Grab Philippines calls on users to claim rebates before expiration in July

Grab Philippines over the weekend called on affected users to avail of the unclaimed rebates before the expiration in July, as any amounts left would be remitted to the national treasury as ordered by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

The transport network vehicle service (TNVS) operator said it has already released P18.78 million or 73.8% of the P25.4 million the PCC earlier ordered to be refunded to clients, with P6.66 million remaining.

“Never po namin tinalikuran ang aming obligasyon na ibalik po ang P25 million na ito sa pasaherong affected,” Grab Philippines Public Affairs director Atty. Sherielysse Bonifacio said.

“Buti ngayon po, finally klaro na po kung ano po ‘yung gagawin natin dun sa remaining P6.66 million. Hopefully after this ma-resolve na po natin ‘yung isyu na ito at matuldukan natin,” she added.

(We never abandoned our obligation to return the P25 million to affected passengers. It is now finally clear what to do with the remaining P6.66 million. Hopefully, after this the issue would be resolved and ended.)

Under the PCC Resolution dated February 2, 2023, refund beneficiaries have to claim the rebates before the July 18, 2023 expiration. The unclaimed amounts will then be remitted to the National Treasury.

“If you are one of these users, your rebate is waiting to be claimed via your in-app GrabRewards catalogue,” Grab said.

To recall, the PCC ordered Grab to refund a cumulative P25.45 million to its customers — P5.05 million for overcharges and P14.15 million for violation of voluntary commitments in 2019, and P6.25 million due to pricing issues in 2020.

The agency last year gave Grab a month to release some P19.3-million worth of refunds to eligible users, as it found that less than a fourth of the total amount for refund was claimed by passengers as of June 2021.

Just last week, the PCC also slapped Grab with a fresh P9-million fine amid the delays in the refund, including P6 million for the violation of the three earlier separate orders, and another P3 million for what it described as “incorrect and misleading information” in its compliance reports.

For its part, Grab said it was surprised by the decision, as it had been “100% committed” to fulfilling the refunds. It also said it will evaluate legal options regarding the P9-million fine.

The firm last year said that users who do not have GrabPay wallets will have to complete the know-your-customer (KYC) process for them to be able to receive the refunds.

“Grab cannot credit their GrabPay Wallet without completion of basic KYC as this is a regulatory requirement of the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas),” it explained. — DVM, GMA Integrated News