Anyone who relies on DoorDash for food delivery has probably experienced an order arriving late or with missing items.
It can be a frustrating situation for anyone.
But occasional videos circulate the internet claiming something you might not have experienced: DoorDash stole my food.
If you suspect this has happened to you, what can you do?
Does DoorDash have a policy regarding stolen orders?
This guide outlines what you can do if you suspect DoorDash has stolen your food.
Table Of Contents
- What Happens if Food is Missing from DoorDash?
- How To Know if DoorDash Stole Your Food?
- How Common Are Stolen DoorDash Orders?
- What to Do if You Suspect DoorDash Stole Your Food
- What Should You Do if Your DoorDash Order Is Missing Items?
- Can You Report DoorDashers for Stealing Food?
- What Happens if You’re a Dasher and You Steal Food?
- Is DoorDash Responsible for Missing Food?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Wrapping Up
What Happens if Food is Missing from DoorDash?
Luckily, DoorDash has made it easy to report missing items from your order.
You can do this through the mobile app or the desktop site.
Here’s a step-by-step guide from the DoorDash Customer Support Center that takes you through the basics of reporting missing items.
For mobile app users, you can follow these steps:
- Under the “Orders” tab, tap the order you need help with
- Tap “Help” for iOS or “?” for Android in the top right corner
- Tap “Order Issues” > “Missing Items”
After following the prompts on the screen, you will be offered a credit, refund, or redelivery of your food items.
Alternatively, you can follow the help page where you can report the missing items.
How To Know if DoorDash Stole Your Food?
DoorDash uses Google Maps to estimate travel times and expected delivery times.
Sometimes your Dasher might run into problems that can cause an order to arrive later than estimated, such as:
- Traffic
- Car troubles
- Extreme weather
- Detours
- Personal emergencies
If more than 15 minutes have passed since the estimated delivery time, you should contact your Dasher.
Keep in mind that you can also use the live chat feature in the app to talk to them before assuming your food has been stolen.
However, If your order has been marked as delivered but was never received and you can’t contact your Dasher, you can safely assume your order isn’t arriving.
It might have gotten delivered to the wrong house, or it might have been stolen, but either way, the best thing to do is contact DoorDash to let them know there’s a problem.
How Common Are Stolen DoorDash Orders?
Fortunately, stolen orders don’t seem to be that common.
However, food delivery drivers have been known to nibble on parts of an order.
According to a survey conducted by US Foods, 1 in 4 delivery drivers admitted to taking a few bites from the food they’re supposed to deliver.
What to Do if You Suspect DoorDash Stole Your Food
Here’s what to do if you think DoorDash stole your food.
Contact Your Dasher
Contact your Dasher through the chat or live phone call option in the app if the order is still active.
If it isn’t, or if the Dasher doesn’t respond, proceed to the next step.
Contact Customer Service
If you’re unable to contact your Dasher through live chat or phone and you’re sure it hasn’t been delivered to the wrong house, you might start to suspect they stole your food.
The most important thing to do is contact DoorDash using their help page.
You can also call Customer Service at 855-431-0459 in the US.
A Customer Service Agent will be able to resolve your issue.
They can offer credit, a refund, or redelivery of the stolen order or food items.
What Should You Do if Your DoorDash Order Is Missing Items?
Receiving your delivery and finding there are missing items can be disappointing.
DoorDash emphasizes that they try to make every delivery a perfect experience.
However, mistakes can happen.
The easiest way to get help is to access your DoorDash account.
From here, you can tap:
- “Order Issues” > “Missing Items”
After that, follow the prompts on the screen according to your specific issue.
DoorDash has a few different resolution options that might work for you, including credit to your account, a refund, or redelivery of the missing items.
Can You Report DoorDashers for Stealing Food?
DoorDashers are independent contractors, and they agree to complete every delivery in a safe and timely manner.
They also agree to provide outstanding customer service.
When your Dasher doesn’t deliver your food or provides poor customer service, you can report them using these options.
DoorDash Feedback
Once your delivery has been completed, you can leave a rating for the restaurant and your experience with the driver.
You have seven days after the delivery is completed to leave a review, after which you won’t be able to provide any ratings.
If there are any issues with your driver, remember to leave a review as soon as possible.
DoorDash Customer Support
You also have the option of utilizing DoorDash’s 24/7 chat support that is available through their app.
