BluSmart News: Indian ride-sharing company BluSmart Mobility's decision to stop offering its services left many users in a lurch. Many users also highlighted concerns regarding their inability to withdraw the money they had stored in their BluSmart wallets. The startup has now clarified that users can receive refunds in 90 days.
Earlier, the company had stated that users would receive refunds within six days. However, according to an email sent by the company to its users, the refund timeline has now been extended to 90 days amid a pause in ride bookings. The company added that the wallet balances will be refunded if services do not resume.
“We have decided to temporarily close bookings on the BluSmart app. While we strive to be back soon to serve you with the same warmth and smile, we will initiate a refund within the next 90 days if services do not resume before then,” the company said in its email.
The app gave users the ability to add balance to their in-app wallets for hailing cab rides. Additionally, the app had a unique payment method in which users would pay for their ride before it actually started. Prior to the halting of services, the company provided its services in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Notably the company suspended ride bookings on April 16 which in turn led to frustrated customers turning to social media platforms.
Notably, the ride-hailing app’s services were stopped after the Securities Exchange Board of India alleged that Gensol Engineering Ltd promoters Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi had misappropriated funds. Notably, Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi are the co-founders of BluSmart, along with Punit K Goyal.
Gensol Engineering News
The market regulator has alleged that the company misappropriated funds amounting to Rs 200 crore. The Rs 200 crore out of the Rs 978 crore in loans provided to Gensol by the state-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (Ireda) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
The funds were to be used for acquiring 6,400 electric vehicles (EVs) for the purpose of leasing to BluSmart, but only 4,704 EVs were bought. The market regulator also alleged that the funds were instead sent to Go-Auto Pvt Ltd and then redirected to entities controlled by Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi.
Both Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi have been barred from holding key managerial positions and accessing the securities market. Some reports have also suggested that the company is planning to move its fleet to Uber’s platform.
