DoorDash denied a customer’s refund after two Dashers allegedly took his food, and gave him $6 back on a $30 order

A DoorDash customer says his food was taken twice in a single hour, and he was left with a $6 refund on an order that cost nearly $30. As reported by the Daily Dot, the user, known as @mariotothetop on TikTok, shared his frustration in a video highlighting the platform’s refund process after paying for express delivery and tipping on the order.

Mario said his first Dasher arrived at the restaurant, waited in line, and then abruptly canceled the order. When a second Dasher was assigned, she arrived at the restaurant only to be told by staff that the previous worker had already picked up the food, leading Mario to allege that the first driver took the meal and canceled the order to avoid consequences.

Support told Mario to place the order again to get his food, so he did, but he said the second attempt went worse. He alleged the new Dasher picked up his food, drove to the opposite end of his apartment building, and then drove away and made a series of turns before ending up several streets away despite his attempts to direct her to his location. The Dasher ultimately canceled the order, but the app marked it as complete anyway.

The refund offer only made things worse

When Mario contacted support to explain that his food had allegedly been taken and the order was incorrectly marked complete, the app offered him a $6 refund on his nearly $30 order. DoorDash told him there was nothing more it could do and that the case would be escalated to a review team, a process similar to the customer service frustrations described in another consumer story. About 20 minutes later, he received an email stating that his refund request had been denied.

Mario said he was frustrated that two different Dashers allegedly took his food within an hour without any further compensation, and said he planned to keep posting about the situation. Commenters on the video shared similar sentiments, with one noting that tipping does not guarantee better service, another suggesting the company needs a class action lawsuit, and a third warning others against paying for express delivery altogether.

According to DoorDash’s help center, merchants have specific policies for handling missing orders, including remaking items or issuing refunds if a Dasher arrives more than 20 minutes late. Merchants can process refunds through the Merchant Portal or a tablet for missing or incorrect items, though those guidelines apply to the merchant side of a transaction rather than the standard customer refund process Mario went through.

The company’s policies also require that a refundable order be placed for delivery and contain only perishable items for merchant-side claims to apply, a distinction that leaves regular customers navigating a separate, less transparent review process when their food does not arrive as ordered.