InstacartReviews 2,486

I used this service once during Hurricane Irma at Publix. All items were out of stock so I cancelled the order ($25.00). I look at my card later and they charged my credit card anyway.
Two weeks later I see a charge for $149.00 on the same card from Instacart San Francisco and I have not used that service, only one time.
Either they are thieves or they have a horrible security set up. Someone charged my card for groceries and they just let it go through.
DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE> Once they get a hold of your CC # you are in trouble

When I got back from taking care of my dying grandmother I was too emotionally exhausted to go to the supermarket, so I turned to Instacart. I had heard great things and had a pretty good experience since I began using it a year ago. However, over the last month/month & a half, things have rapidly started going downhill. Items are replaced when I requested them to be refunded, items are missing that I was charged for, and items I requested mysteriously disappear from the order after it is placed. I tried to be forgiving--things happen and Instacart is so convenient, but with these problems repeating themselves order after order I'm not sure how much longer I am willing to stand for it.

I used to love ordering from Instacart back in the day when they were still a new, eager, bright-eyed company willing to work hard to prove itself and delivered your groceries in nice reusable canvas bags. Years later after being an avid user/member, I've become increasingly disappointed with how the company's been changing and have slowly been shifting to other services.

Since they split up drivers/shoppers, it's been even worse! It's evident when shoppers are careless or just being incredibly lazy (come on, you have ONE job, so please do it correctly), and I've had to digitally (via chat) direct them to where the item is in the store that they initially marked as "out of stock" only to be found via my directions (aka LOOK HARDER). Other times, they would substitute in items when I requested a refund, or choose produce that have obviously gone bad. Nowadays, I'm more shocked when an order actually comes in mistake-free. Most of the time, I need to get credit for all the items they got wrong (the redeliver option is a JOKE if you need an item that moment you requested the groceries - you'll most likely get it the next day). Oh former instacart, where have you gone?

I thought it was strange that they swapped one dish soap brand I chose (at Costco) for another, the other being twice the price. The dish soap I chose was NOT out of stock at Costco. Lots of other comments say something similar - that more expensive items were swapped w/o reason. I hadn't heard of Instacart... was given a gift certificate which I used to get cleaning, personal, pet, and paper goods. I prefer to get my own food items. Instacart can be convenient to use on occasion - if you have a broken arm/leg or the flu. I wouldn't write them off completely, but (in my opinion) it's not cost effective for the average person who can drive to the store and do their own grocery shopping. The only thing saved is time.

Instacart does NOT have its act together. You don't get one single delivery, but as many as five separate deliveries if that's the total number of stores you ordered from. Very inconvenient. Book keeping is screwy. They put a hold on your account in the form of an actual deduction, and in my case, a refund was not made requiring numerous calls to my bank and Instacart to get things straightened out. Frozen items were insufficiently cooled and insulated and were delivered in ordinary grocery bags. Going back to AmazonFresh.

They are a startup who already could care less about their employees. The pay set is an insult to the drivers. The Star rating is set up to make drivers fail. The price mark up for groceries is so high that customers THINK that the drivers are making WAY more than they are. It takes 43 hours a week most of the time to clear $9 an hour after gas, insurance, and maintenance of your car. They ALWAYS side with the customer even when the customer is breaking the law, or putting the driver in danger. Impossible to move from driver up the company... so low ceiling. Unreasonable expectations regarding routes, and times.

I spend thousands of dollars on Instacart a year. Twice in the last 3 months they've accused me of fraud, basically implying that I am trying to steal food,and put a 48 hour min hold on my account demanding that I resubmit my I.D. and credit card. What? These people are crazy. Fyi to Instacart: Black families/Minority families have money and can afford to eat well without struggling to get grocery bags in and out of the house, stop trying to put a blockade on our health. The discrimanatory practices are so evident, if my name was Becky Weinstein and I was spending such an exorbitant amount on food there would be no conversation. I know this because when I was married to a non minority Instacart gave me no issues. I am tired of big companies denegrading certain groups of people, and making it difficult for them to get ahead in life. If you have the option, shop elsewhere.

I went on the Instacart website. I signed up for free trial, a plan for $79.00 for two deliveries a month, and then I started to place an order. With no explanation, a 10% service charge was added to my order. I then called and cancel the order, the free trial, and the $79.00 plan. I was very surprised this morning (a Sunday) to see that a $79.00 charge was placed on my credit card. I called my credit card company to have the charge removed.