Follow these steps to get help:
- In the upper-right corner of the app, tap “Help” for iOS or “?” for Android
- Tap “Something Else” > “Start Chart”
A pop-up window will appear where you can explain your situation and start a conversation with the Customer Support Agent.
There is also the option of sending Customer Support a quick email at [email protected] or calling them at 855-431-0459 in the US.
What Happens if You’re a Dasher and You Steal Food?
So, what happens if you take food from your customer?
Possible Consequences
According to the DoorDash deactivation policy, marking a delivery as complete if the goods were not provided to the customer is a contract violation.
As a Dasher, stealing food could result in your account’s deactivation.
Once this occurs, you can no longer work for DoorDash, and you won’t be allowed to reapply.
To reverse this, you’ll have to submit an appeal, which may or may not be approved.
There are severe consequences for Dashers who take food, so it’s probably better not to risk it.
How Many Violations Can You Get on DoorDash?
You will likely have your account deactivated after one proven violation of stealing a client’s food, as this is a serious offense.
However, you may only receive a warning if the food was lost accidentally or something happened, causing you to be unable to deliver to the customer.
You must always report this to DoorDash so they can advise you on how to proceed.
Is DoorDash Responsible for Missing Food?
Fortunately, DoorDash is committed to providing fantastic customer service.
They have a suite of resolution options available, including credit to your account, a refund for the missing food items, or redelivery of your order.
They encourage customers to contact customer support with any issues so they can make it right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions for more information about how DoorDash works.
Do restaurants know when you complain on DoorDash?
DoorDash offers customers two ways to provide feedback to a restaurant:
Private feedback, which is not visible to the public and goes directly to the restaurant
Public reviews, which are publicly visible to the restaurant and other customers
In both cases, restaurants can see this feedback and use it to provide better customer service.
Ratings are a crucial part of the DoorDash system.
They allow merchants to improve the quality of their food and service, so don’t be afraid to give an honest review.
Who pays for refunds on DoorDash?
When a customer reports missing or incorrect items from their order, DoorDash issues a refund on behalf of the restaurant.
DoorDash charges merchants a small error charge to help cover some of the cost of refunds and credits that are given to the customer.
However, if a customer reports any issues with the delivery experience, DoorDash absorbs the full cost of any refunds.
This means DoorDash is fully responsible for issues like delayed delivery and poor customer service.
Wrapping Up
If you find yourself saying, “DoorDash stole my food,” rest assured that it’s not something that happens every day.
DoorDash guarantees a positive experience for every delivery, but sometimes mistakes occur.
If you experience any problems, DoorDash offers multiple ways to contact Customer Service.
DoorDash Customer Service will provide a resolution to any reported problems.
As the customer, your experience is the priority, so don’t be afraid to leave honest reviews and feedback.
Doing so helps DoorDash improve to be better for everyone involved.
Comment below if you have any questions about the DoorDash stolen food policies.
We’d love to hear from you!
Brett, thank you for this article! This problem may be uncommon but we almost never use Door Dash and here is what happened to us. This past Saturday on Easter Eve, we had company over and placed a large order through Maggianos.com. (Maggianos uses Door Dash for delivery.) My husband paid Maggiano’s with a credit card through the restaurant’s website, and the restaurant billed the card. Door Dash originally showed our order as delayed, which wasn’t a big deal, but the driver then “cancelled” our order and all info from the driver was deleted from our texts, presumably as a result of the cancellation. We called the restaurant to ask what had happened, who said that it sounded like a case of driver theft, and since they handed over the food to the Door Dash driver they would not refund our money. Door Dash said it wasn’t responsible since we had paid the restaurant directly. The restaurant offered a 50 per cent discount if we wanted them to re-prepare our food and come pick it up. Door Dash said it would “fire” the driver, which we hadn’t asked for and didn’t want — we just wanted the food we had paid for. We are still within the 7-day window but don’t know what our options are. Any suggestions?
I’ve had food stolen TWICE by Dashers. Both times, I watched in the app as they approached my house and when they were literally only feet from my door, I received a text that my food had been delivered, when it had not. Neither time did they provide a photo either, like every other DoorDash order I’ve had. Both times I texted the Dasher immediately saying I did not receive my food and both times I was ignored. I wasn’t out any money , as I just called DoorDash and had to re-order the entire meal, but it did waste another hour of my time.