Guides: food delivery when it goes wrong
The Wrong Order is a game about the moment a delivery goes sideways — but the frustration behind it is real. These guides are practical, plain-English help for real deliveries: what to do when your order is wrong, how to ask for a refund, what you can reasonably expect, and how to make a complaint that actually gets somewhere.
There are sixteen guides here, covering everything from a late or never-arrived order to wrong or missing items, cold or unsafe food, a delivery sent to the wrong address, group orders, allergy and dietary mistakes, chargebacks, how to escalate when support says no, and how to spot a refund scam. All of it is general consumer information, written to be useful whether or not you ever open the game. It is not legal advice, and rules differ by country and by platform — but the principles below hold up almost everywhere.
Start here: the three things that decide every delivery complaint
Whatever went wrong — a missing item, a cold meal, a no-show rider, the wrong bag entirely — three things decide how it goes, and all three are in your control.
Evidence. A clear photo taken before you touch the food, the order number, and the delivery timestamp settle most disputes on their own. Support agents resolve cases in seconds when the proof is obvious; they stall when it is your word against theirs. Photograph the sealed bag, the item, and the receipt the moment it arrives.
Timing. Report the problem while the order is still fresh in the system — ideally within an hour, and before you mark it received where the app asks. Complaints filed days later are far easier to refuse, because the platform can no longer verify the state of the food.
The right channel and the right ask. Use the in-app order-level help, not a generic contact form, so the complaint is attached to the exact order. Then ask for one specific remedy — a refund for the missing item, a redelivery, or a credit — rather than a vague "this is unacceptable." A precise, reasonable request is one an agent can simply approve.
The guides
How to get a refund when your food delivery goes wrong
The step-by-step approach that actually works: what to claim, exactly how to word the request, when to expect a full refund versus a partial credit, and what to do when the first agent says no. Includes the escalation order that gets a second look.
Your order arrived wrong, cold, or missing items — what now?
A calm checklist for the first five minutes after a bad delivery, sorted by exactly what went wrong — missing item, wrong item, cold food, spillage, or an order that never showed. Doing these in order gives you the best chance of sorting it in the first message.
Your consumer rights with food delivery apps
What the platform actually owes you, and who is responsible when things go wrong — the app, the restaurant, or the rider. Where the lines fall, what "delivered" legally has to mean, and the difference between a goodwill gesture and a right.
How to document a delivery problem so your complaint sticks
The photos, timestamps, and details that turn "they said, you said" into an easy decision in your favour. What to capture, what to keep, and how to present it so an agent can approve your claim without escalating.
Specific problems, specific fixes
Marked "delivered" but it never arrived
The no-show playbook. Why a "delivered" status is a button someone tapped, not proof of a handoff — and the exact five-minute routine that turns a missing order into a full refund, including the trapped-order variant where you're told it can't be cancelled.
Late food delivery: what you're actually owed
A late order doesn't automatically mean a full refund — but it can be worth raising. What a delay reasonably gets you, how to lean on the platform's own ETA, whose fault a delay might be, and the point where "running late" becomes "not coming."
Missing items vs wrong items: why the fix differs
A gap and a swap are different problems with different remedies. How to prove a missing item (the negative you have to evidence), how to prove a wrong one, and why naming the right category gets your claim approved faster.
Cold or unsafe food: temperature and timing
Cold is the hardest common claim to win, because it's a judgement. The fix: stop arguing temperature and argue the delay that caused it, using the platform's own logged times — plus when cold tips into a genuine food-safety concern.
Tipping and refunds: what happens to the rider
When an order goes wrong, what happens to the tip? Why a refund and a tip are separate things, when it's fair to adjust one, and why the rider is almost never the party who actually failed you.
Chargebacks: using your bank as a last resort
When a platform refuses a refund you clearly deserve, your bank can reverse the charge. When a chargeback is appropriate, how to file one, the time limits — and why it's a powerful last resort rather than a first move.
Tricky situations and staying safe
Group orders that go wrong: who claims what
Six people, one bill, one missing dish. Why the account that paid owns the refund, how to claim per item instead of per order, and how to split the money back afterward without an awkward group chat.
Allergy and dietary mistakes: a safety-first guide
An allergen mistake isn't an ordinary complaint. Safety before the claim, why ignoring a dietary instruction is a serious fault rather than a swap, and exactly what to document to make it stick.
Delivered to the wrong address: whose fault, what remedy
Mistyped address or rider error? The two causes lead to very different outcomes. How the platform's own "left at door" photo becomes your best evidence, and what you're owed in each case.
How refund decisions are actually made
The dispute from the agent's side of the desk. What they can verify, what quietly counts against you, and why a claim they can approve and defend in one line is the one that gets paid.
When support says no: the escalation ladder
A first refusal doesn't have to be the last word. The calm, civil ladder — restate, supervisor, written complaint, and the external options beyond the app — and knowing which rung a case is actually worth.
Fake refund scams: staying safe while you complain
Refund scams target people already owed money. How fake refund calls and links work, the red flags, and the one simple rule — a real refund never needs your code, PIN, or card number — that defeats almost all of them.
Refund, redelivery, or credit — which to ask for
Not every problem deserves the same remedy, and asking for the right one speeds things up. A missing or inedible item is the simplest kind of claim to make: ask for that item back. A whole order that arrived cold or never came is a case for a full refund or a fresh redelivery — your choice, and it is reasonable to state which you prefer. A minor issue, like a late-but-fine delivery, is more likely to earn a small credit than cash back. Matching your ask to the size of the problem makes you look fair, and fair requests get approved.
Why we built a game about this
Almost everyone has stood in a doorway holding the wrong bag, or watched a rider marked "delivered" who never arrived. The game turns that everyday helplessness into something you can win — you inspect the order, argue your case with a fictional support agent, and escalate to an independent board. The guides above are the real-world version of the same skill: notice the problem, gather proof, and ask clearly. Both come down to the same habit — don't just accept it.