Refunds and chargebacks on food orders

> In short: Customers can't cancel a freshly cooked takeaway order just because they changed their mind: the 14-day cancellation right excludes food that goes off quickly. But the Consumer Rights Act 2015 still applies, so food must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, and complaints about food must be made quickly. Card chargebacks are a separate route through the customer's bank.

The 14-day cancellation right doesn't cover cooked food

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give shoppers a 14-day right to cancel most online and phone purchases. Regulation 28 lists what that part of the rules does not apply to, including: Card payments on your own site start on the Plus plan, so check what each Chefzi plan includes before you plan refunds.

• goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly, which covers a freshly cooked takeaway; and
• catering services where the contract sets a specific date or period, which can cover a catering booking for a particular day.

So a customer who changes their mind after you've started cooking has no legal right to cancel and get their money back. You can still choose to refund as a goodwill gesture.

What the Consumer Rights Act 2015 still requires

The cancellation exemption doesn't remove the customer's basic rights. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods must be:

The time limit is short for food. Section 22 gives customers a short-term right to reject faulty goods, normally within 30 days. For goods that can reasonably be expected to perish sooner, the limit is the end of that shorter period. For a hot meal that means the complaint needs to come quickly, typically on the day.

A practical reading for a takeaway:

• Wrong item or missing item: the order isn't as described. Refund the missing item or send the right one.
• Food that's spoiled, raw or unsafe: not satisfactory quality. Refund, and check your kitchen process.
• Allergen problems: treat these seriously and record them. Your menu should carry clear allergen information.

Under the Act, a term in your policy that tries to take away these statutory rights isn't binding on the customer, so "no refunds under any circumstances" won't hold up.

How chargebacks work

The card issuer decides the outcome.

So a lost dispute on a £22 order can cost you the £22 order, the £20 dispute fee and the £20 response fee. That's why it rarely makes sense to argue over a small, fair complaint.

Refund early, fight only when you're right

A refund that you make before a dispute is opened avoids the dispute fee entirely. A simple rule many owners use:

1. Answer every complaint the same day. Ask what went wrong and, where it helps, for a photo.
2. Fair complaint? Refund or part-refund straight away and tell the customer when they'll see it. A customer with their money back has no reason to call their bank.
3. Unfair or suspicious? Keep the evidence: order number, time, items, delivery address, any customer notes and your messages.
4. Look for patterns. Repeated disputes from one address, or many "not received" claims, may point to a delivery-area or driver problem. Review your delivery zones and fees.

Write a short refund policy

Put a plain policy on your ordering site so customers know what to expect. Keep it honest and within the law:

• Contact us within an hour of delivery or collection (or "on the day") if something's wrong with your order.
• We'll refund or replace missing or incorrect items.
• We'll refund food that isn't of satisfactory quality.
• Orders can't be cancelled once we've started preparing them, but tell us straight away and we'll do what we can.
• Your statutory rights are not affected.

The "within an hour" figure is your request, not a legal cut-off. The legal limit for perishable food is however long it can reasonably be expected to last. Make sure your menu prices and any delivery fee are shown clearly too, so "I was overcharged" complaints don't start; see online menu prices and fees.

Refunds on delivery marketplaces

If an order came through Deliveroo, Uber Eats or Just Eat, the marketplace may refund the customer and take the cost from you. Each has its own way to challenge that, with its own deadline. This is what their own pages say, read on 10 November 2026:

The common thread is evidence at the packing stage. A photo of the sealed bag with the order number on it, taken before the rider arrives, is worth more than a memory a week later. Uber Eats also says disputes must come from the restaurant itself, not an automated or third-party service. Disputes on your own online orders work differently: they run through your card processor, as described in the chargeback section above.

Refunds in Chefzi

An order the system rejects can be refunded automatically.

Chefzi charges 0% commission and no setup fee. Chefzi is from £9 a month per location billed annually (£12 if billed monthly), with your own domain and everything else included. Third-party apps take on average up to 25% commission per order. See Chefzi pricing and what Chefzi does not do. Marketplace refunds and the weekly payout are different. For Just Eat's cycle, see how Just Eat's weekly payout works.

Frequently asked questions

Do customers have 14 days to cancel a takeaway order?

No. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give a 14-day cancellation right for most online purchases, but regulation 28 says that part does not apply to goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly. Freshly cooked food falls into that category.

Do I have to refund cold or wrong food?

Customers still have rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015: food must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. For perishable goods, the short-term right to reject only lasts as long as the goods can reasonably be expected to last, so complaints about food need to be raised quickly.

What is a chargeback?

The issuer reverses the payment straight away and the restaurant can respond with evidence.

You get the response fee back if you win the dispute, but not if you lose it.

Is it better to refund or fight a chargeback?

If the complaint is fair, refunding before a dispute is opened is usually cheaper, because a refund avoids the £20 dispute fee. If the customer received what they ordered, respond with evidence such as the order details, delivery address and any messages.

Can I have a no-refunds policy?

You can set clear rules, but a policy can't remove statutory rights. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a term that excludes those rights is not binding on the customer.

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