How DoorDash Contract Violations Work & How To Avoid Them

A DoorDash contract violation is a breach of contract you commit when making a decision that’s forbidden by your contractor agreement.

These are minor violations that, when added up to 5 or 6 per year, can cause you major problems with DoorDash. Some heavier violations might be a reason to end the contract with you.

That’s why, in this article, we’ve covered all the most important details on what a contract violation at DoorDash is, how to avoid such problems, and how to get rid of them if necessary.  

What Is a DoorDash Contract Violation?

When you start working as a Dasher, you’re bound by an independent contractor agreement.

In this contract, the company states many details and rules every Dasher has to follow, starting from time frames and ending with your responsiveness and the quality of the delivered food.

When you sign that contract, you agree to all these terms, and a violation of those rules is deemed a breach of contract.

Depending on what part of the agreement you violate, you can get a warning, a penalty, or even be fired. That’s why you should read the agreement carefully and understand what types of violations there are.

Fortunately, we did that for you!

What Kinds of DoorDash Contract Violations Exist?

There are two main types of violations a DoorDash Dasher will likely deal with. Here’s what they represent:

Late Orders

As a Dasher, when you get an order, you receive two time frames you can look up in the Dasher app. 

The first time frame refers to the pickup time. The app calculates when you should arrive at the restaurant to pick up the food and gives you an additional ten minutes to do so. If you don’t arrive at the restaurant in the given time frame, you’ll receive one violation.

There’s also a time frame that refers to the time you take to deliver the food. Similar to the first one, DoorDash calculates how much time you must deliver the food and gives you an additional ten minutes to deliver the order. If you don’t deliver the food in this time frame, you’ll receive another violation.

Order Never Arrived

This contract violation occurs when you don’t deliver an order. Some Dashers steal the food, so in this case, the violation is legit.

But sometimes the client can not find the order you delivered. To avoid such a case, it’s best to follow their instructions completely.

However, you should understand that some customers want to get themselves some free food. In this case, you should contact Dasher Support and explain the situation.

How Many Contract Violations Are You Allowed to Have?

DoorDash doesn’t provide a clear number of contract violations that can get your account deactivated. In theory, every violation, even the smallest one, can be a reason for deactivation and breach of contract.

However, when we talk about minor violations, such as late orders or never-arrived orders, you’ll have to get multiple violations within a period to be deactivated. If you’re a good Dasher with high ratings and a good acceptance rate, you won’t be deactivated for one violation.

But receiving severe violations is another story. Things like being aggressive or assaulting a client can get you fired on the spot, not even talking about legal consequences in case the customer presses charges.

Top 4 Tips to Never Receive a Contract Violation

Here are some easy tips you can follow to avoid contract violations:

1. Focus on One App

Delivery drivers tend to multi-app, which means that they take deliveries from DoorDash, Uber Eats, and many other apps at the same time. This can result in delayed deliveries and arrivals, which will make you prone to contract violations.

To avoid that, you should focus on one app at a time.

2. Always Have Proof

If you don’t want your customers to lie about never receiving the delivery, make sure to have some proof that you delivered the food.

For a no-contact order, it’s simple: take some photos of the delivered package, and that’s it.

For a traditional order, where you have to hand over the package, it’s a little more complicated. You can wear a small camera on your chest, but you should make sure to ask for permission to record your customers.

Remember, recording them in public spaces is legal, but recording them in the confidence of their home is not.

3. Be Nice to Everyone

As a Dasher, you’ll encounter rude customers. Some might yell at you; others might just try to create a scene to receive the food for free.

Don’t budge. Keep calm and be nice to them, and you’ll never have to deal with the consequences. Remember, being rude and assaulting your customers can get you to the police station!

4. Don’t Be Greedy

If you know you won’t be able to pick up or deliver the order in the time frame set by DoorDash, don’t take the order. It’s better to wait for a better order than to appeal the contract violation you’ll receive.

The same goes for every aspect of the delivery process. If there’s traffic or you feel you won’t be able to please the customer in any way, unassign yourself from the order and wait for another one.  

How to Remove Your Violations

Getting rid of DoorDash contract violations is easy. If you don’t want to appeal them or have nothing to say, you should only complete 100 deliveries, and the violation will go away on its own.

However, if you disagree with the violation you’ve received, you can always appeal them. In this case, you should give some additional details.

This is the time to use the photos or the recordings you’ve taken. Send them to DoorDash and explain the situation. The appeal process could take weeks to complete; in the meantime, you should continue working and delivering.

Final Thoughts

To sum everything up, DoorDash contract violations are minor breaches of contract you get when you don’t follow the instructions of an order.

To avoid those, you can always follow the four tips we provided: focus on the app, always have proof, be nice to everyone, and don’t be greedy. If you follow these, you’ll cut the chances of being hit with a breach of contract to a minimum.