Instacart
Reviews and Complaints

Order from evening of 12/3/22, Food Lion.

(Problem with order 5 days old—your 4 day policy is brand new to me and I’ve been sick since that night.)

If a store you contract with wants to sell flowers, the employees have got to be to be better educated.

It shouldn’t matter that it was evening (or if I’d ordered incredibly early). All retail employees, as a rule, should be cross trained in every department and lateral duties.

My shopper, who is one of my favorites because she’s unfailingly diligent and committed to finding exactly what you ordered, and if it’s not available, does all she can to find a replacement you feel happy about. She’s clearly invested in the satisfaction of her customers.

She tried to ask numerous employees at Food Lion about an item I’d ordered in quantity of 2. She asked every employee she could find if the paper white bulbs would bloom again —- not one person knew anything about these popular December&January flowers.

I definitely understand why she thought surely they must because Food Lion actually chose to keep the dead flowers as a display in the store. Again, none of this is my shopper’s fault.

But no, paper whites DO NOT bloom again. They can offer an extended blooming period if the bulbs are of good quality and if one cares for them properly.

So I got two dead paper whites I had planned to give to my mom. Again, these are not perennial bulbs so they will not come back next year. I’m requesting a refund for those two items, to be credited to my card ending in 3804.

HUGELY DISAPPOINTED!

I ordered my grocery order last night 12-02-2022 to be delivered today 12-03-2022 between 10:00 am -12:00pm. Part of my order was delivered by the driver Nicholas, he checked out at 10:28 am delivered my order at 11:55am, five miles away. I should have checked for all items in bag, as I was charged for Food Lion frozen orange juices, 1 Kraft single slice cheese that were not in my order. He put a bag with a loaf of bread on top of my cart, I ask him what's this for, he said it's your bread, I told him I didn't order any bread, he checked his phone and said ooh-ooh. I called Instacart, told the girl I spoke with that I had items missing, her response, I'll refund these items and take the delivery charge off your next order. If this was a one time thing would be one thing BUT, it happens with 9 out of 10 orders! This is SHAMEFUL way to run a business and a discourtesy to the customers. I have to use this service as I'm 75 years old legally blind and disabled, my only transportation is the City Bus, or a Taxi. I'm on a fixed income, and can't afford $20.00 round trip to and back from the grocery store, I can't hardly walk and have to use a cane just to get around. Instacart, hires people that have no respect for the customers or the company apparently. Something has got to be done!

Order Number: [protected]

Payment Summary

Item Total

$307.35

Item Coupons/Sales

-$39.93

Delivery Fee

$9.95

Tax

$5.28

Total

$282.65

12/2/22

My order first of all is still not here...more than 1 hour late...this is not the first time...this particular order was really messed up ...quantities, products and the substitutions did not match products in anyway...plus items I did not order...I called Krogers and the order was cancelled...never again will I used Krogers...my money will not be refunded for 7-10 banking days.;;what a nice way to earn interest..I am a handicap senior and this is a scam and should be investigated...tampax and feminine pads were on the order that I did not place..I am 72 years old..Instacart needs to be aware of this..Plus the order was 30 dollars more than I ordered...

I paid for professional and efficient delivery service with instacart and I have not received this. I have had multiple complaints using this service and I feel I have wasted my time and money using this terrible unprofessional service. This company is a fraud, it only takes money from it's customer and provides terrible service. Instacart is a rip off and should be closed down.

I am NOT a fan of the new management bringing in the nonsense celebrity ads with Lizzo and Pink. Just WHY? It makes me NOT want to use this service anymore and I have used it for over two full years now with tons of orders...if this company goes woke or full liberal policy tactics, I am OUT!

JUST offer the service that it was intended and serve the real people at home who can't get to the grocery store and stop all the dumb tactics of selling so called "celebrity" Thanksgiving Grocery lists. I do NOT want to COPY what PINK has in her cart, thank you very much. How ridiculous is this company going to get? Stop it now before you lose a HUGE customer base. Thank you!

