does not present evidence of a violation of consumer rights, provided that the following conditions are met:
a) an acceptance given in advance, as an element of a contractual obligation, is the freely expressed consent of the payer (in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 432 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Articles 438 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, 421 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
b) the acceptance given in advance contains an indication of the amount of the acceptance or the procedure for determining it, information about the recipient of funds who has the right to submit instructions to the payer’s bank account.
There are currently no mechanisms in the law to limit prior consent or to give the consumer a choice of which transactions are subject to such consent. Therefore, using the service means that the consumer accepts the risk of debiting certain amounts (provided for by the contract) from his bank account.
We recommend that you contact the service you are interested in with a request to provide full information on what kind of debits are possible from the “linked” card, clarify the amount of fines, as well as information on whether payment for the service will be debited. (and in what quantity) if the user rejects it. In accordance with Article 32 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, in case of refusal of service (at any stage), the contractor has the right to withhold from the consumer his actually confirmed expenses (that is, the part of the canon that compensates the contractor’s expenses for its provision).
2. I cannot use the corresponding services if I refuse to “link” my bank card with the electronic service. Is it legit?
Answer: Yes, legally. The service provider has the right to organize its technological processes in such a way that it is the presence of a card “linked” to the service that gives the consumer access to all or some of the functionalities of the electronic service (website, mobile application or other software).
3. Is the taxi aggregator responsible for transportation safety? For a car delivered on time? Because of rudeness or dishonest behavior of drivers?
Answer: The taxi service aggregator (even in accordance with established judicial practice) is responsible for the quality and safety of the services provided, if it has not explicitly informed the consumer about the provider of said services (that is, if the consumer may be of the opinion that the contract of carriage is entered into directly with the aggregator, and the actual carrier is its employee or a third party involved in the performance of carriage obligations).
4. Does the carpool operator have the right to fine me for violating the terms of the contract (for example, smoking while driving, transporting bulky goods, leaving the service area)? Can such a fine be disproportionately large, amounting to tens and hundreds of thousands of rubles?
Answer: A contract with a car sharing operator may establish certain rules and prohibitions when using a car, breach of which entails civil liability. In this part, the fine as a type of confiscation acts as a measure to ensure compliance with the obligation.
Rospotrebnadzor recommends that before concluding an agreement, carefully study the terms of the fines (consumer liability), including their amounts and the procedure for appeal, and only after that decide whether to conclude an agreement (taking into account the possible compliance with the established restrictions). The list of such restrictions can be quite long, and the amount of the fines can be delicate.
In the event that funds are debited to pay a penalty for non-compliance with the terms of the agreement, we recommend that you contact the carpool operator to request that the specified amount be reduced (to return part of it).
If there is a dispute about the fact that gave rise to the fine, the consumer has the right to go to court. The terms of the agreement on the amount of the established fine are also actionable if it is manifestly discriminatory.
4. The taxi driver refuses to issue a cash receipt. Is it legit?
Answer: No, it is not legal. The carrier is obliged to issue to the passenger, including in the form of an electronic document, a cash receipt or a receipt generated in accordance with article 14 of the Federal Law “On the Experiment to Establish a Special Fiscal Regime” Income Tax of the Professionals “, confirming the payment for the use of a passenger taxi.
5. What information should be placed on the taxi?
Answer: The following information is placed on the front panel of a passenger taxi to the right of the driver:
a) the full or abbreviated name, address and contact telephone numbers of the carrier, the number of the permit issued to the carrier to carry out passenger taxi transportation activities (indicating the validity period of the permit and the authority that issued the permit) ;
b) rates for the use of passenger taxis.
6. Can a taxi driver take a passenger on a longer route? Can taxi prices be based on the duration of the trip (based on time)? Or in data on transport distance?
Answer: The charterer (consumer) determines the route for the transportation of passengers and luggage in a passenger taxi. (This follows from paragraph 84 of the Rules for the transportation of passengers and baggage by road and urban land electric transportation, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 01.10.2020 No. 1586). If the charterer does not determine the route, the taxi driver is obliged to carry out the transport by the shortest route or by the route with the least time spent on transport. And paragraph 85 of the same Rules determines that the fee for the use of a passenger taxi is determined regardless of the actual mileage and actual travel time (in the form of a fixed fee) or on the basis of fees established based on the actual transportation distance and (or) actual travel time.
What kind of charging method will be applied – it is better to find out in advance when ordering a taxi.
7. Why can a taxi driver be fined? And where to claim?
Answer: Fines may be applied to the service provider and its officials for the following violations:
– for not having a taxi license,
– for the illegal installation of distinctive signs of a taxi (a lamp on the roof of a car and stickers in the form of checkers),
– for the lack of a flashlight or “checkers” in a taxi,
– for not issuing a cashier’s check,
– for not publishing mandatory information.
On issues of violation of consumer rights to information, as well as if there are signs of inclusion in the contract of conditions that infringe consumer rights, you can contact the territorial bodies of Rospotrebnadzor.
Statistics
Only from November 14 to 25, 2022, the Rospotrebnadzor hotline received more than 3 thousand calls from taxi and car sharing passengers, 3193 citizen inquiries were made.
Based on the results of the consideration of appeals by the territorial bodies of Rospotrebnadzor, 2 draft statements of claim were prepared. Claims have been drafted in 58 appeals.
About 37% of citizens who contacted the hotline reported signs of violation of their rights in the provision of taxi services and were interested in how to protect their rights (how to file a complaint, which laws and regulations to refer to ). Every third caller asked to clarify the rules for the provision of transport services (for example, it is possible to cancel a trip without losing the prepayment, what to do if the taxi does not arrive on time). A little more than 10% of citizens were interested in the peculiarities of the work of taxi aggregators (if the taxi aggregator is responsible for transport), and 9% were interested in the nuances of the provision of taxi services. car sharing (if various fines are legally withdrawn, if the service can debit funds from the linked bank card).
