No Delivery Partner Assigned, Zomato Charges Full Amount As Cancellation Fee

A woman has accused food delivery giant Zomato of "theft" after she was charged a full cancellation fee for her order.

On X, user Divya Sharma said she placed an order for an ice cream cheesecake on September 22 but cancelled it within 10 minutes due to heavy rain and an increased delivery time. She claimed the delivery estimate jumped from 35 minutes to 50 minutes.

However, when she checked her orders section for a refund, she found that she had been charged the full amount of Rs 670 as a cancellation fee.

Ordered an ice cream cheesecake on @zomato on Sep 22, canceled in 10 mins due to heavy rain & delivery time jumping from 35 to 50 mins.

Got back to orders to check refund status. Was charged ₹670 — the full order amount — as a cancellation fee.

Fee claiming that it is for…

— Divya Sharma (@LiveABitMore) September 25, 2025

Divya said when she contacted Zomato customer care, she was told the charge was for "partner's efforts."

"Fee claiming that it is for partner's efforts? What efforts? No delivery partner was even assigned, no food was prepared, I was charged for absolutely nothing," she wrote on X.

Calling the deduction "plain theft," she added, "Reached out expecting fairness. They refused refund, claimed I was informed (I wasn't). This is absurd."

Zomato later responded to her post, asking her to share her order details for further action. "Hey Divya, we completely understand where you're coming from, and this isn't the experience we wanted for you. Please share your order ID with us via DM, and we'll get this checked for you right away," the company wrote.

Hey Divya, we completely understand where you're coming from, and this isn't the experience we wanted for you. Please share your order ID with us via DM, and we'll get this checked for you right away. https://t.co/jcTFuGSv2G

— Zomato Care (@zomatocare) September 25, 2025

In an update, Divya confirmed that she has now received the refund.

Update - Refund initiated from their side.

— Divya Sharma (@LiveABitMore) September 25, 2025

Internet users were quick to react to the viral post. 

One user commented, "They kept me waiting for 3 hrs to assign any delivery partner for location 4 kms away. That too without any rain. When I tried cancellation they mentioned if I cancel now, COD will be blocked as food is already prepared."

They kept me waiting for 3 hrs to assign any delivery partner for location 4 kms away. That too without any rain. When I tried cancellation they mentioned if I cancel now, COD will be blocked as food is already prepared

— Thakur Jwala Prasad (@ChitkabraH) September 25, 2025

Another commented, "Has happened to me before, accidentally ordered it to the wrong address, had to cancel it and never got the money back, their refund policy absolutely sucks. I even cancelled it in 2 mins."

has happened to me before, accidentally ordered it to the wrong address, had to cancel it and never got the money back, their refund policy absolutely sucks. I even cancelled it in 2 mins.

— pri (@Shuckle_xD) September 25, 2025

"These app are itself looting people enormous hidden charges, keep a habit to entirely not use them not only you will save money but also be physical active," wrote the next.

These app are itself looting people enormous hidden charges , keep a habit to entirely not use them not only you will save money but also be physical active.

— Akash Soni ???????? (@altruisticsoni) September 25, 2025

Earlier, Zomato Gold members enjoyed benefits such as free delivery and no surge fees during rain. In May, the company announced that the surge fee waiver during rain would no longer be part of Gold benefits. 

The company also applies extra charges during the festive season, saying these fees help cover higher operational costs.