If you consider a late delivery or missing item situation terrible, wait until your DoorDash order never arrives or it gets stolen. While most customers will never experience this, knowing how to handle a “DoorDash stole your food” scenario is never bad.
The best way to address this situation is to report it. However, before reporting a Dasher, you must take steps to avoid false allegations.
This guide explains how to know if a Dasher stole your food and how you can report it. It also discusses mistakes to avoid and the consequences of such action for a Dasher.
How To Know if DoorDash Stole Your Food?
Before reporting your experience to DoorDash, you must ensure your food has been stolen. DoorDash uses Google Maps for route planning, calculating delivery times, and tracking.
If your order has been marked as “delivered” on the tracking but was never received, you can assume it has been stolen or delivered to the wrong address.
However, there are times that Dashers experience gridlock, personal emergencies, and car troubles. This may affect delivery speed as most drivers must resolve these issues or give your order to another Dasher to avoid lateness.
These events can make customers think their order has been stolen or will never arrive. They forget that they can contact the driver via live chat to get an update about their order.
What to Do if You Suspect DoorDash Stole Your Food
1. Contact Your Dasher
Customers can now contact Dashers via the LiveChat or live phone call option (in the app). If items are missing, you can do this for active orders and 30 minutes after delivery.
Perhaps you have called the Dasher, and there was no response; contact the DoorDash help center.
2. Contact DoorDash customer support
You can contact DoorDash customer support about a failed or stolen order in several ways.
Reporting via the 24/7 chat support in the app:
- Click “Help” or “?” in the app’s top-right corner for iOS and Android respectively.
- Select the “Something Else” > “Start Chat” button.
- A new window will open with a field where you can narrate your experience and begin a conversation with a customer support agent.
Reporting via the web:
- Go to the “Orders” tab
- Select the order you wish to report
- Click the “Help” in the top-right corner
- Under “Delivery Issues,” select “Order never arrived”
- Follow the prompt on the screen to complete the procedure.
3. Send a quick email or call
You can also email support@doordash.com or call them at 855-431-0459 (if you reside in the U.S.) The result of a dispute or complaint is entirely up to DoorDash.
Will DoorDash Refund a Stolen Order?
When a customer reports that their item never arrived or has been stolen, DoorDash investigates the situation and will refund the customer if their claim is genuine.
Please note that It may take 5 to 7 days for a refund (partial or complete) to reflect in your bank. You may be offered credits or a new (but free) delivery instead of a refund.
Mistakes to Avoid When Reporting a Stolen DoorDash Order
- Delaying the report: Timeliness is crucial when reporting any issue to DoorDash because it increases the chances of successful resolutions. Lateness reduces the importance of your claim and gets it easily discarded.
- Inaccurate details: Your report must also describe the order accurately. For context, you must include the date, time, delivery location, the Dasher’s name or ID, and the stolen item.
- Emotional or aggressive communication: While this experience can be frustrating, you do not need to communicate in an aggressive tone or get too emotional. This may result in mistakes or overlooking details that can help with a speedy resolution.
- Not cooperating with DoorDash support: You must be prepared to answer questions raised by DoorDash support. Every bit of cooperation helps.
- Not checking with neighbors or security cameras: Before assuming theft, DoorDash expects you to review security cameras or contact your neighbors regarding delivery.
- Not using the DoorDash app or website: Reporting a stolen order via the app or website tends to generate faster resolution than reporting via an official social media handle.
What Happens If a Dasher Steals Food?
The likely response to this violation is account deactivation (if there is enough proof that a Dasher stole your food). This means such an individual can no longer work as a Dasher or reapply to become one.
Please note that Dashers can submit an appeal to reverse this decision. However, only very convincing appeals get approved. On the other hand, they may receive a warning if they can prove that the food was lost accidentally or an exception was responsible for the failed delivery.
To avoid deactivation or warnings, ensure you communicate with your customers or DoorDash if you are experiencing any issues or delays.
FAQs
How common are stolen DoorDash orders?
Very rare. This is because no Dasher would like to risk deactivation.
Do delivery drivers get free food?
No, most delivery drivers pay for their food. However, a driver may decide to eat a rejected order, provided it has been approved for disposal by the rideshare company or restaurant.
Can a DoorDash driver cancel an order?
Only DoorDash can cancel an order. A Dasher can only decline an order or “unassign” it by handing it over to another Dasher.
Wrapping Up
Customers who say “DoorDash stole their food” likely experienced a delayed delivery or delivery to the wrong address. Thankfully, such scenarios have reduced drastically because Dashers can now easily communicate with their customers in real-time.
In addition, the first step (for suspected stolen orders) is to contact the Dasher. This helps you know the whereabouts of your food. However, if there is no response, contact DoorDash.
The company prioritizes customer satisfaction and will review your complaint to provide the best resolution. You will likely get a complete or partial refund, DoorDash credits, or another delivery attempt.
I hope you found this article helpful. You should also see what happens if no one picks up your DoorDash order.
Thanks for reading.
