Instacart
Reviews and Complaints

I recently tried out Instacart, a grocery delivery service, and signed up for their 14 day free delivery trial. To do so, I had to provide my credit card information, which would automatically charge me $140 for free delivery for a certain number of orders for the year. However, I received an email that the trial was ending soon and I decided to cancel before being charged.

Unfortunately, I had trouble finding where to cancel on the website and ended up having to call customer service. Despite being two days past the trial period, the representative was able to cancel my membership without any prorated charges. However, I insisted on receiving an email confirmation of the cancellation.

To my surprise, I later discovered that the charge had gone through on my debit card, even though I had been assured it wouldn't be. When I called to get a refund, the customer service representative was rude and dismissive, even insulting me. This poor treatment has led me to decide not to use Instacart again, as I don't trust them to be honorable in any future dealings.

I wanted to warn others who might be in a similar position, especially those who could be negatively impacted by an unexpected charge. While I appreciated the convenience of the service, I can't support a company that doesn't value its customers or employees. It's important for businesses to understand that mistakes happen, but it's how they handle those mistakes that can make all the difference in retaining customers.

Instacart is a company that I would not recommend. It's a hit or miss when you order using Instacart. In my experience, I estimate that only one out of every 12-14 shoppers are enthusiastic and professional. The rest are rude, difficult, argumentative, and have horrible attitudes from the get-go. They are unprofessional, ghost you on text messages when you ask questions, substitute your preferred items even though you have checked the "no substitutions" box, make excuses for not getting items you order even though the items are available in the store, (I call to check), and more than once I have had shoppers walk away in the middle of the order, angering the store staff when carts of groceries have been abandoned in the store. As one of the good shoppers told me, "Some shoppers just quit on you."

When you call Instacart to complain or to try to seek a solution, the people are usually nice, although I have gotten some rude ones. However, they have absolutely no authority to do anything.

I used them to deliver groceries from my local Kroger. There are two Krogers in my area. One is old, small and often out of products, and the other is new, huge and rarely out of inventory. They are right down the street from each other, no more than a couple of miles. I think they ultimately intend on closing the small, old one, which is why they built a new one almost within walking distance.

In this situation, Instacart defaults on sending their shoppers to the old Kroger even though my profile specifically gives the address of the new Kroger and indicates it is my preferred home store. The Instacart people claim that no one in their company can change where the Instacart app sends the shoppers, because "the system" determines the store. Ask almost any question and you will be told about this all-knowing, all-powerful, autonomous "system" that makes all the decisions and cannot be changed or challenged.

Trying to explain to them that "the system" can do only what a human tells it to do, and that there are people within their company who have the authority to change "the system," is an exercise in futility. They respond as if I am speaking in a language from another planet. And speaking of language, the people with whom you communicate when you call Instacart speak English as a second (or third?) language, so there is always difficulty communicating. I'm not casting aspersions on people who speak English as a second language, only pointing out that communicating is difficult.

What is most frustrating, however, are the shoppers. Rude and unprofessional, they clearly do not approach being an Instacart shopper as a legitimate job. They think nothing of leaving your groceries in the cart and walking off the job. When I have talked to Kroger's staff about the Instacart nightmare, they have expressed their own troubles with the company.

Delivering groceries is a good idea, but Instacart is a bad, bad company. It probably is a process that looks good on paper, but the execution is a nightmare. Success depends on hiring good, responsible people as shoppers as opposed to hiring only people with a pulse, and giving your front-line Instacart customer service representatives at least some authority to effect change.

My advice - don't walk, RUN, from this company. Wait until another company comes in to compete and does it properly. Some young, healthy, aggressive entrepreneur should build a good company to challenge this very bad one.

I will never have my groceries delivered by Instacart ever again. I know they deliver in my area for Kroger and Publix, but I want nothing to do with this company.

I was so excited when I heard that Instacart was finally coming to my city. With only a few grocery delivery options available in my area, I was eager to try out this new service. I was in a bind and needed groceries delivered to my doorstep, and Instacart seemed like the perfect solution. At first, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

However, my experience with Instacart quickly turned sour. My shopper, who was new to the platform, gave me the store receipt, which I later found out was not allowed. Additionally, I was confused about whether or not I could leave a tip for the driver, and ended up paying out of pocket for a 25% tip. When I reviewed my bank statement, I was shocked to see that I had been charged $33 more than what my shopper had paid at the store.

