Majority customers surveyed admit facing cashback, subscription trap online: Report

A majority of customers who were part of a survey said they were lured to an online platform that offered cashback and subscription, but they were not paid after they signed up, a report said on Tuesday.

Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has identified 13 types of "dark patterns" that amount to misleading advertisement or unfair trade practice or violation of consumer rights, including subscription trap, bait and switch, drip pricing, etc.

The report by LocalCircles said that "62 per cent users of online payment platforms surveyed experienced the bait and switch approach where a cashback was advertised to lure them but never actually paid after they signed up/conducted the specified transaction."

The firm said it received over 45,000 responses from users of online payment platforms from across 376 districts of India.

According to the survey, 67 per cent users of online payment platforms surveyed have experienced subscription traps where once they added/linked their bank account for UPI payments they found it hard to remove or delink it.

The government has prohibited dark patterns on online platforms since December 2023.