I placed an order today 11/22 at 6:52 AM, and my estimated time of delivery was supposed to be between 10-11 AM. At 10:55 AM I received an alert my order was delivered. When I went to check nothing was there. So I went to open the chat and the shopper put that he “accidentally” marked the order delivered, but he had my info and would be here shortly. After two hours passed, I contacted instacart for assistance. I was told via chat that they would put in for my order to be redelivered within 5 hours and they would give me a $10 credit for the inconvenience. So after 30 minutes I checked my account to see if the new order was sent or updated and there was no record of a new order or a credit. So this time I called, the first rep I spoke to was clueless and told me he had to transfer me to the escalation team to handle this issue. So I was transferred to a literal waste of breath who told me that it was not possible for me to receive redelivery. My only option was a credit or refund and it would take up to 48 hours to receive. At this point I’m absolutely livid because no one ever emailed me, contacted me to tell me the order was never submitted. Furthermore, it’s two days before Thanksgiving and I purchased the order with more than enough time to receive it. Lastly they’re holding my money hostage after the shopper literally stole my groceries. So after voicing my concerns the agent continued to speak from his script instead of actually addressing my concerns. So I requested to speak to a supervisor. He told me the supervisor was going to say exactly what he was saying, I said that’s fine, I still want to speak to someone else, because this isn’t being properly addressed. He refused to transfer me and I asked for his name, at which time he told me have a good day and hung up. This is outrageous! It’s literally two days before thanksgiving and these thieves have my money AND groceries and I’m scrambling trying to figure out what to do. I will never use this company again!

My bill was $77.95 but ended up only being $70.77. They put both of these as a hold on my account and said it could take up to 7 days for the funds to be released. They said this is normal and they always do this. It caused my account to go negative and I don't have access to these funds. What if I didn't have money I could transfer to cover this? 2 days before Thanksgiving to boot!

To Whom it May Concern:

Today I visited my credit card company to pay my bill. Upon reviewing my transactions, I noticed an amount on 11.15 for $201.25 to Instacart. This amount was used with the Instacart associated email at XXXX.

On Nov 15th I received an email from Instacart stating the account address had been changed-which I did not do. I have TWO Instacart accounts and I do not use the one associated with XXXX anymore. I tried to log in and could not so I submitted a password reset and the email never came to me, therefore I could not change it. I did not think I still had my credit card on file with this account and when this happened I was at work.

Fast forward to today and the issue with the transaction on my credit card. Again, I tried to reset my password and email would not come to me-obviously the person who hacked into the account not only changed the address but the email associated with the account for correspondence. I quickly called my credit card company and filed a dispute and the card was inactivated.

I tried to contact Instacart for assistance but since I could not log in, I could not do anything on the account XXXX. Coincidentally, I had just placed an order on my active account XXXX and was able to enter a chat and tell the rep what happened. The rep told me to go into the account, change my password and then delete the account. I CANNOT DO THAT BECAUSE SOMEONE CHANGED THE INFORMATION AND THE OPTION TO CHANGE MY PASSWORD DOES NOT EXIST; THE EMAILS DO NOT COME TO ME! Check! What is the email associated? It's not mine. What is the address associated? It's not mine. What was the last order created? It's not mine. If the address is not in XXXX, then IT IS NOT ME. If the address is not XXXX IT IS NOT ME.

After getting NO WHERE with the rep she disconnected the chat while we were still actively communicating. I am SO upset.

Your company needs to take action immediately. You need to refund the amount of $201.25 to my credit card (ending XXXX) and delete this account immediately. Your rep did nothing to help me. Imagine if YOU were in this situation?

I am filing a formal complaint against your company and my credit card is doing the same. Instacart should take fraud seriously and do the right thing and HELP THE CUSTOMER.

XXXX

Instacart automatically renewed my membership, even though i had canceled it in August. I contacted them October 20, 2022 to cancel my membership yet again. The agent made it extremely difficult to cancel. He continuously attempted to sell me the product after I made it very clear several times I was not interested and wanted to cancel. I have screenshots of the entire conversation.

Today, I was billed by Instacart yet again. I had to contact them for the third time to cancel my account. I have screenshots of this conversation as well.

They are intentionally autorenemwin my canceled membership each month, even though they have assured me this would not happen again.

The first 9 screenshots are from me canceling my membership in October. The rest are from today.