I immediately called Instacart's customer service, and while the representative was polite, they were not very helpful. They explained that there are markups when you order online versus shopping in person, but some of the markups were over 100%. I was charged $4.99 for a $1.99 item and $6.79 for a $2.49 item. This is completely unacceptable.

The representative also explained that there was a de facto 5% tip added to my order, which was never explained to me. Between the de facto tip and the tip I gave out of pocket, my driver received a 30% tip, which is quite high. I felt like I was being ripped off.

In the end, I paid over 100% more than the cost of my actual bill in the store. This is not only ridiculous, but it's also unethical. I understand that businesses need to make a profit, but consumers should not have to pay such exorbitant fees just to have groceries delivered to their doorstep.

When I told the representative that I would not be using their service again, they were defensive and unhelpful. They did not even offer to refund half of the extra charges. I felt like I had been taken advantage of, and I was not alone in my experience. Many other customers have had similar issues with Instacart.

If Instacart wants to stay in business, they need to change their practices quickly. Consumers should not have to pay such high fees just to have groceries delivered. I will never use this service again, and I urge others to find a service that benefits them, not one that steals money from consumers.

I recently had a terrible experience with Instacart, and I feel the need to share it with others. I ordered some avocados from Costco through their website, and when they arrived, they were extremely green and dented. I waited for about 10 days for them to soften enough to cut into, but when I did, I found that they were extremely stringy, hard, spotted, and simply inedible. I contacted Instacart about returning them, but they told me that they were unable to make changes to payments for orders one week after they had been charged. This was extremely frustrating, as even the worst stores give 2-4 weeks return policy.

To make matters worse, the markup on the items was about 40% above Costco in-store prices, and there were additional fees such as a $5.99 "delivery fee," an $8 "service fee," and a separate "gratuity." This made Instacart the worst business operation I have ever dealt with. I hope others will understand that there are no returns on defective items with Instacart.

On the initial day of delivery, I also failed to receive some ordered items, and instead of refunding me the same day I complained about missing items, Instacart insisted I only be given a future credit. I had to make an additional request with supporting emphasis why I wanted a refund to my original CC payment and not a future "Instacart credit." This was a huge waste of my time, and I would not recommend using Instacart unless you like being ripped off, mistreated, cheated, and wasting more time writing online reviews than it takes to buy from somewhere else or drive to the store yourself.

It's also worth noting that Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta has faced several indictments in the last two years, including a $4.6 million class action settlement for misclassifying shopper employees as independent contractors. Instacart has also faced intense criticism from its workers and tech media for removing the option of its customers to tip their shopper in November 2016. In November 2017, a large number of Instacart workers participated in a strike against the company, alleging wages as low as $1 an hour. Instacart also mistakenly withheld tips given from its customers to shoppers in February 2018, and blamed a "bug." In April 2018, Instacart instituted a controversial non-waiveable 5% service fee on all orders.

Overall, my experience with Instacart was extremely negative, and I would not recommend using their services.

I tried to cancel my 7-day trial on day 6, but it took me a dozen attempts to do so through the in-app cancel process. I found it odd that the membership selections were managed under the Instacart Express tab, which wasn't noted or accessible under the My Account tab. Despite this, the Instacart Express tab clearly stated the end date for the trial membership and the billing date for the current plan. However, if viewed in standard orientation via the Android app, you need to scroll down to see additional information below the page load view. There was a place to cancel by clicking through to a new form, which offered a short drag-down selection to select a reason for cancel and a text box if you wished to comment further. After selecting a reason and confirming cancel, it jumped back to the previous page. However, the status remained unchanged, and I found myself in an unending cycle. I even tried deleting and reloading the app, but the same results occurred - no confirmation, just a loop. Frustrated, I logged in via a web browser, but it was more of the same, so I gave up and called to cancel via phone. However, the status remained unchanged after the call, and they would not oblige my request to email any written confirmation. I found this bizarre and increasingly concerned that these 'glitches' may be an intentionally deceptive programming labyrinth to prevent cancellation within the trial time span.

