Instacart CAReviews 19

Title: Deceptive Pricing & Predatory 3-Day Refund Window
Rating: (1/5)
Review:
Consumers beware: Instacart is utilizing deceptive pricing algorithms and hiding behind predatory customer service policies to avoid financial accountability.
I recently placed a Costco order through their platform. Their website explicitly advertised a 3% service fee for this transaction. However, upon auditing my final invoice, I discovered the system had quietly charged me a 4% service fee.
When I caught the unapproved overcharge and contacted customer support to request a refund for the difference, I was completely stonewalled. The agent refused to correct their own billing discrepancy, stating that their policy only allows refunds within a strict 3-day window. Because I audited my receipt and caught their error on day 8, they refused to return the overcharged funds and closed the ticket.
A legitimate company does not put a 72-hour statute of limitations on refunding money they took through false advertising. They strictly enforce this 3-day rule because they know most people don't reconcile their bank statements within 72 hours of a grocery delivery.
Do not trust the advertised percentages on their checkout screen. Audit your math immediately upon delivery, because Instacart's customer service operates on a policy of keeping your money, even when their platform makes the billing error.

Instacart is a scam. I was provided with the store receipt in my grocery bag which I compared to the costs I was charged on the Instacart site. WOW! $26 for 4 organic apples (the most I would pay in store is $6)! I called to complain about this to which they indicated the costs per item on their site is "different" than in store. I said "Different, you mean vastly overpriced?" What a scam! Also, several of my products were spoiled upon receiving. This is a total scam and shoppers need to be aware that all of the prices are ridiculously overpriced compared to what you actually pay in store. I can't even believe the site is allowed to charge these prices. I have since deleted my account and will never use this service again.

I spent about an hour working on deleting an Instacart.ca (Canada) account I made by mistake that was never used. I found no option to do this within the site. Options that were supposed to be there were not. Their chatbot kept pointing me towards these non-existent options. It also sent a post that was supposed to have a link. The link wasn't there.

Obviously a contrived obstacle course to prevent customers from deleting their Instacart accounts has been fabricated.

Eventually I chatted with one customer service person for some time only to be told she'd have to refer me to another one to delete the account because she could not do that. Then she made three or so tries to get another person to help me. Eventually one did, but I had to explain again what I wanted and why. She said she would delete the account.

If you are trying to delete your account for security reasons:
Would removing payment information from your account be helpful to some people while waiting for account deletion? If so, is it possible?
Is removing or changing account info in lieu of, or while waiting for a deletion helpful or possible?

Instacart personnel may ask for part or all of your contact information to confirm your identity before they should help you delete your account. If possible have the current info, the old info you just changed/deleted and the date you did that. I don't even know if changing this stuff just before you ask for help deleting is a good idea. It seems like some people would need options for security reasons so I'm just putting it out there. Do your own research.

Before you try to delete your Instacart account, look online for what consumers have said about this in the past year or so. Getting your account deleted might take an hour.

I tried to be polite and a little bit friendly to the customer service workers. This may have been helpful in my particular case. Not always easy I know, but know that they didn't create the obstacle course.

They first play with prices and once you notice, they change it.
They always define threshhold for the fake credits but then try to bring your orders below that thresholdto not giving you the credit ( manipulating the order quantity, etc)
Totally waste of money and time when you can have everything delivered from famous brands with way better offers.

Never ever trust this scam-based company!

This service was absolutely amazing when I first started using it during the pandemic. After that its steady declined to tge point of unless. Especially after the company was taken over by whom ever,that's when it really took a nose dive. With all of the other options available, I definitely won't be using Instacart ever again. After receiving countless email foe intsafail, I just wanted to warn others not to use this service. The incompetence starts at the top.

If I could give less than a 1 star review I would. I was charged for a yearly membership when I didn't authorize it for the second time. I was told in order to process my refund I would have to process a monthly subscription which I did and I've been waiting since April 26th for my $111.87 refund.the chat service gives conflicting information (have screenshots) and if you attempt to escalate told that the Supervisor will give you the same information which is zero info

There seem to be a lot of poor reviews for Instacart, but I'm going to add my experiences here.

I started using Instacart after a hip surgery - I was not going to be able to drive for two weeks and maneuvering through a supermarket on crutches was not feasible for some time. I was reluctant to place my first order because I'd NEVER had anyone do my grocery shopping for me. I'm the kind of person that likes to see and handle things before purchasing, make sure the fruit is firm and the dated items aren't expired.
But since I had no choice I went ahead and placed my first order.

