Refunds & Customer Issues

If you cancel an order before the cook has accepted it, you get a full refund. The cook hasn't done anything yet, so there's no impact on them.

How it works: Open your order, tap Cancel. Refund processes back to your card within 5–10 business days (Stripe's standard timing).

If you cancel after the cook has accepted but before they've started cooking, we issue a full refund. Because the cook reserved time and space for your order, PlateSend pays them a $5 inconvenience credit out of platform funds — this is not deducted from anyone's payout.

This window is usually short. If we can confirm with the cook that cooking has already started, we treat it as Section 3 instead.

Once cooking has started, ingredients are spent and the cook's time is committed. We do not issue refunds for cancellations at this stage except for legitimate quality or safety issues (see Section 4 and 5).

If you no-show for a pickup or refuse delivery without a quality issue, the cook keeps their full payout. If circumstances are unusual (medical emergency, accident on the way), reach out and admin will review.

Quality complaints — undercooked food, missing items, wrong order, cold when it should be hot, food that doesn't match the listing — are reviewed case-by-case by PlateSend admin within 48 hours of contact.

Our process:

1. Customer reports the issue with photos and a description (within 24 hours of delivery)
2. Admin reviews the order, photos, and any prior complaints about that cook
3. For refunds over $20: admin contacts the cook to hear their side before deciding
4. For refunds at or under $20: admin may resolve without consulting the cook (most cases)
5. Resolution can be: full refund, partial refund, platform credit toward next order, or no refund (if the complaint isn't supported by evidence)

Cook payout impact (per calendar quarter):

• 1st refund: Platform absorbs 100%. No payout impact, no clawback. This protects cooks from a single difficult customer.
• 2nd refund: Cook bears 50% of the refund amount, deducted from their next payout. Platform absorbs the other 50%.
• 3rd refund and beyond: Cook bears 100% of the refund amount, deducted from their next payout.
• Admin discretion: Admin may override the above (in either direction) when context warrants — for example, the platform may absorb all refunds for a cook with an obvious bad-faith customer pattern, or apply 100% clawback earlier if a cook ignores documented quality feedback.
• Pattern-based suspension: If a cook accumulates multiple legitimate complaints in a short window, admin may suspend the cook's account pending review, regardless of the count rule above.

The quarter resets on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Cooks see their current quarter's refund count and any payout deductions in their cook dashboard.

We don't surprise cooks. Every refund decision is documented and shared with the cook before any deduction takes effect, with at least 48 hours to respond.

If you experience an allergic reaction, food poisoning, or any food safety incident from a PlateSend order:

1. Seek medical attention if needed. Your health comes first.
2. Report to PlateSend immediately at platesend@gmail.com with subject “URGENT: Food Safety Incident”. Include order number, what happened, and any medical documentation.
3. A full refund will be issued while admin investigates.
4. The cook will be contacted by admin for a mandatory follow-up call to understand what happened and what changes are needed.
5. Depending on the investigation, the cook may be required to update allergen disclosures, complete additional food safety training, or have their account suspended.
6. Serious incidents will also be reported to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which oversees MEHKO permits.

Once approved, refunds process to the original payment method via Stripe. Standard timing:

• Credit/debit card: 5–10 business days
• Apple Pay / Google Pay: Same as the underlying card
• Refund status visible in your order detail page on PlateSend

If a refund hasn't appeared after 10 business days, contact us and we'll investigate with Stripe.

• Service fees (the 5% added to your order) are non-refundable on cancellations under Section 3 only — they're refunded with the rest in cancellation Sections 1, 2, 4, and 5.
• Tips. Tips go 100% to the cook and reflect the work they've already done. If you tipped on an order that was later refunded for quality/safety reasons, the tip is also returned to you.
• Credit-card processing fees we incur. Stripe doesn't refund their fee to us, and we don't pass that loss to cooks. The platform absorbs it.

If you file a chargeback with your bank instead of contacting us first, we're not able to issue a separate refund — your bank will handle it directly with Stripe. Chargebacks are reviewed by Stripe and PlateSend has the right to provide evidence (order details, photos, communication history). Frequent or fraudulent chargebacks may result in account suspension.

Please contact us first. We can usually resolve issues within 48 hours, and a chargeback locks both sides out of the conversation for weeks.

Email platesend@gmail.com with:

• Your order number (e.g. PS-00123)
• A clear description of what happened
• Photos if applicable
• Within 24 hours of delivery for quality complaints, or immediately for allergy/safety incidents

We aim to respond within 24 hours, faster for safety incidents.

This policy is designed so cooks can trust the platform:

• You don't eat refunds for cancellations before you start cooking. Platform pays the $5 credit.
• First refund per quarter is on us. One difficult customer doesn't cost you.
• Admin consults you on any refund over $20. You always have a chance to share your side before money moves.
• No surprise clawbacks. If a refund affects your payout, you'll know in advance.
• Allergy incidents are taken seriously, not used as leverage. Real safety incidents get full investigation; bad-faith complaints don't get rubber-stamped.

If you ever feel a refund decision was unfair, email platesend@gmail.com with the order number and your perspective. Admin will re-review.

PlateSend may update this policy. Material changes will be communicated to active customers and cooks via email at least 7 days before taking effect.