I provided the following comment in the in-app cancellation form: "Why can I not get a cancellation confirmation by completing this form here or by way of the phone call with customer service? I was told that she turned off the renewal and it would reset after I refreshed the app. But after I requested some written (email) confirmation of the cancellation she had supposedly resolved, I was placed on hold (for the second time in this particular call), and the rep stated they could not provide me with an email to confirm. I asked what happens if the full annual charge is deducted from my account when I wake up tomorrow because this is day 6 of a 7-day trial - and then there is no record to verify that I made beyond the standard effort to abide and cancel per the terms of services for the trial period within the time frame. She politely suggested that "all calls are recorded" as an acceptable assurance. As if trusting a company to willingly allocate time and resources to digging up a recording in the case that I am billed and have no evidence of cancellation, thus no viable proof should I need to dispute the charge with the bank later, it speaks volumes that after (assuming the reason for hold) speaking with a supervisor, the company refused to send an email note or form to confirm the phone (and app failure) confirmation. Yes, I was polite to the rep because it's not her fault the product has intended? Or unintended programming issues. Or her fault that the supervisor won't provide evidence assuring cancellation. Or that apparently she's unable to or has been instructed not to turn off membership from her access to my account. Unbelievable."

In conclusion, who does business like this and expects to retain any portion of the grocery delivery market for very long when you have competitors like Shipt and Amazon, amongst others, who provide apps that don't perform like a first run beta test and provide better pricing and very responsive customer service? Good luck Instacart investors and employees - it's hard to imagine it thriving a year from now or even surviving.

InstaCart is a shopping option that many people turn to for convenience and ease. However, there are some issues with the service that customers should be aware of. One major problem is that the InstaCart website only allows you to input loyalty or points card numbers for six specific stores. This means that if you shop at a store that isn't on that list, such as Kroger, you won't be able to receive any of the digital coupons, credits, or savings that you would normally get with your loyalty card. This can add up to a significant amount of money, especially when you factor in InstaCart's inflated prices.

If you shop through the delivery option on Kroger.com, you will receive all of the benefits of your loyalty card. However, when you try to link your Kroger and InstaCart accounts, the link never happens. This means that you won't be able to see your order in your InstaCart account, and you won't receive an email receipt as you should. When the InstaCart shopper takes your order, they also take your KrogerPlus number and your information through OnlinePay. When they deliver your order, they may refuse to give you the printed receipt, which contains personal information such as the last four digits of your Kroger Plus card number and your credit or debit card information.

Not receiving a printed receipt can be a problem for several reasons. Some stores require the original printed receipt for refunds or exchanges. People also use their receipts for expense accounts and cashback or reward applications. Without the original printed receipt, they won't be able to claim back the amounts they are entitled to through these programs.

InstaCart's behavior in this regard can be seen as two forms of theft. They are effectively stealing a piece of the customer's property by not giving them the printed receipt, and they are preventing the customer from claiming back the amounts they are entitled to through various programs.

Furthermore, InstaCart has been known to threaten drivers who give customers printed receipts with job loss. This is unethical and even illegal behavior, as it forces drivers to be complicit in two forms of theft.

If you're considering using InstaCart for delivery, it may be worth looking for another source to shop from. The inflated prices, failure to protect customer information, and inability to recover expenses through business expense filings or customer reward apps make it not worth the hassle. If you're looking for a job, it's also not recommended to work for this company, as you may be forced to be complicit in their unethical behavior.

Instacart used to be a great service for me in 2020. I would order regularly and usually opt for delivery, but sometimes I would choose store pick up. If you made sure to have your "substitutions" correct in the cart, things would go smoothly. However, it was a bit difficult to find where to specify substitutions after ordering. If you were on the chat available when your shopper shopped your order for the 15 minutes it took, things went well. You had to be specific about the items you wanted, like "green/light yellow bananas" or lighter green avocados if you wanted them to last longer. But if you did that, it worked well.

