Consumer Protection Efforts In Online Transportation Services (A Case Study Of Pt Maxim Sorong)

Abstract

The development of online transportation has facilitated public mobility, but has also given rise to various legal issues related to consumer rights protection. This study aims to analyze the compliance of consumer protection in PT Maxim's partnership agreement with its driver partners and evaluate the complaint handling mechanism based on the provisions of Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection. The study used a qualitative descriptive method with an empirical legal approach. Primary data were obtained through interviews with PT Maxim Sorong, service users, and the Sorong Police Department, while secondary data were obtained from the partnership agreement, complaint documents, laws and regulations, and relevant legal literature. Data were analyzed inductively through reduction, presentation, and drawing conclusions. The results indicate that PT Maxim's partnership agreement stipulates prohibitions that support preventative consumer protection, such as prohibitions on account transfers, fare manipulation, the use of unsafe vehicles, and behavior that threatens customer safety. However, legally, there are still weaknesses because the agreement is in a standard form, has not regulated the classification of sanctions proportionally, the compensation mechanism is not clear, and the transparency of complaint resolution is still limited so that it does not fully fulfill the principles of legal certainty, justice, and consumer protection as regulated in Law Number 8 of 1999. The implications of the research indicate the need for refinement of partnership clauses, strengthening compensation and complaint mechanisms, increasing transparency in sanction enforcement, and more effective coordination with law enforcement officials in order to realize more optimal consumer protection.