CASE STUDY
Just Eat Delivery Chargeback
Estimated read time: 7 minutes
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The Beginning
The Beginning
I ordered a £28.02 Pizza Hut takeaway through Just Eat. It arrived nearly two hours later, cold and in an unsatisfactory condition. Just Eat declined a full refund and issued £5.35 in account credit instead, which we did not accept as settlement or use.
Final Outcome
Final Outcome
After Just Eat challenged our chargeback, the dispute closed because we had selected the wrong category when submitting it. Following further contact, MBNA reimbursed the full £28.02 as goodwill. The money was received, but the chargeback itself was unsuccessful.
Background
On 28 February 2026, at around 10:55 pm, I ordered a Pizza Hut takeaway through Just Eat for £28.02. I placed the order through my account, and my partner paid using her MBNA credit card.
The food arrived at approximately 12:44 am—around one hour and 49 minutes after ordering. By then, it was cold and the cheese had hardened.
While we were waiting, my partner called the restaurant. She was told that the food was ready but awaiting a driver. When the delivery eventually arrived, the driver told us he had been brought in from another area to help.
I kept screenshots of the order status, photographed the food and contacted Just Eat to request a refund.
The pizza and cheesy bites shortly after delivery.
The Problem
The Problem
I contacted Just Eat to explain that the delivery had taken nearly two hours and the food had arrived cold, with hardened cheese. I supplied photographs and explained what we had been told about the shortage of drivers.
On 1 March, Just Eat refused a refund or compensation. It later added £5.35 to my Just Eat account as a goodwill gesture, while stating that it could not offer refunds for food temperature.
I wanted the £28.02 returned to the card used for payment. Credit towards another order did not resolve my complaint, and we neither used it nor accepted it as settlement.
On 8 March, Just Eat confirmed that its decision was final and that it would offer no further goodwill.
Evidence Preserved
Evidence Preserved
I kept the order confirmation, screenshots of the delivery status, photographs of the food and the correspondence with Just Eat.
The confirmation recorded the order time as 10:55 pm on 28 February. A screenshot captured at 12:04 am on 1 March still showed “Preparing your order”, with an estimated delivery time of 56 minutes.
I also kept Just Eat’s refund refusal, its offer of £5.35 account credit and its final response. Together, these records helped me explain the sequence of events when we took the dispute to the card provider.
The photographs showed the food and packaging on arrival. They supported my account, although they could not establish the food’s temperature by themselves.
MBNA notified us that Just Eat had challenged the chargeback.
Taking the Dispute to MBNA
Taking the Dispute to MBNA
After Just Eat’s final refusal, my partner raised a chargeback with MBNA, the provider of the credit card used to pay.
An initial £28.02 credit appeared on the account in April. This was a temporary credit during the dispute, rather than a confirmed final refund.
Just Eat challenged the chargeback. MBNA then asked for further information to support our case.
I prepared a response addressing the merchant’s evidence, bringing together the order confirmation, delivery-status screenshot, photographs and correspondence with Just Eat.
The Chargeback Was Closed
MBNA subsequently told us that the claim had been closed and the temporary refund taken back. Its text message stated that it had not received the extra information needed to support the dispute.
When my partner called to discuss this, she was told that we had selected the wrong dispute category when submitting the claim. We understood from that conversation that it should have been raised as “goods not as described” rather than "goods not received".
This left us without a successful chargeback. My partner raised a complaint with MBNA about what had happened and how the dispute had been handled.
The Final Resolution
Following further contact with MBNA, we received £28.02 as a goodwill payment in June 2026, covering the full cost of the order.
The distinction matters: the chargeback itself was unsuccessful. The money was ultimately recovered through MBNA’s goodwill payment following our complaint.
This was not a refund from Just Eat or a ruling that it had acted unlawfully. It was the resolution reached in our particular case.
What I Learned
Keeping the evidence gave me a clear record of the order, the delay, my complaint and Just Eat’s responses. It meant I could explain what had happened without relying entirely on memory.
I also learned that a temporary chargeback credit is not necessarily the end of a dispute. The merchant can challenge it, and the money may be taken back.
If I faced a similar situation again, I would ask the card provider to confirm which dispute category matched the circumstances and keep a record of any evidence submitted and the deadlines given.
We eventually recovered the cost of the meal, but through bank goodwill after an unsuccessful chargeback. That distinction is part of the story.
Final Thoughts
What began as a £28.02 takeaway order turned into months of correspondence and a disputed card payment.
I pursued it because the food had arrived cold after a long wait, and credit towards another order did not resolve my complaint. Keeping the records helped me explain the problem and follow it through.
We eventually received the full £28.02 back as goodwill from MBNA in June 2026. The chargeback was unsuccessful, but our subsequent complaint brought a resolution.
This was my own experience, rather than a paid client case. It shows both the value of keeping evidence and the difficulties that can arise along the way. Other disputes may have different outcomes.
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Disclaimer
This case study describes my personal experience. The chargeback was unsuccessful; MBNA subsequently paid £28.02 as goodwill. It does not establish wrongdoing by Just Eat or guarantee a similar outcome in another dispute. This content is educational information, not legal advice.
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