InstacartReviews 2,490

This was my 1st and last time using Instacart. I wanted to surprise my wife and her friend that had just officially entered remission of her breast cancer on their vacation to our place in Florida.

I made the order, included detailed instructions for delivery and paid for the order. On the day of delivery nothing came. This was strange as I had received an email from the delivery driver to say it had been delivered.
I eventually called down to see if they had received anything and they had not, then I called the front desk to see they got it and still nothing.
I emailed 3 times with nothing more than a auto email reply. The next morning I tried again with the same result so I resorted to public shaming on Twitter to finally get a response (which was to email the same "help" email that I had sent 4 emails to already).
I finally got a email response after again resorting to twitter and they said they spoke to the driver and he had said he tried to call as he was lost. That is a total lie as I had my phone with me 24/7 due to my job and there were no missed calls, or messages. Try again pal!
They then said they would refund me. When that happened 3 days later, the amount of the refund was $2.48 less than I had paid.
Now let me be honest, the $2.48 is insignificant but the principle of paying for a service I didn't even receive is maddening.
I got back with my Email "helper" and explained that this wasn't right and I was told to call my bank. What a cop out... washing their hands again of the issue.

I will never use this company again, they turned what was to be a good intended gift into a frustrating, time wasting and frankly a good lesson in what not to do in customer service experience.

Good luck Instacart... you're going to need it with service like this!

I called to question why Instacart was overcharging me $10 more than the total of the actual items labeled and valued I ordered. Instacart came up with BS and place blame on some HEB stores mark up their prices for the fee for instacart shoppers to go into HEB stores... seriously? HEB have curbside service for FREE where HEB shops and delivers grocery items to curb for consumers. HEB does not do that. This company practice is dishonest, liars, cheaters, and have no integrity. I canceled my membership for the wrong morals, ethics, and practices of instacart. Dont support them. #Outraged

I would like to share my experience

First and for most the worst
Company I have ever seen

I sign up they they welcome
You make
You feel special part
Of
The team. They make you download the app they make you go through this whole process and then you have to wait to get your credit card the worst part is that they keep on sending you emails to complete your application but you cannot because you have to wait for the card to arrive and put the Numbers of the credit card to proceed to your final step. Then they send you another email to complete a alcohol procedure you do that then they see congratulations you passed your test and now they say that youre good to go to start work I finally get a few shifts and I received an email tell me that my shifts are canceled due to my background check still pending. This company checkers that everybody is using like Uber Lyft its a generic company that everybody is using and Ive had a bad experience with them Ive waited almost 2 months to be approved come to find out that I was approved after three days but on the website it still said that it was pending terrible service undependable I wouldnt trust him so heres my bad experience if you know that you have to go through a background check why do they said you the credit card when you do not know if you have passed the back ground check. Thats stupid. I have send them several email and all i got was a complete different answer. They are so messed up as a company that they clearly do not communicate with each other. Now I have another shift and Im wait to get another emai tell me that my back ground check is still pending and they will pull the shift away from me. The funny part is that they send me emails to go pick up shifts why would you do that if my background check is still pending clearly theres no communication in this company was company to do business with I would recommend our business to stay away from this Instacart

Instacart is a HOMOPHOBIC company. They allow their staff to call other employees "d***s", "lesbian b****s", list goes on.

The delivery drivers notoriously steal items and customer service does absolutely nothing to help.

This company also only allows a maximum of 32 hours for its employees to ensure that they do not have to pay for their health insurance etc.

It has gotten to the point where employees have received emails stating that their jobs are at risk if they take their paid ten minute breaks at the beginning and end of their shifts.

This company is corrupt and relies on a system that forces employees to replace customers items rather than refund them to ensure that they make as much money as possible.

Instacart does not care about their employees or clients. They are a money hungry start up with no clue as to how to run a business.

Their Shopper Happiness Support Team are poorly trained and give false information to its employees.

Instacart also scams clients by tricking them into paying $150 a year for "reduced" delivery prices.

I have actually been tricked into this scam about 6 months ago and had to have Wells Fargo call them in order to get a refund.

BEWARE Future customers and employees! This business is corrupt and does not care about you. Read the other reviews, check out their BBB rating.

My experience with Instacart is not at a unique one.
The company is constantly dealing with similar complaints and does absolutely nothing other than blocking your email, or refusing to respond.

My paper receipt says the total bill was $114.31. Instacart charged my debit card $159 for a difference of $45. I called Instacart and was told they have contracts with certain retailers who'll charge higher prices for those using the Instacart website/service. Instacart wouldn't refund the difference or offer any type of credit since the 'higher price' difference is mentioned somewhere on their website. Of course, I've cancelled my free trial period and membership. Unacceptable.

You get a "free" trial then they charge you $79 for a year's membership. But guess what? There's no way to cancel your membership. Honest to God. I looked everyplace. Clicked every link. It's not under the Accout function or any logical place you can cancel with a reputable business. Finally, I emailed them directly asking how to cancel. They wrote back and said "We've cancelled your account. Thanks for being a valuable customer" blah blah. I wrote back and asked for exact instructions on the site of how to cancel an account. They sent me a link that didn't work. I sent that back to them and said "This didn't work. I need instructions on cancelling my account." Once again I got an email saying "We've cancelled your account. Thanks for being a valued customer" blah blah. -- After seeing some of the complaints here about false charges, I checked my credit card and there they were -- one $10 charge I didnt recognize and they didn't credit me an amount they should have. I thought this would be a more convenient place to shop but honestly I don't want to spend my time monitoring my credit cards to make sure I'm charged accurately.