I have now been using Instacart steadily for the past 4 years! It's been SO helpful. I work full time and maintain a busy schedule during my free time. Knowing that there's one less chore I have to worry about has been so helpful. The shoppers...for the most part...have done a great job!

Here's the thing - if your shopper doesn't do a great job, let's say they forgot something or the fruit they picked for you got damaged or something is just not right, customer service is incredibly responsive. I've had no problems getting refunds for incorrect orders - you can reach out ot them via chat or there's even a phone number. The app is very easy to use - like anything else, you may need ot take some time to learn all the bells and whistles, but trust me, it's not that hard.

Oh, and the shoppers can keep in touch with you via the app - there's a chat function. My shoppers sometimes send me photos asking me which version of an item I'd like? If I'd like a substitution for something that's not available? It's really been wonderful.

So I would give them a try. Highly recommend.

Very expensive! Upcharges on the items were sometimes 20% over the cost of the item. Then delivery charge, service fee and distance charge.
On a $220 Sams order. They cost $70 to get it delivered! Outrageous!

Have been a monthly member since 2021 and would have starved had I not learned about them. Shop early so selection is best and be patient enough to choose replacements for each item or else a refund and if you regularly shop for the same things you can make subsequent shopping experiences quicker. In the beginning both while you are learning how to navigate through the website, you can create lists of items you wish to buy regularly and can specifically shop within a list of things you can pick from rather than typing each item each and every time you order. Saves alot of time. In the beginning there were a couple of concerns that I no longer encounter and customer service was really good about. They have saved me alot of time at relatively no cost and I recommend them highly. Thank you.

Their customer service is terrible and they take people's money without their consent from their account! I have had a claim for a month now trying to get a refund and they keep telling me it's not possible when my bank has told me to reach out to them so many times. Scammers! Taking people's hard earned money

I loved it at first, even though it was very expensive. I had a few problems and customer service instantly fixed it. Then they sent me a promo code which didn't work and I was overcharged $40. I had to go back and forth with them and each time it was a different person who asked me for the same information every time! I finally said enough and asked them one final time to make it right and credit my account. Still have not heard back and I don't expect to. Wish I hadn't taken out an annual membership because now I'm stuck with them, but I certainly won't be renewing, and nor will I recommend them to anyone ever again!

Made an order didn't receive one item. The total was adjusted but instead of a refund they double charged me and stole my money. I called and emailed, filed a complaint they closed it. They don't know how to read bank statements. Closed my instacart account. They obviously need the money more than I do.

Instacart offered a $10 discount if one shopped at Dollarama Plus, then failed to provide it when I ordered. The only limitation was the expiry date (June 24th) which still has not been reached. I was informed that, while they did not inform me of this, there was a total limit of how many discounts would be provided. They never admitted they were wrong but, after much time and trouble, they finally gave me a $10 discount for any store with a September expiry. They apologized for the trouble I experienced but they should have honoured the discount, at least, after I complained the first time. From a legal point of view, the sale is a contract between Instacart and myself. Neither side can arbitrarily and unilaterally impose a condition after the sale has been made even if a mistake was made. A court might change a contract due to an extreme situation but that does not apply in this case. I did not want to cancel the order as I wanted the food and I thought that Instacart would fix the problem, as it had times in the past, without much time and trouble on my part. How wrong I was.

A while back I had a shopper that didn't know the difference between body lotion, and body scrub. I tried to guide him, but he was lazy and listed the rest of the items on my list as unavailable. I told a rep, that I keep getting sh! Tty shoppers, the rep threatened to hang up because of my language.

Recently, I requested refunds because some of the items (including meats) I received were about to expire. They told me that the next time I do this, I'll have to return the items myself in store and I will only get up to $25 in refunds. It felt like a backhanded way of insinuating that I'm scamming. I don't have control over shopper's selection.

In spite of being able to list one's loyalty cards on the app the cards are not used towards purchases. Today, I lost out on over $20 worth of PC Optimum points that I was hoping for (since I am unemployed and every cent counts right now!) as my loyalty card was not used for my purchase at Real Canadian Superstore. When I brought up the missing points with Instacart, I was told: "You can add your loyalty cards on Instacart so you can earn points or perks from the specific retailer every time you purchase through Instacart. However, redeeming your points or rewards cannot be done through Instacart and you have to make the purchase directly from the retailer." What in the actual heck?! This doesn't even make sense! I have cancelled my membership and will be getting pickup directly from the store in future. I don't know who benefited from my PC points today but, as far as I can tell, this is fraudulent and a scam. You have been warned!