Online Grocery Order Wrong, Missing or Substituted? Your Rights (UK)

Online grocery shopping is convenient until half the order is missing, the substitutions are baffling, or the chilled food arrives warm. Supermarkets make refunds easy in theory — here is how to make sure you actually get your money back.

Your rights

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the goods must be as described and of satisfactory quality, and you must get what you paid for. So:

• Missing items — you are entitled to a refund for anything you paid for but did not receive.
• Substitutions — you do not have to accept or pay for a substitute you did not want; hand it back to the driver or request a refund.
• Spoiled, damaged, or out-of-date food — refund or replacement, full stop.
• Charged the wrong price — you pay the price shown; overcharges should be refunded.

Substitutions: know the rules

Supermarkets usually substitute out-of-stock items and charge no more than the original price for a more expensive swap. You can refuse any substitution at the door for a refund, and you should not be charged a higher price than the item you actually ordered.

How to claim

1. Check the order against the delivery note and note missing/wrong/spoiled items.
2. Report it promptly via the app, website, or customer services — most supermarkets refund quickly.
3. Photograph damaged or out-of-date goods.
4. If a supermarket repeatedly fails to refund, put it in writing and, if needed, use a chargeback.

A complaint message template

Dear [Supermarket],

Re: Order [number] delivered on [date]

The following were missing / wrong / spoiled / wrongly substituted: [list]. Under
the Consumer Rights Act 2015 I am entitled to a refund for items not received or
not of satisfactory quality, and I should not be charged more than the price of
what I ordered. Please refund £[amount].

Yours faithfully,
[Your name and account details]

Check every delivery against the note, report problems the same day, and keep photos of anything spoiled. Refunds for missing, substituted, or poor-quality grocery items are your right — not a goodwill gesture.