Why this answer
What actually matters
- Check the wording shown at checkout and whether a time was guaranteed, agreed or merely estimated.
- For immediate/time-sensitive goods, delivery timing can be legally significant depending on the contract and circumstances.
- Even where a modest delay is permitted, the condition of the food on arrival remains a separate question.
Important nuance
When the statement may have a point
- A short delay beyond an estimated time does not automatically entitle the consumer to cancel or obtain a full refund if the order still arrives in the contracted condition.
What you could say
Keep the response tied to the actual rule.
Evidence
What to have beside you
- Order confirmation, item list, customisations and the restaurant/product description
- Delivery tracking, timestamps and any delivery photograph or contact attempts
- Clear photographs of the food, packaging, seals and all items received
- Screenshots of the refund request, refusal, account credit offer and support conversation
- Allergen information shown before ordering and any relevant packaging or labels
If they still refuse
Move the dispute forward.
- Report the problem promptly through the platform and/or restaurant and keep the evidence.
- Identify who supplied the food and, where relevant, who supplied the delivery service; those can be different contracts.
- If a statutory refund or price reduction is due, challenge an app-level refusal on that basis rather than treating the platform policy as the law.
- For genuine food-safety or allergen concerns, consider the local authority food-safety route as well as seeking consumer redress.
- Where a trader still refuses a valid monetary claim, consider a card dispute/chargeback or proportionate court action where appropriate.
Read the full rules