Uber declined your refund? Steps to get your money back (Chargebacks!)

Yu might be shocked and angry to discover that Uber Eats won’t always give you a refund, even when you believe it is fully justified.

You might not be able to get your money back even if your order never arrives, your food arrives damaged, or you get the entirely wrong order! Even with photo proof, Uber can tell you that “this order isn’t eligible for a refund,” decline your refund request, then close your case.

Why does Uber Eats deny so many refunds? It turns out that if you have previously received a refund, your chances of getting a refund for future orders goes down. 

But there is a nearly guaranteed way to get a refund: A chargeback. If you contact your cardholder and request a chargeback, there’s a strong chance that you will get your money back.

Be aware that chargebacks have consequences: If your chargeback goes through, Uber Eats might prevent you from placing more orders until you pay back the chargeback amount. More below!

Uber won’t give you a refund? Try these steps

• Contact Uber Eats support and ask for a review of your first refund request
• Call Uber Eats customer service at  1-800-253-9377. Speaking to a live person may help you get a different outcome
• Last resort: Request a chargeback from your cardholder
  • You may be prevented from placing future orders if you place a chargeback!

“You’ve exceeded your support attempts”

Did you know that Uber can block you from customer support if you try to use the automated support features too many times? You can use the Help section of every receipt to report problems multiple times, even after Uber has already declined a refund.

But if you do it one time too many, you’ll see a screen that says, “You’ve exceeded your support attempts. It looks like you’ve tried our automated support several times for this order. We’ve provided the best support possible and this order is no longer eligible for further review.”

If Uber blocks you from additional support for an order, that’s a signal that you’re not going to get a refund or further review. You can still try to chat with customer support about the order, but you’re not likely to make any progress. Your next option is a chargeback.

Chargebacks: What happens when you dispute a transaction with your cardholder

A chargeback may be your only way to get your money back if Uber refuses to give you a refund, but there are consequences: Uber can prevent you from placing orders after you win a chargeback. Your Uber Eats account will show a negative balance, and you won’t be able to place an order until you pay the balance.

A chargeback is when you contact your cardholder to dispute a transaction. After your cardholder investigates, there’s a strong chance that you will get your money back.

But you may not be able to place another order until you pay your chargeback ‘debt’ to Uber, and Uber will no longer allow you to use the payment method involved in the chargeback.

Uber Eats disincentivizes you from doing chargebacks because they’re expensive for Uber and merchants, and dealing with them is a time-consuming process.

In addition to sending your money back, Uber Eats may also have to pay a chargeback fee to payment processors. Those fees add up.

Chargebacks are also an administrative challenge. The parties involved have to respond to communications and provide evidence. It’s not a quick or easy process.

You may be able to get your money back with a chargeback, but be prepared to lose access to Uber Eats if you win.

Chargeback stories

Here’s what happened to customers from Reddit who won chargebacks against Uber, but faced other consequences:

The bank agreed that I deserved to be refunded given the circumstances and then Uber got butthurt about the chargeback ($32) and wouldn’t let me place another order until I paid them it back.

A chargeback didn’t work for me. Uber somehow knew the charge was disputed and it wouldn’t let me use the app again until I paid the “outstanding balance.” So frustrating!

Why does Uber Eats decline so many refunds?

Even if your refunds are entirely justified, there’s a strong chance that you won’t get a refund if you’ve previously requested refunds in the past.

The more refunds you get, the less likely you are to get more refunds in the future.

It’s a fraud prevention tactic: Uber often has no way of knowing which refund requests are legitimate and which are dishonest. They give you the benefit of the doubt initially but quickly stop offering easy refunds if you start to show a pattern of refund requests.

But there isn’t a stated maximum number of refunds that you can get. Some customers easily get multiple refunds, but others can’t get a refund with only one other refund request on their account. It’s an unpredictable system.

Being practical about refunds and chargebacks

Requesting a refund feels like the obvious thing to do when your order never arrives or items are missing. Why pay for something that you didn’t get?

But there are practical considerations. Uber will eventually stop giving you refunds if you request too many, so you may want to save your refund requests for larger, more expensive orders.

If you hold off on asking for refunds on small items like missing drinks, you’ll have a higher chance of getting a full refund when you get the wrong order. 

And think of chargebacks as a nuclear option that you should only do when you’re prepared to lose access to Uber Eats. It’s a nearly guaranteed way of getting your money back, but your Uber Eats days may be over if you succeed.

How much is your Uber Eats account worth to you? For some people, it’s a matter of principle and any amount is worth it. But for others, you might not want to lose Uber Eats over a $20 chargeback.

More help with Uber Eats

• Beginner’s guide to Uber Eats: How to cancel, tip, and more
• Is priority delivery worth it on Uber Eats?