Food delivery rider alleges app restriction over order issue beyond his control

Caught between a merchant and customer over an unavailable item, the rider says he was restricted from accepting bookings for two days despite trying to resolve the issue.

A Foodpanda rider was allegedly restricted from accepting bookings for two days after waiting three hours for a merchant to resolve an unavailable item in a customer’s order.

The rider, who shared his experience in a Reddit post, said a restaurant staff member asked him to pick up the order while the customer was contacted about replacing the unavailable item.

However, the customer allegedly refused a replacement and asked for the order to be cancelled instead.

The rider said the merchant could not cancel the order, leaving him waiting at the restaurant for three hours without a resolution. The staff member allegedly stopped responding to him and insisted that the problem was not theirs.

The poster did not name the restaurant involved.

He later discovered that Foodpanda had restricted his account for two days, which he said was unfair because he had simply followed the restaurant’s instructions.

The account and claims made in the Reddit post could not be independently verified, and there is no confirmation from Foodpanda or the merchant about what happened or why the restriction was imposed.

Several commenters said merchants had cancelled orders themselves when items were unavailable, while another shared a similar experience in which restaurant staff contacted the customer and had the order cancelled.

Cases like this underscore the need for customers, merchants, and delivery platforms to coordinate quickly when orders encounter problems. Clear procedures for substitutions, cancellations, and rider support can help ensure that delivery workers—who are simply trying to complete their bookings—are not left waiting for hours or made to bear the consequences of issues beyond their control.

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