Byju’s is in soup again. It’s the consumer protection body now that has grilled the Indian edtech giant. The Byju Ravindran company has been penalized with a hefty penalty of Rs 10 lakh by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for allegedly spreading misleading advertisements about its online Indian Administrative Service (IAS) coaching program. The CCPA took action in 2022, issuing a show-cause notice to Byju’s on August 24 of that year. The November 23 order reveals that Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., operating as Byju’s, failed to present evidence supporting its claims of a progressive increase in candidate selections for the UPSC civil services examination (CSE), as promoted.

BYJU’s Penalised For Misleading IAS Aspirants@BYJUS#OutlookBusiness #Outlook #Byjus #Byjusias #upsc #edtech #civilservices pic.twitter.com/eT2cvPG3wP

— Outlook Business & Money (@outlookbusiness) November 28, 2023

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has fined @BYJUS Rs 10 lakh for allegedly publishing false and misleading advertisements for its Indian Administrative Service (IAS) coaching.
More here: https://t.co/cOURLpQZi8#advertising | #marketing | #marketinginsights |…

— afaqs! (@afaqs) November 28, 2023

Following a virtual hearing, the CCPA’s order highlighted Byju’s IAS’s failure to substantiate claims made in the advertisements, particularly regarding the success of candidates in the CSE. The institute allegedly did not provide data or consent forms for selected candidates, resulting in incomplete substantiation of the claims. According to the order, Byju’s IAS is accused of violating Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, intentionally concealing crucial information to mislead consumers and gain commercial advantages. Section 2(28) of the Act defines misleading advertising in relation to any product or service.

As reported in the Mint, the CCPA’s directive mandates Byju’s to pay a Rs 10 lakh penalty and submit a compliance report within 15 days, while also discontinuing the controversial advertisements. Byju’s responded by expressing disagreement with the order and indicating its intent to appeal. The company’s spokesperson maintained that the advertisements were not misleading, pledging to present pertinent evidence before the appellate authority, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).

Meanwhile, even a cursory search on Twitter with the following keywords, Byju’s IAS, will reveal a whole cache of complaints by aggrieved users who were deprived of either study materials or refunds. Barring a few, most of these complaints haven’t been addressed. So either these are bots trying to malign the edtech’s image publicly or Byju’s needs to come clean. Here are a few:

Hello byjus, I have purchased byjus IAS program on 17 March 2023 but it’s been 7 months I have not received my books wehen I was purchasing the byjus program the councillor promised me the books will be received with in 15. Please help me.Icant wait anymore pic.twitter.com/LhUpBjfQb9

— Mothilal Jaz (@JazMothilal) August 28, 2023

@ByjusSupport @BYJUS sir you said you are cancelling my upsc ias Hindi course. But you didn’t give me any written confirmation from your end about my cancellation as pr your refund and cancellation policy please help me 🙏
Name : parv sharma
Registered no: 8009259050 pic.twitter.com/kAE2iGj92u

— Parv Sharma (@GuRuJi2761999) November 26, 2023

Hello sir
Name- SUMANTA NANDA
Registration no- 9237015016
Email I’d- [email protected]
I request
I want to cancel byjus IAS course. I don’t understand and I don’t want to continue. Please cancel this course .

— Sumanta Nanda (@SumantaNanda4) January 12, 2023

Hello byju’s team. I bought your course byjus IAS on date – 2/08/2023 and for some reason I want to cancel the course. I have mailed the byjus team for cancellation but there is no reply, even the counsellor who took my admission by manipulating about the course is not picking up

— Saket Dubey (@SaketDu84043659) August 14, 2023

New Update from Byjus team they are warning me against no refund. Now they have a new update that they want provide me books instead they will deduct and adjust with some amount from my loan and need to buy books from outside. Scam Byjus IAS Exam Prep stop fooling people.

— arjun naidu (@arjun3046) September 24, 2023

I had bought BYJUS IAS Hindi course in the month of April. I was told that the books will come in 7days,after that you can cancel the course in 15days. My books just arrived on 10June And now they aren’t canceling my course. @BYJUS @EduMinOfIndia @PMOIndia @ByjusSupport

— Pawan gauttam (@Pawangauttam6) June 13, 2023

Hello sir @ByjusSupport @BYJUS @barandbench @RBI @EduMinOfIndia @FinMinIndia
I purchased byjus ias scholarship course.But now I can’t continue with the course because of my mental https://t.co/uBB5urssdE please cancel my ragistration and emi process as soon as possible

— vanshika pandey (@vanshik03357859) October 18, 2023

My Name is Saurabh Tripathi. I had enrolled in @ByjusSupport @BYJUS IAS tablet plus live classes course in April month this year. It’s been 5 month they are not providing me my books @ByjusSupport team is also not helping me .

— Saurabh Tripathi (@Saurabh87189019) September 5, 2023

See Also: More Byju’s Scoop On Mashable

Cover Image: Justdial