On November 6th, I made an instacart order. While the shopper was shopping my order, she informed me that the power had went out and she wanted to know if I wanted the order canceled. I asked her if she knew how long the power would be out, she said they had told her less than an hour. I told her that I did NOT want my order cancelled. She said ok I will get back to you when the power comes on, and literally 10 seconds later, she cancelled the order. I had that pending charge on my account and no extra money in the bank so my children went to bed hungry that night, because I had no way to go and get groceries. Fast forward to November 12th. I had a $15 coupon that was set to expire on the 13th, so I made a Sam's Club order to be delivered the next day (so that I would get the $2 off coupon)...my order was set to arrive between 4-6pm. At 4:30 pm I got an alert that said my shopper had started my order. I always keep my phone near me while someone is shopping for me, in case they have any questions. Shortly after they checked in at the store, my order was cancelled. I started a text chat with an instacart associate. They had indicated that the shopper had a personal emergency and that they could UNCANCEL my order and give it to someone else. I was in dire need of groceries for my family so I asked them to uncancel the order and they gave me a $10 credit for my next order for the inconvenience. At 4:45 I hadn't received a check in yet for the new shopper, and I checked the app and my order was not being shopped. I went to my bank account to see what my balance was because I had to figure out how to again feed my children for that night, and I see that my bank account is OVERDRAWN. It's overdrawn because instacart decided when they uncancelled the order that they cancelled, to again put a pending charge of $70 on my account to cover the purchase at Sams Club which was to be approximately $63.00 give or take a few bucks. So now not only do I not have my Sam's Club order or anyone shopping it, I am overdrawn in my bank account and no way to get groceries for my family that night. I then Called instacart customer service. I get a woman on the phone that I can barely understand. She gives me a completely different story than the first agent did, and claims that there was a system down issue and the shopper couldn't complete my order. I explain to her that with speaking to an agent before her I was told different. I was tired of getting the run around with her and told her that I wanted both of the pending charges refunded to me, that I had spent the whole afternoon dealing with Instacart agents and getting nowhere. She refused to cancel the order, so I asked to speak with a supervisor. I was put on hold for about 15 minutes and another gentleman came on the line and he was also hard to understand. He informed me that he had already expedited my order to an agent who was going to follow the shopper from start to finish and that I would have my order by 7pm guaranteed(yes his words). He then assured me that the one of the $70 pending holds would be released, and that it would be back into my bank account first thing Monday Morning. And he used the word "guranteed" again. I said fine, and hung up. At this point it was about 5:30. At approximately 6:15 pm I was notified that the shopper was shopping my order. At 6:30 I was notified that my total was $91.78! And then instacart puts a $21.98 pending charge in my bank account that was already in the red because of you guys! So at this point Instacart is holding $161.98! And I still HAVEN'T FED MY FAMILY DINNER! This shopper didn't indicate that anything was more expensive, or that they had to substitute any items, so why in gods name was my total over $91 when I made the order the day before and with delivery charges and everything it was only approximately $65?! ALSO LETS NOT FORGET THAT MY ORDER WAS GUARANTEED TO GET TO ME BY 7PM.

So it's now 7:15 and my order isn't here, I check the status of the driver and he's still many miles out. Turns out for some reason he went to a Sams Club that was over 67 miles away when we have a Sams Club that is about 30 miles from my home. So I again get on instacart chat with an agent. I ask them why the charge is so much. They had no answer, so I started checking things. Apparently that $15 coupon was not applied. I asked the agent why. They first indicate that the coupon was expired. However it expired the day that my items were supposed to be delivered, and I used it in the transaction that I made on the 12th, that on the 13th y'all CANCELLED and then UNCANCELLED. The agent then proceeded to say that it was not transferrable so I've lost the ability to use that coupon because it was used in the cancelled order. I DIDN'T CANCEL THE ORDER, INSTACART AND THEIR SHOPPER CANCELLED THE ORDER. I then told the agent, look I want this order cancelled, I want ALL OF MY MONEY RELEASED, and that I was done spending my whole night dealing with this. He said that the driver was already on their way and that they were not going to cancel the order(I checked and the shopper was still 43 miles from my home). I again reiterated that I wanted my funds released and that I did not want any delivery from Instacart. They refused, so I asked to speak with a supervisor AGAIN...and theyre response was, they're going to tell you the same thing I'm telling you...would it appease you if I gave you a $15 credit? I didn't respond and closed out of the app.

So not only was my order late, the driver thought it would be funny to put a box full of about 50 lbs of meat right up against my front screen porch door, so I couldn't get out to bring the groceries in. In doing some more research instacart charged me extra for the UNCANCELLED ORDER, in delivery and service fees without my knowledge.

