Here’s a situation you may have found yourself in. You place an order on Uber Eats, then realize you made a mistake and need to cancel it. Perhaps you didn’t order the right items. Or maybe you entered the wrong delivery address. Or maybe the order is taking too long to arrive. Whatever the reason, you’re asking yourself how to cancel an Uber Eats order.Â
In this post, I’ll walk you through how to cancel an Uber Eats order. We’ll look at canceling an order from two perspectives. The first is if you’re a customer looking to cancel an order that you placed. If this is you, you probably care most about whether you’ll be able to get a refund.
The second is if you’re an Uber Eats delivery driver and you want to cancel an order that you’ve already accepted. This is not a problem so long as you haven’t picked up the order already and you cancel the order relatively quickly.Â
Here’s some more detail on how to cancel an Uber Eats order as both a customer and a delivery driver.
How To Cancel An Uber Eats Order As A CustomerÂ
Canceling an Uber Eats order when you’re a customer isn’t difficult. To cancel your order, you’ll need to go to your order in the Uber Eats app, then click on the help screen. From there, you’ll find an option to cancel your order.
The only thing you’ll need to think about when canceling an order is whether you’ll get a refund. When it comes to getting a refund on Uber Eats, speed is the name of the game. If you cancel your order immediately after you place it, you’ll likely automatically get a full refund. However, if the restaurant has already started preparing the order, you’re probably going to be out of luck unless you can convince Uber Eats customer support to give you a refund.Â
In my experience, if you cancel an order within seconds of placing it, you’ll usually get a refund automatically. But if you wait even 20 or 30 seconds, you’ll find yourself getting a message saying you won’t get a refund if you cancel. I’ve found that if you message customer service and explain to them what’s going on, they’ll usually be able to cancel the order and give you a refund. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s your only hope if you’ve waited too long.
The good thing is you don’t have to guess to see if you’ll get a refund. Before you cancel an order, Uber Eats will give you a popup telling you whether or not you’ll receive a refund.
Getting Partial Refunds On Uber EatsÂ
A common situation you might find yourself in is when some of your order is missing. A lot of the time, the restaurant might have forgotten to pack an item or maybe the driver forgot to grab an item from the restaurant.Â
The good thing here is that Uber Eats will automatically refund you for any missing items in your order. If you find that your order is missing some items, simply go to your order screen, click on the order that has a problem, then click the “get help” button. Â
From there, you’ll see various options you can select. Choose “wrong or missing items.” You can then provide information on what items are missing from your order. Uber Eats will usually automatically refund you the missing items if you request the refund immediately.Â
Canceling Delayed Uber Eats OrdersÂ
Another common situation is when an order is delayed. Uber Eats gives you two times when you place an order – the expected delivery time and the latest delivery time. In some circumstances, the order might not make it by the latest delivery time.Â
If that happens, you’ll be able to go into the Uber Eats app and mark that you have an issue with your order being delayed. Uber Eats will then give you the option to cancel the order and receive a full refund.Â
Before you cancel the order, Uber Eats will also give you the option to receive some Uber Eats credits in exchange for keeping the order. The value will typically be 20% of the order total.Â
I generally opt to keep the order and take the Uber cash. That way, I can use it for future orders. To me, if I already ordered the food, I’ll just wait for it, but I understand not everyone thinks the same way I do.
How To Cancel An Uber Eats Order As A DriverÂ
If you’re an Uber Eats driver, you might be wondering whether you can cancel an order that you’ve already accepted. The short answer is, yes, you can cancel an Uber Eats order after you’ve accepted it. Indeed, it can be a smart move to cancel orders. The most common reason to cancel an Uber Eats delivery that you’ve accepted is if you get to the restaurant and discover it has an unreasonably long wait. Another reason you might cancel an order is if the order is going in a direction that you don’t want to go. Â
To cancel an Uber Eats order as a delivery driver, here’s what you do:Â
First, go to the order, then click the three dots next to the restaurant name.
In the order status screen, click “report issue.”Â
This will bring up several issues you can report. All of these will cancel the order and it doesn’t matter which reason you pick. I usually pick “excessive wait time” or “I don’t want to do delivery.”
You’ll then go to a screen that allows you to cancel the order.Â
One concern a lot of Uber Eats drivers have is whether canceling orders that you’ve accepted can lead to you getting deactivated. The good news is that it doesn’t. Unlike DoorDash, Uber Eats does not track your completion rate, and canceling orders that you’ve accepted doesn’t impact your delivery status in any way.
There are two caveats though. The most important thing is to make sure you only cancel orders before you pick up the order. If you’ve already picked up the order, then you should make sure you deliver it. If you cancel an order that you’ve already picked up, Uber Eats will tell you to keep the order or dispose of it, which means the customer gets their order canceled and no one else can deliver it.Â
You can see why this can be a problem. When you cancel an order that you haven’t picked up yet, Uber Eats sends the order to another driver, who will then (hopefully) deliver it to the customer. By contrast, if you cancel the order that you’ve already picked up, you keep the food and no one can deliver it. If you do this too many times, you’re bound to face negative consequences.
The second caveat if you’re going to cancel an Uber Eats order is to do it soon after you accept the order. Again, this comes down to making sure that other drivers can deliver the order on time. The faster you cancel the order, the faster someone else can pick it up.
So, long story short. Yes, you can cancel an Uber Eats order that you’ve already accepted. Just do it before you’ve picked up the order and try to do it quickly so that someone else can deliver the order.
Final ThoughtsÂ
Canceling an Uber Eats order is a straightforward process. Whether you are a customer or a delivery driver, your best bet is to cancel the order as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more problems you’ll likely have.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- GO2Bank ($100) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $100 referral bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($750) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fifth Third Bank ($225) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $750 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
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