BOGOTA, March 21 (Reuters) - Colombia's consumer
watchdog on Tuesday ruled in favour of fining Latin American
delivery app Rappi of 1.245 billion Colombian pesos (around
$260,000) for failed deliveries, double charging customers and
allowing alcohol to be sent to minors.
The decision follows an appeal from the SoftBank-backed startup, which surged into unicorn status in 2018.
"It was found that Rappi SAS violated consumer protection
regulations related to quality of service by generating double
charges to consumers, breaches in delivery and order
cancellations," the SIC watchdog said in a statement.
It added that Rappi "did not implement the possible measures
to verify the age of consumers at the time of delivery of
products that are harmful to health, such as alcoholic
beverages."
Rappi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Bogota-based delivery service, which operates in nine
countries across Latin America, last year won regulatory
approval to operate as a digital bank in Colombia. Its founders
have also floated the idea of preparing a public listing.
($1 = 4,801.3100 Colombian pesos)
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta and Nelson Bocanegra; Writing
by Sarah Morland
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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