However, about 8-9 months ago, everything changed. The app started promoting things I regularly ordered and even suggested buying two to save 50 cents or highlighted regular items that were on sale. I would order these items because I needed them for meals for the next few days, but once I had ordered and paid, they were low or out of stock. Why promote them if the inventory is low? It felt like a bait and switch tactic. Instacart used to be my in-store electronic inventory eyes, but not anymore. Now it's all about pushing what I want, even if they don't have it, collecting the money, and then substituting something I don't want or forcing me to go to the store myself to get it. If I'm there, I can see if it's on the shelf or not. Instacart used to be honest with the buyer, but not anymore. It's all about bait and switch.

Another issue I have with the app is that it used to tell you when your order was being shopped honestly. If you ordered for a 2-hour delivery window 4 or 5 hours from now, you'd get a message on the app saying "Jane will be shopping soon." Sometimes they would shop and put your cold stuff in the fridge or freezer. If not shopped after the order, they'd let you know shopping later or text when the shopper started so you could see what was shopped, what was outstanding, and text the shopper if there was an issue. I would always text the shopper saying hi and thank you, and I would have already set the tip for $10. I would be available for those 15 minutes for any issues if possible. Now, right after you order, even if delivery is 3 hours away, they say "shopping shortly" in big marketing LOUD CAPS in the APP, even if shortly is 90 minutes later. It's annoying. If you write customer service, they say, "Well, your order is for 8 pm, and it's only 5:30 pm." And you say, "That's not the point. Don't tell me shopping shortly if it's not shortly. I don't want to text the shopper if she/he hasn't even left their apartment to go to the store. And I don't want to keep the app up if I don't need to for another hour or two. That's costing me time - easier to go shopping. Just have the app say it will be later, and we'll text you. Why make stuff up?"

I had two bad experiences five months ago, so I stopped using Instacart and did pick up with the Publix app to pre-order and have them shop, which worked well, or I did in-store pick up or had WF delivery. Today, I tried Instacart again after five months to see if my prior two experiences after dozens of good ones were an aberration or if they fired the new marketing or user experience executive who had mucked things up. Unfortunately, it was the same thing. They promoted milk, roasted chicken, and ice cream sandwiches I often buy/order. They offered buying two for chicken and milk, and I did buy two milks. As soon as I paid and confirmed my order, the shopping cart said LOW on those three things. I might need to substitute. Why promote them then? Then it said shopping shortly at 5:30 pm, but it wasn't even close by 90 minutes. So I canceled the order (had to get on the website to do that) and had them close my account. It's sad because they started out so well, but now they're just sleazy. After writing this review, I saw all the bad stuff about item charges, overcharges, double taxing. Ugh. Another one bites the dust.

I had a really bad experience with Instacart recently. They sent me to a place in Downtown San Francisco that was undeliverable, and I ended up getting a parking ticket because there was nowhere to park. I didn't have any money on me, and there were no parking garages nearby. As I was coming out of the building, a meter maid was writing me a ticket for $109, and a tow truck was getting ready to tow my car. Luckily, my 12-year-old son was with me, and he ran down to the car and stopped them from towing it.

I was really upset because I was completing a delivery for an Instacart customer with a very large order from BevMo. The order was extremely heavy, and I had to park in a yellow zone or red zone because there was nowhere else to park. Instacart sends us into undeliverable zones at undeliverable times and expects us to park in these zones without any compensation for tickets or tows.

I was really worried because my purse, ID, driver's license, money, credit cards, car garage door opener, and keys to my home were all in the car. If they had taken my car, I would have been stranded and probably would have had a mental breakdown.

I went down to the headquarters in San Francisco to try to resolve the issue, but I was met with resistance. The security guard wouldn't let me upstairs without the name of a supervisor, and when I called the "happiness" number back, I was met with an automated voice recording that said they were not accepting any more calls. I eventually had to email them to try to resolve the issue.