AND THE KICKER?!?!?! IT'S CURRENTLY 9:43 AM CST ON TUESDAY AND I STILL DON'T HAVE ANY FUNDS RELEASED FROM INSTACART!

I am asking for a complete refund, of ALL money. This was hands down the worst customer service experience I've had and I'm 43 years old. It's unacceptable to run a business like this, and I don't know about anyone else but I can't afford this kind of crap!

Kim Lannoye

I have for months given Instacart many chances to fix my problems to no avail I am at a loss to how a large company can just keep stealing from me n refuse to cancel my membership so they keep double charging me every month for a membership I haven't used since March of last year. I cancelled my Instacart membership in as pril when I quit using as service but instead of cancelling every month this year I was charged twice on my boyfriend's credit card 9.99 membership fees Twice every month. I have not used the service since icancelled. I have spent many hours on phone n live chats been promised supervisor would be in touch. I have gotten no resolution or even attempt s. the care agents all tell me they can't refund my money. 2 memberships since March 8 mos at 20+tx 160 bucks n even worse every time they say it's cancelled like clockwork they charge again1st week n third.. How do I stop them from taking more money from me? This is bank account files will only show 3 monthst at a time but can go all way back but it shows in system they just won't fix it

Contacted the company 4 times for a refund of this item because their website did not show the warning that is on the package showing the product is processed in a facility that processes Tree nuts, Coconut, Wheat, Eggs, Soy, and dairy. For someone like myself who has multiple life threatening allergies, this is a big problem. This has happened before wi to h other products they carr and I brought it to their attention. I received a refund with no problem. They sent me an email they will no longer issue me refunds cause they feel they are excessive. They are discriminating against my right to request a refund of I have an allergic reaction to one of items I purchase from them.

I canceled my membership in October. First week in November instacart charged a $99 fee to my debit card. I contacted them via email they did refund The $99 because they were not authorized to charge it however when I was waiting for the refund my rent check went through and bounced and I incurred a $30 fee. I contacted them several times through email, chat and then I called on the phone and spoke with three people and they are insisting that they cannot reimburse me for the $30 fee no one there is authorized to do that. Instacart is BS they do shady practices and charge unauthorized funds and will not own up to their mistakes. It was their error my rent check bounced and I incurred a fee because of their error and they don't have the integrity to do the right thing and reimburse me for it.

Still waiting over a month and a half for their “Trust and Safety Team” to unlock an account. Paying for a yearly expensive membership and no one is able to unlock it. Cannot speak to anyone directly, tell you that it’s only by email. Placed numerous phone calls and customer service hangs up on you. Cannot speak with a supervisor… they claim it’s over a 2 hr wait. Ask for a number to call you vback and never do

Date 11/11/2022, approximate time of delivery 9:25 a.m. I have asked to speak with a manager after 3 different employees today with no resolution. I have been hung up on 3 times now! Each time I asked to speak with a manager or someone in charge. I will never use instacart again. I have no trust after today. I placed an order online. The shopper substituted Jimmy Dean frozen breakfast sandwich's for a 3 lb roll of Kroger hamburger that I had ordered. How is that even a substitute? I stated no substitutions on my order! She took the items back but charged my credit card anyway! She provided no refund. I did not approve of any substitutes, and she did not ask; she took it upon herself to do this. I have kept all texts regarding this order from her. She stated she was sorry, the 2 boxes of Jimmy dean were for another order (but she charged my credit card for them). She bought more items then what I ordered as well. She didn't let me know of anything else that was out of stock except a box of cakes. There were many other items I ordered that were listed out of stock, but 2 items were in stock (I called Kroger and they checked!) I have repeatedly asked for a refund for $32.97 for things I did not order and items she took back. She told me to call Instacart as did Kroger manager for the refund, yet no one has helped in this matter! Instead, on hold for 30+ minutes each time, then disconnected or hung up on, and at end I get asked questions if I was helped survey!

