Grab faces new fine in the Philippines for overpricing, ride cancellations

The Philippines’ antitrust body has fined Grab with over 16.1 million pesos (around US$319,000) for overpricing and cancellation of customer rides, local media reported.

A Grab-branded electric Hyundai Ioniq car / Photo credit: Grab

The total penalty consists of a fine worth over 14.1 million pesos (US$279,400) for pricing deviations and 2 million pesos (US$39,400) for exceeding driver cancellations by 7.76% instead of the pledged 5%.

According to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), the order was based on an audit report submitted by an independent monitoring trustee tasked to monitor Grab’s compliance with its pricing and service commitments.

Grab said it would disburse the 14.1 million-plus pesos via GrabPay to passengers who took Grab rides from May 11 to August 10 before February 10, 2020, and pay the 2 million pesos directly to PCC.

The Singapore-based company also said it respects the regulator’s order but emphasized that it complies with the fare matrix set by the Philippines’ Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. It cited skyrocketing demand and its limited manpower as some reasons for the fare surge.

Earlier in November, the PCC imposed a penalty of over 23.4 million pesos (US$463,000) on Grab, including over 5 million pesos (US$99,700) in refunds to customers, for breaching its pricing commitments.

In Malaysia, Grab was also slapped with a fine of about US$20.5 million in October for preventing its drivers from promoting and providing advertising services for its competitors.

Grab acquired rival Uber’s Southeast Asian operations in 2018 and has since become a dominant ride-hailing player in the region.

Currency converted from Philippine peso to US dollar: US$1 = 50.64 pesos.