For U.S. orders, the strongest food-delivery disputes answer three questions: What did you order? What did the app or restaurant promise? What actually happened?

Start with the delivery platform's order-support process. Before closing the order or discarding the packaging, save the itemized receipt, delivery timeline, photos, support messages, and payment record. If you paid by credit card, track the card issuer's written billing-dispute deadline separately. A platform refund request and a credit-card dispute are different processes, and neither one guarantees a particular result.

Identify the rule that controls your dispute

The right route depends on who charged you, how you paid, and whether the problem was non-delivery, missing or incorrect items, damage, or something else.

The FTC's consumer guidance on credit-card billing disputes says a written dispute must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was sent to you. That is not a general 60-day deadline for requesting a DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub refund.

The FTC's business guide to the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule covers shipment representations and refunds for covered merchandise orders. A prepared restaurant meal and a third-party delivery arrangement may not fit that rule in the same way as a conventional mail-order purchase. Don't treat the rule as an automatic right to a refund.

Save a focused evidence packet

Save original files when you can, then make screenshots for an app upload. Each item should relate to the same order.

Redact your full card number, passwords, and unrelated personal information. Keep unedited originals. Avoid adding text to photos or changing their file dates.

Match the evidence to the problem

The order never arrived

First, save the screen showing the order marked delivered. Include the drop-off photo, address, map, and delivery timestamp displayed by the app, if available. Check whether the image shows the correct building, entrance, unit, or delivery location.

Also check reasonable locations such as a lobby, front desk, side entrance, or designated delivery area. Ask household members or building staff whether someone accepted the food. Write down what you checked and when. If a doorbell or security camera may have recorded the delivery, preserve that clip before the system overwrites it.

An app GPS pin or delivery photo shows what the platform recorded. It doesn't conclusively prove that the food reached you. Most customers won't have the courier's complete GPS log, so describe a map screenshot as a map screenshot rather than claiming it is a full GPS record.

Report the non-delivery through the order's support flow once you've confirmed that nobody received it. The DoorDash help page for orders that did not arrive says the company investigates reported non-delivery. Save the case number and response.

Items are missing or wrong

Photograph the bag, label, receipt, and every item that arrived. For a missing side or drink, show the opened bag and delivered contents clearly. A photo of an empty table doesn't show what was actually delivered.

DoorDash's official guidance for missing or incorrect items asks for original, clear photos with all delivered items visible and unwrapped. It also asks customers to show the item received when the restaurant sent the wrong food. For an entirely wrong DoorDash order, that page says to follow the same photo instructions but report it as "Order never arrived" under "Order Issues."

Use precise language:

• "The entree arrived, but the listed drink and fries were missing."
• "The receipt shows a chicken sandwich, but the bag contains a different order."
• "The order arrived, but two containers were open and their contents had spilled."

A partial delivery isn't a completely missing order. Describing the problem accurately makes the receipt and photos easier to evaluate.

Food is damaged, tampered with, or appears unsafe

Before moving anything, photograph the seal, bag, container, spill, label, and surrounding packaging. Keep the packaging until the dispute is resolved if doing so is safe and practical.

Don't eat food that appears unsafe. If you become ill or believe there is a serious food-safety problem, seek appropriate medical help and contact the relevant local or state health authority. A refund request and a food-safety report have different purposes.

If you suspect courier theft, stick to observable facts: the bag was missing, the drop-off photo showed a different location, or the seal was broken. Don't accuse someone of theft unless your evidence supports that conclusion.

Write the timeline before contacting support

A short chronology usually works better than a long account of how frustrating the order was. Note:

1. The order date, time, restaurant, and order number.
2. The promised delivery window or time shown at checkout.
3. The status and time displayed in the app.
4. What arrived, what was missing, or what was damaged.
5. When you contacted the platform or restaurant.
6. The response, case number, and remedy requested.
7. Any refund, credit, replacement, or coupon that was issued.

A useful note might read:

Order placed at 7:10 p.m.; estimated delivery was 7:40 p.m.; marked delivered at 7:52 p.m.; no food found after checking the lobby and front door; reported through support at 8:03 p.m.; case number provided; no refund issued.

Keep the wording factual. Don't guess about a courier's motive.

Submit the complaint through the platform

Use the order-specific support flow for DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, or another service.

1. Preserve the record. Screenshot the order page, status, delivery photo, and support options before they change.
2. Choose the closest issue category. Select non-delivery, missing item, incorrect order, damage, or another category that fits the facts. Follow any platform-specific reporting instruction.
3. Upload focused evidence. Start with the receipt, the most useful photos, and your short timeline. A few clear files are better than unrelated screenshots.
4. Request a specific remedy. Ask for a full refund when the entire order was missing, or identify the missing or damaged items when seeking a partial refund. The platform decides what its policy allows.
5. Save the response. Keep the case number, denial, refund confirmation, and any message promising a later credit.
6. Ask for a review if needed. Point to the specific receipt, photo, or delivery record that the first response overlooked.

Don't let a platform conversation run down a separate credit-card deadline. App support windows may be shorter or account-specific.

Notes for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub

DoorDash

DoorDash's consumer guidance emphasizes clear photos of the items received. For a missing or incorrect item, include the bag and all delivered food in the frame where possible. Its separate non-delivery page directs customers to report orders that did not arrive.

