‘Drip Pricing’ Scam: Govt Cautions Shoppers About Secret Fees on E-Commerce Sites

When millions of consumers look for bargains on online shopping sites such as Amazon and Flipkart during festivals, the central government issued a word of caution to consumers regarding a new scam. The government has issued a warning against a clever practice known as 'drip pricing,' where online shopping websites charge additional secret fees from consumers.

Drip pricing is a practice where the actual cost of the product is never clearly revealed. When the consumer moves to the payment stage, extra charges like 'handling fees,' 'platform fees,' or 'service tax' are added with each step. For instance, if a smartwatch has a price displayed as ₹4,000, the price goes up to ₹4,200 at the time of payment.

The Consumer Affairs Ministry's awareness handle, @jagograhakjago, has described drip pricing as a "dark pattern." It's a technique that encourages users to make purchases based on incomplete information. The government says such practices mislead consumers and impact a transparent business system.

Through this warning, the government wants all e-commerce companies to display the full price, taxes, and mandatory charges at the outset. This step is a major effort towards ensuring transparency and fair trade in the online market.

Drip pricing is not difficult to identify. If you see a price increase as you reach the payment page, any mandatory charges cannot be removed, or taxes and service fees appear at the last stage, then understand that the platform is using drip pricing.

To avoid this, customers should check the final price before confirming their order, compare prices across different websites, and pay special attention to terms like "handling" or "service charge." If such a case is found on any website, a complaint can be filed with the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 or at consumerhelpline.gov.in.