I have used this service several times at Costco only, my order last week posted an error my account is blocked. Called Costco, they had me call Instacart. Lady on phone said to send the last four of my credit card. I sent that, but they did not tell me they also wanted my full name on the card etc. So sent in another two tries of the photo, they got one they liked. Now they want my drivers license, WA state, uploaded. I can block the license number, but they want my photo, signature, height, weight? For shopping? They will not tell my why my account was flagged. I have a high credit score, this card is high use and from USAA. There are not reasons for this invasive demand of highly personal information. I will also contact Costco management. I have seen articles that Instacart sell/shares customer information. I am not comfortable with this.

I placed an order at 2:30 with Aldi's. Delivery was set for 4:30 allowing me time to get super ready. I am a semi-invalid and I live solely on my SS income. We didn't have much food in the house the past week or two as I was waiting for my check to arrive. At 4:30 I am informed there is a delay the food would be delivered at 5:30. Then it was 6:30, then it was 7:30 then I was told it would be delivered the next day. They offered me a $10 discount on my $185.00 order. I canceled the order and we had some PB and Jelly sandwiches on stale bagels. This morning I arrange to have someone do some food shopping for me so first I check my bank balance. I see I was charged the $185. I called CS and spoke to a few people who I could not understand their accents at all. This was not an oriental or Latin accent or anything I had ever heard before. It was from Mars. Finally, I was told there was nothing they could do about it I had to wait 7 to 10 days for a refund. I feel bad for anyone that ever has to use this horrendous uncaring POS company!..

Ok so on 10/30/2022 I had an order but the store was closed so I reached out to chat I believe the agent name was angel so I get in to chat ask to remove order due to store closure. So i’m waiting.. Waiting 5 minutes go by and I get a response “what is it you need?” she asks I tell her the problem 5 more minutes go by I put a? Mark in chat….2 minutes go by I ask “is everything ok?” if you are bizzy can u just transfer me plz” I say. She says. Like two mins later “wait” I say nothing she gets back on and cancels order end chat all done.. So I give her 1star for the service I believe I got ok now i’m in cvs shopping a nother order as I’m on my last item in store about to scan it boom my cards are deactivated and my account is deactivated also no explanation no nothing no email nothing! Then I get a personal text on my phone number from that agent “it not ok I help you and you rate me bad” they texted now it’s been about two weeks no one will help me at all zero help… they shouldn’t give the agents the power to deactivate your account iv been doing this 3 years with a 4.5 star rating this is outrageous im being punished for giving my opinion this is not fair or ok bye any means idk what to do at this point

I ordered groceries at 12 pm today from a store that is only 1.5 miles from my place. I am sick and could not leave home but was heavily relying on this delivery service. After 3.5 hours they told me my shopper who was 80% done collecting my items had a 'technical difficulty' and could not complete my order. I called and insisted to speak to the supervisor who told me the VERY BEST They could do for me is give me 7$ back (my order was 135$) and ensure my order would arrive by 7pm (which was 2 hours after the allotted delivery time) -- even though they guarantee a refund or credit if your order is late. Unacceptable and extremely unprofessional, dishonest behavior... But that isnt the worst of it. At 6:45 pm I received a text that my order was cancelled. No explanation... no options for resolution... just nothing. After waiting 7 hours, talking to the supervisor, being promised my failed order would come at a certain time, it was just cancelled. When I tried to call and speak to the supervisor again, they wouldn't let me. So, they took my money and then performed zero service, wasted my entire day, and just didn't give a [censored] when I tried to voice how unacceptable this was. This is hands down the worst company I have ever ordered from. Please save your peace of mind and time and money and stay the F*** away from this company

A person in Tarzana Ca on Friar st at approx 9:00 pm on Wednesday 11/2/22 started walking on our property and a neighbor property photographing homes and entrance ways. She took pictures into our open garage door as I exited. It was a woman and I caught her on my property hiding behind my car in driveway as I was exiting my house. She ran onto the property next door and hid in that driveway to wait until I was gone. She then ran to her car and started taking photos very suspicious from her car of only our two houses.

It was a woman. I photographed her lic plate to report suspicious person scoping homes at night and taking pictures very suspicious.

the person rolled down the window rudely asked what I was doing and told her she has no right to enter properties taking pictures, she swore at me said she worked for instacart and drove off.

Her lic plate is: CA plate number 8czl188.

I am going to report this to the police. If this person works for you, I would advise letting me know. Nobody from your company should be taking pictures of properties and trespassing. She was not delivering.

Please contact me or will have to call police.

George Leviton

[protected]