First off, I love Instacart's concept as I don't have a car at this time. HOWEVER... you are charged a higher amount initially to allow for +/- when the shopping is done (charged $50 on your debit or credit card, but actual order was $40.50). When all is said & done, Instacart's does not adjust the final amount to reflect your actual purchase. I have ordered 3 times & going back to review what Instacart's charged me vs the debit card deduction, Instacart's owes me $28. So far, no resolution. Can you say ripoff? Also, they do not take cash payments... I wonder why?! By using & authorizing money deducted from your account, they're "banking" on you not checking your account after you eat your food.

I am not thru with Instacart! I will get the money owed to me!

I wish this service could work for me, the idea is good, but the service is terrible. The shoppers need to be trained. Never let the shopper pick a replacement for you, it will cost you double. And now, they place a temporary hold on your account, then another temporary hold for the actual amount and then charge you for the purchase, all in the same day. And the funds will be held for nearly 6 days. In the past they would do a temporary hold and then credit the difference the same day.

My card was charged a $149.00 yearly service fee completely out of the blue, with no prior notice of any kind. Fortunately dealing with customer service was OK, and they said they would reverse the charge.
The next morning I see my card was charged $14.99 from Instacart before the refund they've supposedly issued has hit my account. I can't even remove my payment information on the site to avoid being charged more because of this.
Not to mention, the service was sub-par half the time anyways.

If you use this service, be sure and check your bank balance. They put through the entire amount of my order twice - almost $150. The really frustrating part is that after 3 phone calls and 2 emails, they keep saying a supervisor will call me back because they can't do anything about it and this is the 4th day and no one has called me back. At first I thought the double billing was a mistake. I am beginning to think it is a scam.

I'm terribly disappointed that I can't trust this service to charge me correctly, and their customer service is clueless and appalling. I was overcharged AFTER my delivery for amounts that they refuse to explain. When I called everyone I spoke to was unable to answer any simple and direct questions about the billing without putting me on hold to consult with someone else, and still could not answer directly. I gave up and tried email.

I had to send 8 emails exchanged with two different agents before someone grudgingly agreed to refund me an amount less than I was overcharged. I will consider myself lucky I'm getting anything back. It's too bad, my order was exactly what I asked for my shopper/driver could not have been nicer.

I won't use this service again.

I was excited to see that Publix was bringing back delivery... but their partner in this endeavor is not up to par. There was about a 20% mark up on many of the items I ordered. Additionally, I had an introductory promo code for free delivery, but was still charged a 10% delivery fee and given tip guidelines (10,15 or 20 %). Overall, I paid $35 more (on an order of $85) than I would have paid had I shopped at the store. I won't do this again.

I, like many other customers, was surprised to see that my publix receipt was 20% less than what I was charged by instacart. They do a terrible job being transparent about their price gouging. Burying that information in the FAQ borders on fraud. BOGO items show as BOGO on instacart's website but DO NOT get discounted. Apparently they must be identical flavors/items which is NOT explained. They also forgot 2 of my items. First time customer + 20 min phone call with customer service manager. We will see if I actually get refunded...

If only the shoppers were better trained and the customer service could handle the amount of business they have. It seems like there i an issue with every order I place, especially with Mariano's. Their apps are unreliable and the excuse I hear every time Have to call, which I do as a last resort, is "our apps are not working". Why is it that I see my order status on line and your shopper doesn't reply? Why is it that your shopper doesn't respond to messages, or that you don't name your shopper? I understand Jewel is developing their own shopping service and I'm there. Thanks for the memories, Instacart.

I wanted to give this delivery a try because of my disability issues and my relatives were currently unavailable. I was ready to give a $20 tip since it was my first time but it turns out this company is a complete waste and utterly disgusting. I wish I could give it zero stars honestly. I ordered groceries from my local store and everything went smooth until they began delivering my order. The female driver was a complete $#*! with no amount of respect whatsoever and lack of sense and sympathy. They cancelled my order due to impatience without even informing me with a call or text. Please everyone do yourself a favor before using this service... don't. Just don't use it. It will add more years to your life, trust me.

Placed my first order and was quoted $68.12 for items I selected on the Costco portal. Delivery is late by several hours and several delivered items were incorrect. Come to learn that the items THEY substituted cost a ridiculous amount and I was charged $88.40 plus delivery charges which was suppose to be free with my first order. 3 weeks later, I noticed a charge on my credit card for $149 for an Instacart subscription which I never signed up for... now dealing with my credit card company. What a headache... this company is quite the scam!

Instacart is a huge scam. They overcharge their customers on items that they are not receiving. I have now found 3 separate occasions, after only using the app 4 total times, where there are items on my receipt that were charged incorrectly. I have reached out numerous times over the past 3 weeks since then, and they have not responded, or resolved the issue. Ex: Cilantro, they charged me $25.99 when Cilantro at my local HEB is 40 cents. The avocado I purchased is normally 88 cents, they charged me $1.98 and the sweet potato I ordered is $1 normally, they charged me $3.98. These sound like small issues however, if they did that to me, how many customers are they doing it too. I not only researched the items they delivered to me by 1. Bringing the item to the store itself, having them scan in the bar code, and physically tell me the real price, I also emailed the bar code to Instacart, while also including the correct price from the website, and still, they have done NOTHING. This is ILLEGAL, you cannot overcharge customers and not resolve the issue or even answer.