Instacart treats its workers inhumanely, and there are no moral codes with this company. They pay us less than minimum wage, and we only make $5, $6, $4.75, and $7.80 on Mondays for deliveries. They may give you five deliveries, and they will be all over San Francisco. By the time you finish running all over San Francisco, you have spent that money in gas alone. Needless to say, we don't even get tips when we have to walk up three flights of steps or just the mere fact that someone is bringing you your groceries, your Petco animal runs, and doing shopping for you at Target and bringing you cases of water. The least you could do is tip us, but Instacart took away the mandatory tip last year.

They are the real corporate thugs and gangsters, and I cannot believe that they get away with treating people this way. I am a disabled single mother, and unfortunately, I have to be an independent contractor for this company and a few others. But this is the only independent contractor company that does not allow us to come into the office when we need assistance or help. Uber has an office, Postmates has an office, DoorDash has an office, so why can't Instacart have an office for us to come in to resolve these types of issues?

According to our Shoppers app, it says that some cities do not reimburse for traffic tickets. One would believe that San Francisco being the city that it is and them sending us into unsafe delivering environments which can lead to us losing our cars by them being towed and receiving hundred-dollar plus tickets that they are not willing to reimburse should be an eye-opener of the level of greed that this company holds as its value system.

It is by far the worst place to work, but what can disabled single mothers and fathers do when they need to make money to pay the rent and they're running short on funds in San Francisco trying to maintain working four or five jobs? Instacart is relentless, they have a ruthless mob mentality, and they treat us like dirt. Please, please customers, tip us delivers. We don't make any money, and they don't even pay us minimum wage. It is modern-day slavery, point blank.

Instacart is continously a awful service. They messed up a whole order of mine. I asked that my money be returned and stressed I didn't want a credit. And they lied like I would receive my money. They got right off the phone and issued a credit. Used the credit a few days later and that order was messed up. My wife tried the service today and after messing the order up ... and waiting for them to rectify the problem, they up and canceled it. How does that help a customer that's trying to cook a meal ... 2 hours of back and forth, the order get canceled, and then you need to wait 5 to 10 days to get your money back?

My first time using instacart i placed a $362.00 grocery order on instacart on 6/6/23 . The driver was texting me as she was shopping asking about substitutions so of course I’m thinking everything’s cool my order was scheduled for delivery at 10:00pm then changed to 11:45pm. I already thought that was odd but i left it alone . I waited at my door step starting at 11:30pm just so i could be outside to help the driver , 11:45pm came still no groceries but i received alert saying groceries where delivered i immediately started texting driver telling her i been outside and i didn’t see her still no response at this point i started contacting instacart , that’s when the lies began telling me my order would be replaced next morning which was 6/7/23 . Now it is 6/9/23 and i still have not gotten my money back or groceries i will never order through instacart again

My sister lives in Fort Payne Alabama. Someone in this state used her debit card she gets her disability benefits on to buy groceries by doing five transactions unauthorized to Instacart. We have already sent in the information to have it checked out and would like the $230 put back on her card. She is a cancer patient and needs her money to live on. We are highly upset people scamming people out of their money. Her card is Mastercard, it is a debit card ending in 6115. Expiring 01/2027. Kimberly Kay Clark is her name. Please be sure someone does something bout this and stop people from scamming others. You can contact her at [protected] or my email [protected]@yahoo.com

I have had orders placed on my account by unknown persons in different states on 2 different instacart accounts; the first incident was on 04/29/2023 and the second incidents were the following weekend 05/05/2023. it took approximately 3 weeks to receive the refund on the first incident in the amount of $72.00, but I am still getting the run around on the other charges. I call every 24-48 hours as instructed and am told the same thing each time. I have two charges (1)$151.79 (2) $105.83 I have had my account go negative and have received OD charges and late payments on accounts that were due. This is totally unacceptable! I am seeking legal advice at this point.

