Grab’s ₱19.3 Million Refund to Customers Yet to be Completed

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) had earlier urged Grab Philippines to hasten the release of the remaining ₱19.3 million in refunds — of the ₱25.45 million total — that it owed to users of its ride-hailing service. However, Grab released a statement in response that it had already disbursed the amount to eligible passengers as well as the administrative fee imposed by the competition watchdog.

“Grab Philippines has complied with the disbursement order of the PCC and has disbursed the full administrative fee in a manner consistent with the agreed mechanics with the PCC. Eligible passengers must redeem their portion of the fine through the GrabRewards Catalog within the Grab App,” the company explained on Monday.

The refunds “should be immediately credited via GrabPay Wallet without requiring any act from the users to claim the amount,” according to the PCC after it gave Grab until April 22 for disbursement. As per the regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), users who have accomplished Grab’s basic know-your-customer (KYC) process can directly redeem the amount owed which will be credited to their GrabPay Wallets.

Unfortunately, the firm is unable to credit the GrabPay Wallets of eligible users if they have not yet completed the basic KYC. Grab Philippines further maintained that it did not encounter any tech issues during the disbursement of the fees and that eligible users will find their portion of the fees in their Grab Rewards Catalog.

“What the PCC may be pointing at is the redemption of the remaining unclaimed administrative fees — as there are eligible passengers who are not claiming their portions of the disbursed administrative fee,” said Grab Philippines. “With the majority of eligible passengers entitled for a ₱1 admin fee from the PCC, the amount that is not substantial enough for them to create a GrabPay Wallet Account and undergo the BSP-mandated KYC.”

Earlier on March 8, Grab had forwarded a set of recommendations to the PCC in an effort to address the low redemption rate to which the competition watchdog did not respond. “As we have done in the past, once again, we are asking our consumers to comply with the BSP-mandated KYC process for their GrabPay Wallet accounts, check their Grab Rewards catalog and redeem the disbursed portion of the PCC administrative fee,” Grab affirmed.

Source: Manila Times, CNN PH