Durham woman struggles to get refund after Instacart grocery delivery vanishes

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- During the COVID-19 pandemic, many are heading online and ordering their groceries for home delivery.

ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson received reports from some people saying they are having trouble with their orders from Instacart.

Instacart is an online grocery delivery company where after you pick out the items online that you want, an Instacart worker shops that order and then delivers it to your door.

Durham resident, Crystal Robinson has been using Instacart for two years, and she says, for the most part, it has been problem-free.

That is until her most recent order.

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She placed her order around 9:45 a.m. and was given a delivery time at the latest of 2:45 p.m.

"I'm high risk for the COVID-19. I'm diabetic, and I'm asthmatic, so I try to not leave the house if I don't have to," Robinson said.

In the afternoon, she started getting notifications from Instacart about her order.

"'Hey, we are going to be late.' One said it will be there by 3:00, and then another said by 4:00, then another said by 6:00. By this time, I said, 'This is crazy. I want to cancel the order,'" Robinson said.

She reached out to Instacart online and by phone.

"I'm sending messages, 'Hello, is anyone there?' No one is responding. I sent an email to them said, 'Hey, can we cancel the order?' Nobody responded back to me right away."

Then around 11:30 at night, more than 13 hours after placing the order, Robinson got a notification from Instacart.

"There was a notification that it had been delivered. I'm like to where? Not to my house. So, I'm still sitting here with no groceries and no refund."

Robinson said she never got the groceries she paid for, and she is not alone.

On Instacart's Facebook page, many customers are commenting about the same issue, and the Better Business Bureau said it has also gotten similar complaints.

More than 24 hours after placing her order, and paying for her groceries, but still not having them, Robinson got in touch with Troubleshooter Diane Wilson.

"I want my money back," Robinson said.

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That's exactly what Robinson got after Troubleshooter Diane Wilson got in touch with Instacart. A representative reached out to Robinson and not only apologized, but Robinson got notification of a full refund, plus a $30.00 credit toward a future order and a guarantee she wouldn't get that shopper again.

Robinson is thankful it all worked out but hopes it doesn't happen to anyone else.

The best advice is to stay on top of your order and watch for changes. If you have an issue, reach out right away. Instacart admits online that it is experiencing very high chat and calls but are working as quickly as possible to respond.

During these busy times, unfortunately, you will have to have extra patience.