Use the issue category that matches the facts unless DoorDash's order flow gives a more specific instruction. Submit original images and keep copies outside the app.

Uber Eats

For Uber Eats, save the order confirmation, itemized receipt, delivery status, any drop-off image or map shown in the app, and the complete support conversation. Follow the instructions presented from the specific order rather than relying on a deadline found on a third-party website.

If support denies the request, save the denial and ask which evidence or policy led to that decision. Treat the order's support instructions as controlling instead of assuming that every Uber Eats dispute uses the same evidence list or deadline.

Grubhub

The Grubhub restaurant policies page is written for restaurants, not as a consumer refund guarantee. It discusses late or missing self-deliveries and says disputes are typically reviewed within about 24 hours. That isn't a promise that every customer will receive a decision or refund within that time.

For a Grubhub complaint, keep the order details, delivery status, photos, and support messages. Record whether Grubhub, the restaurant, or a restaurant's own driver handled delivery, since that may affect which support team reviews the case.

If you paid by credit card

A credit-card dispute is an issuer and card-network process, not a court ruling or an automatic refund. If you authorized the order but it never arrived or was materially different, describe those facts. Don't call it an unauthorized card transaction unless you didn't authorize the charge.

If the issue fits your issuer's billing-error process:

1. Find the first bill containing the charge. The relevant date is when that bill was sent to you.
2. Calculate the deadline. Under the FTC guidance linked above, the written dispute must reach the issuer within 60 days after that bill was sent.
3. Use the issuer's required method. Send the dispute to the billing-dispute address or use the written submission method identified by the issuer. A phone call alone may not preserve this process.
4. Identify the charge. Include the merchant descriptor, transaction date, amount, and the last four digits or other identifier the issuer requests.
5. Explain the transaction. State what you ordered, what was promised, what happened, and when you contacted the platform.
6. Attach copies. Include the receipt, delivery record, photos, support response, and relevant statement page. Keep the originals.
7. Track the investigation. The FTC says the issuer generally must acknowledge the complaint in writing within 30 days unless the issue has already been resolved, and resolve the dispute within 90 days.

If your billing address changed, the FTC guidance says you must have sent the issuer the change in writing so it had the new address at least 20 days before the billing period ended to use this billing-error process.

The issuer may request more information. A platform denial doesn't automatically defeat a billing dispute, but it doesn't guarantee that the issuer will reverse the charge either. If the platform later refunds all or part of the transaction, tell the issuer and identify the amount so you don't receive double recovery.

The FTC process described here is for credit cards. Debit cards, prepaid cards, payment apps, buy-now-pay-later accounts, and cash payments can have different procedures and protections. Contact the relevant provider promptly and ask which dispute category applies.

Mistakes that make disputes harder to review

• Sending only a bank statement without showing what was ordered or what went wrong.
• Uploading a cropped photo that hides the label, bag, or delivered contents.
• Editing images or changing timestamps.
• Describing a partial delivery as a total non-delivery.
• Accusing a courier of theft when the evidence only shows that the order was missing.
• Filing an unauthorized-transaction claim for an order you placed and authorized.
• Waiting until camera footage, chat history, or delivery details disappear.
• Pursuing a platform refund and a card dispute without telling the issuer about a later refund.
• Treating an online success-rate statistic as a promise about your case.

If the platform denies the request

Read the denial closely. If the platform says it needs clearer photos, submit the view it requested. If it says the order was delivered, compare the delivery photo, address, and timestamp with your own records and explain the mismatch in a few sentences.

If you paid by credit card, consider the issuer's written billing-error process before the 60-day period expires. Include the platform's denial as part of the history, but don't rely on it as your only evidence. Ask the issuer how to respond if it rejects the dispute and follow the appeal instructions it provides.

For a substantial loss, personal injury, or a dispute involving a contract or arbitration clause, check your state's consumer-protection and small-claims rules. Court, complaint, and filing options depend on the facts and location.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need GPS logs to obtain a food-delivery refund?

No. GPS information can help, but it isn't required in every dispute. A receipt, delivery status, drop-off photo, timestamped communication, and clear account of what happened may be enough to show the problem.

Does the FTC give me 60 days to request a refund from a delivery app?

No. The FTC's 60-day period applies to a qualifying written billing-error dispute with a credit-card issuer, measured from the first bill containing the error. It isn't a universal deadline for an app's refund process.

What is the best evidence for a missing item?

Keep the itemized receipt and photograph the bag, label, and every item that arrived. Name the missing item. A photo of the opened bag and delivered food is more useful than a statement that the order was incomplete.

Should I dispute a charge if the app already promised a refund?

Check whether the refund has posted and whether it covers the amount promised. If it hasn't appeared, save the confirmation and contact the platform. If you also contact the card issuer, disclose the promised refund and any amount already credited.

What if I paid with a debit card or payment app?

Contact that provider promptly and ask for its procedure for a non-delivered, incorrect, or damaged purchase. Don't assume the credit-card deadline or billing-error process applies.

Open the order record now, save the receipt and delivery details, photograph what arrived, and write down the timeline before submitting the complaint.