I, Lisa silva ordered a brothers 223 yellow cartridge and instacart delivered the incorrect cartridge which was a brothers 225 blue cartridge, so I reordered and paid for a second cartridge which again was supposed to be a brothers 223 yellow cartridge and they sent a brothers 225 yellow cartridge which again was the incorrect cartridge so I went into the Office depot to get the correct cartridge myself and Office Depot informed me that I had to do my exchanges through instacart they could not do the exchanges in the store even though I had the receipt that instacart sent over to me. So I have been trying to do the return of the Cartridges so that I can get a refund for incorrect items. Also for some reason they also sent clipboards that I did not order. I would like to also return them as well. If someone could please give me a call @ [protected] or email me @ [protected]@yahoo.com

If u want lie too or get thing u didnt order then u be happy with them an if want what u order u need to find some else to do it an u will pay for the full cost of it too they say we will refun u the money an dont an will hang up on u when u ask to talk to mangent for help so if u over 60 u mite as well have some one to take u to the sore so u can get what u need not what they want to give u this has happen 5 out of 7 time an I not going to do it any more hope u all the best an u find someone else to help u with u food from thr store thanks for your time

Good luck

I refuse to ever have an account or order from instacart due to the constant stories of theft. Well, even if you avoid them they can still find a way to steal from you. Just found a large charge on my bank statement from them. I had to jump through hoops to be able to contact them because I do not have an account and refuse to make one to file a complaint.

Hi. After I finished my deliveries Saturday I went home. Not knowing much about the distance for the pay, I accepted the orders because I figured I'd know, afterwards. The next day, I attempted to do more deliveries. It stated that my account was deactivated. I was confused, because by then I was shown the distance by someone else that does InstaCart. I was surprised to know that my account was deactivated, after, my first offense. I asked them about it multiple times and they said the board denied my appeal. I really didn't understand why, this being my first offense. I had made $34 and some change that day and it wasn't added to my account, due to the deactivation. Have never received complaints or anything. Just wanna know why my account was deactivated?

April 26, 2023 at 3:28 PM I placed an Instacart order with a total of 137 items using my ebt for an amount of $867.87 and then using my personal debit card for an additional $116.87 coming to a total of $984.74 that I was charged and payed to Instacart. The driver submitted my order as delivered but failed to actually deliver my items essentially stealing my entire grocery order and I have yet to receive any type of refund. I have contacted attorneys, filed a police report, contacted my caseworker and have been given the runaround

by Instacart for days with absolutely no resolution. All communication is

overseas with workers who do not care and hang up on you, give you the same answers over and over like they are reading from a teleprompter, never have a resolution, everyday that I speak with someone they have me complete a new task in order for their "trust and safety team" to get back with me in "24 to 48 hours" but no one ever gets in contact with me. They have since suspended my account preventing me access to my own personal records, will not answer any of my questions regarding what happened to my items or why I haven't received a refund. One of the Instacart customer service representatives gave me the information that they have a gps tracker on their drivers and they do in fact have the information that the driver never came to my location to deliver my $1000 worth of groceries and the driver did not provide any photos or documentation proving a successful delivery.

So Instacart confirmed they had the proof that I did not receive my items but it was still "under investigation" and have not issued my refund. I have expressed to them multiple times that I have an 8 month old baby and the

funds I used to get groceries were the absolute only resource I had to provide food for my family and do not have any food in my house at all and all I want is a refund so that I have food in my house for my baby. They could have easily issued an Instacart credit or made any effort to accommodate me but instead have been causing me more stress in top of the fact that I was robbed of time, money, and food. They insulted me with 2 $5 Instacart credits on an order that was never received totaling almost $1000. This is not a business, they are scamming people left and right and I will absolutely be pressing charges against Instacart as well as the driver.

Good Morning

I hope all is well.

I ordered my groceries on 04/26/2023 @ 12:30. The estimated delivery time was 1:00-1:15. Instacart immediately charged my card for the groceries.

I called at approximately 2:20 and was told there was no driver to delivery my groceries. I was told that I had to wait and was given a $5.00 credit. I called again approximately 3:10 and again I was told the drivers car broke down and I will have to wait for him to get another car. I called again at 3:45 and asked to be compensated for my inconvenience and was told by your on-call supervisor “I’m not allowed”. What the supervisor did do is give me an email!

At approximately 4:15 my groceries arrived. The driver and I had a few choice words and he threw the groceries down, refused to bring the groceries to the correct destination and called me a few choice names and drove off.

I called the Instacart # and expressed my disappointment of the driver, the service and the management. I was told it will be taken care of. Will it? I had missed groceries and a very disorganized & unprofessional experience!