Food delivery services like Uber Eats provide customers with convenience by allowing them to order food from their favorite restaurants and have it delivered to their location.
For this convenience to be fully realized, the delivery has to be completed on time. Read on to learn about Uber Eats’ late delivery policy and how the company handles orders that take too long!
Uber Eats Late Delivery Policy In 2024
Uber Eats does not have a solid late delivery policy but instead uses estimated delivery times to determine what to do in 2024. When you place an order on Uber Eats, you get an estimated delivery time and the latest arrival time. If the order arrives past the latest arrival time, you could get a refund or comped meal.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about the late delivery policy at Uber Eats, including what to do, how refunds are handled in these cases, and more!
What Happens If My Uber Eats Order Is Late?
When you place an order on Uber Eats, you get two different time estimates for when it should arrive, and these determine what happens if the food comes late.
That said, these estimates are the “estimated time of delivery” and “latest arrival by” times.
Further, estimated delivery time refers to when the food should arrive under normal conditions, and the latest time is the longest time the delivery should take.
Also, regardless of what time you consider “late,” Uber Eats likely won’t do anything unless the order reaches you after the latest arrival time.
If your Uber Eats order is late, i.e., is delivered past the latest arrival time, you should contact customer support and report it.
By doing this, you could get a refund, but you’ll likely get a discount on your next order. Sometimes these discounts include a price threshold and expire after a while.
Can I Get A Refund If Uber Eats Takes Too Long?
Yes, you can get a refund if Uber Eats takes too long to deliver your food. However, you only qualify for a refund if delivery is completed past the latest arrival time provided in the app.
Also, even when you qualify, you’ll need to contact customer support to report it as soon as possible because you won’t be eligible for a solution after 48 hours.
If you wait longer than this, the company will tell you that the price can’t be adjusted, so you can’t get a refund or discount.
Unfortunately, getting a refund from Uber Eats is often tricky because you have to explain your situation to customer support, and they decide whether to give back your money.
For a better chance at a refund, tell customer support about a situation where the lateness wasn’t your fault, e.g., you gave clear directions.
Why Is My Uber Eats Order Taking So Long?
Your Uber Eats order might be late due to:
- Bad weather conditions
- Heavy traffic
- It’s late, and there weren’t many drivers working
- You ordered from the restaurant when it was busy
- You offered a low tip or none at all, so drivers weren’t willing to accept the offer
Why Is My Uber Eats Always Late?
If your Uber Eats orders are always late as opposed to it being a one-off, it might be due to one of the following reasons:
- You order at busy times like during the lunch rush when restaurants are swamped
- You live far away from the restaurant(s) you order from
- Your address is difficult to find, e.g., the numbering in your neighborhood isn’t straightforward
- You order when there’s more traffic to your location, e.g., in late afternoons and evenings when people are getting off work
- You give low or no tips, so drivers are more reluctant to accept the offer when they get it
- You live in an area considered unsafe, so many drivers don’t want to make the trip when they see the address
How Do I Cancel My Uber Eats Order If It Takes Too Long?
Fortunately, you can cancel your Uber Eats order if it takes too long by following these steps:
- Navigate to your orders in the app
- Find the active one that you want to cancel
- Tap “Help” on the upper right of the screen
- Select “Cancel”
- Confirm the request to complete
However, Uber Eats only lets you cancel an order if the driver hasn’t been sent to the restaurant. After this point, the option disappears from the app.
When this happens, you can only cancel the Uber Eats order by contacting customer support and explaining your situation.
Also, if you cancel your Uber Eats order more than five minutes after you first place it, you won’t be eligible for a refund.
Therefore, if your Uber Eats order is taking too long, I recommend waiting until you get it or the latest arrival time lapses.
This way, you have a better chance of either getting a refund or your food, but you might get neither if you cancel.
What Happens If Nobody Picks Up Your Uber Eats Order?
If nobody picks up your Uber Eats order, it will eventually get canceled, and you’ll get a refund.
Before this happens, Uber Eats will show the order to more and more drivers and maybe even add in some bonuses to increase the chances of acceptance.
On the restaurant’s end, if the food was already prepared, it will either get served to someone who asks for something similar, thrown away, or given to someone on the staff.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on Uber Eats refund policy, Uber Eats privacy policy, and Uber Eats dress code.
Conclusion
Uber Eats’ late delivery policy states that you could get a refund only if your food is delivered past the estimated latest arrival time.
So, if you cancel the order more than five minutes after placing it, you won’t get a refund, so I recommend waiting it out.
Also, if your order is late and gets canceled, you should report it within 48 hours to be eligible for a refund or discount on a future meal.
