Byju's accused of buying phone number of parents and threatening them, company reacts
EdTech company Byjus has been accused of business mal-practices by Child's panel NCPCR. Photo: Getty Images
The troubles for EdTech company Byjus don't seem to end. In a fresh controversy, the company has been accused by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) that Byju's has been indulging in unfair business practices by purchasing phone numbers of children and parents, and later threatening them that their ward's career would be ruined if they don't buy the company's products.
What the NCPCR said: In a statement to news agency ANI on Tuesday, NCPCR said, "They're targeting first-generation learners. We'll initiate action and if need be, will make report and write to the government," NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo told ANI on December 20.
The commission had also summoned Byjus CEO Byju Raveendran, asking him to appear in person on December 23 over the alleged malpractice of hard selling and mis-selling of its courses for students.
"As the Commission has come across a news article wherein it has been pointed out that the sales team of Byju's is indulging in malpractices to lure parents to buy their courses for their children. It has also been mentioned in the news report that some customers have also claimed that they were exploited and deceived, and had put their savings and futures in jeopardy," the NCPCR said in a statement.
The commission also mentioned that Byju's also has been actively tricking customers to enter loan-based agreements to buy the course which may not be refunded if customers wished to do so.
NCPCR in its statement said, "Under Section 14 of the CPCR Act, 2005, the Commission has all the powers of a Civil Court trying a suit under the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 and particular, in respect of the following matters:
- Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath
- Discovery and production of any document
- Receiving evidence of affidavits
- Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office
- Issuing commissions of the examination of witnesses or documents."
Byju's responds: A spokesperson for Byju's told DailyO, "We strongly deny any allegation of using aggressive sales tactics. We have 150 million registered users on our platform and we only respond to inbound queries. There is zero tolerance for abuse of customer privacy and collection of student data without parental consent."
What's next for Byju's: The commission said that if Raveendran failed to comply with the order without a legal excuse, then he "will be subjected to the consequences of the non-attendance as provided in the Rule 10 and Rule 12 of the order XVI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908."
The bigger picture: Byju's has been in the news for a while for a plethora of problems. The EdTech company has come under the scanner for its alleged toxic work culture, false promises to employees, and threatening them with dire consequences if they failed to meet sales targets. With the NCPCR now looking into the alleged malpractices, the troubles for Byju's seem far from over.
FYI: The EdTech company recently roped in Lionel Messi (yes, the same person who led the Argentina team to victory at the FIFA World Cup this year) as a brand ambassador in November this year. Messi's deal came in just days after Byju's laid off over 5% of its workforce -- or 2,500 employees. This led to an outburst of anger from people on the Internet. Messi, after all, is the world's most expensive athlete.
