How to Get a Refund from Domino's for Late Delivery: 7 Easy Ways

Everybody loves a hot, fresh pizza, so it’s frustrating when delivery is late.

Domino’s is a popular pizza chain with over 6000 locations in the United States and more opening yearly.

But when their delivery promise falls flat and your pizza doesn’t arrive on time, you’ll wonder how to get a refund from Domino’s for late delivery.

Following are 7 ways that will help you do this:

Is Domino's free after 30 minutes?

The answer is, it depends where you live.

Pizza chain Domino’s first started promising fast delivery in the 1970s, when it created the delivery guarantee: “a half hour or a half dollar off.”

Domino's Delivery Promise

It upped the game by the end of the decade by introducing Domino's delivery promise of “30 minutes or it's free” guarantee. 

That helped the chain grow but caused concern because of reckless driving by the delivery drivers.

There were also reports of customers trying to get a free pizza by turning off porch lights, for instance, to make it hard to find an address and delay the driver past the 30-minute time frame.

Does Dominos guarantee delivery time?

Well, they no longer boast about “30 minutes, or it’s free” in the United States at least.

But in some countries, the promise remains:

In India, there is still a 30-minute guarantee, but it comes with many disclaimers. For one, Domino’s won’t apply the guarantee when the store operating conditions are unsuitable. Customers are told this when the order is made.

In Australia, Domino's late delivery policy guarantees delivery in 20 minutes, “when it’s safe to do so.” An algorithm decides if delivery can be done in that timeframe. Customers can purchase their delivery guarantee while ordering.

Does Dominos refund if they are late?

Domino’s Delivery Insurance still promises that if a customer is “not completely satisfied” with their experience, Domino’s “will make it right or refund your money.”

Here’s how it works:

First, order a pizza by phone, the Domino’s app, or the new Domino’s AnyWare service.

Then, if your delivery experience is not what you expected or you get the wrong order, you can report the issue on the Domino’s Tracker page, your order confirmation page, or your order confirmation email. 

Lastly, you must tell Domino’s what went wrong in your complaint. Then you have two options to resolve your problem:

1. A coupon for 20 percent off your next order; or
2. 60 Piece of the Pie Rewards® points.

Naturally, you have to be a member of the Piece of the Pie Rewards program to claim your points using Piece of the Pie Rewards.

If you aren’t a member, you can sign up for Piece of the Pie Rewards within seven days of your messed-up order and get 60 points toward your membership.

You can then redeem those points within 30 days for a free pizza from Dominos. 

So it’s not exactly getting your money back, but it’s one way how to get refund from Domino's for late delivery.

There are the other ways:

#1 Call Dominos and make a complaint

How do you get a refund from Domino's?

As the old saying states: go directly to the horse’s mouth. Well, that’s not entirely the case, but you can start by complaining directly to Domino’s.

Here’s are four ways how to call and make a complaint:

1. Phone the national Customer Care team at (734) 930-3030.
2. Find your local Domino’s restaurant where you placed the order and contact them directly. 
3. Fill out the email form to make a complaint.
4. Chat with Dot, the Customer Support Bot.

When you’ve chosen how you want to complain, here’s what to do:

1. Explain why you are contacting them.
2. Be clear that you want a refund.
3. Explain why you want a refund, sharing the exact date and time and what happened.

#2 Cancel your Domino’s order and ask for a refund

Let’s say you’re fed up with waiting for your Domino’s delivery, and you want to cancel the order and request a refund. You can do that in the Domino’s Pizza App.

Once you’re in the app, follow these steps:

1. Look in the My Orders section of the app to find your order status.
2. Tap on the My Orders and click on “cancel order” next to your order. 
3. You can also click on the customer care option in the app’s menu.
4. A virtual customer care bot will appear on your phone. 
5. Then text “Cancel My Order” and hit ok. 
6. Your money should go back to your payment method within a few days. 
7. You can also call the customer care number to cancel your order.

If you have ordered through a third-party app like DoorDash or GrubHub, you’ll need to use that app to cancel your order.

But you have to be quick to get a full refund before your order has been confirmed by the restaurant and before a courier has been assigned to deliver it.

You may get a partial or no refund if the order has already been confirmed or someone has been assigned to deliver it to you.

To order on a delivery app:

1. Open your app;
2. find your order; and
3. tap cancel—if you can!

#3 Get your money back by rebating 

Instead of getting your money back, you can also get a rebate.

Here’s the difference:

• A refund is to get your money returned in full.
• A rebate is when you get a deduction from a bill, usually on a subsequent order.

To get a rebate, you can complain about your delivery issue on the Domino’s Tracker page, your order confirmation page, or your order confirmation email. 

Once you tell Domino’s about the late delivery, you should get the option of a coupon for 20 percent off your next order.

You can also choose 60 Piece of the Pie Rewards points, which is enough points to order a medium two-topping pizza at no charge—the next time you order.

#4 File an online complaint with Domino's

Domino’s makes it easy to order online, so it’s also a good way how to get refund from Domino's for late delivery, 

Let’s say you ordered online using the Domino’s website or app. Or maybe you used AnyWare, the new service that lets you order pizza using:

• Google Home
• Amazon Alexa
• Slack
• Facebook Messenger
• Zero Click
• Text message
• Twitter
• Your Smart TV
• Your Smart watch
• Your voice using Dom in the Domino's app
• In your car with Ford SYNC

In this case, if your delivery is late, and you want to know what to do. Here are the steps:

1. Visit the Domino’s Tracker® page, your order confirmation page, or your order confirmation email. 
2. Use one of those methods to explain what went wrong, in this case, late delivery.
3. Choose to get a coupon for 20 percent off your next order or 60 Piece of the Pie Rewards points. 
4. If you aren’t a member of the Domino’s Piece of the Pie Rewards program, you can sign up within seven days of the date of your order.
5. You’ll get your 60 points.
6. Redeem them within the next 30 days for a free pizza from Domino’s. 

If you collect Piece of the Pie points, you get ten points for every order over $10 (excluding tips).

Once you earn 60 points, you can redeem them for a free medium two-Topping pizza. (You'll pay extra if you want changes to the crust or extra toppings).

Another option is to use Domino’s consumer affairs email form and choose Concern from the drop-down menu.

Finally, you can chat with Domino’s virtual customer support bot they call Dot, and once again choose Concern to describe your issue.

#5 File a dispute with your credit card company

If you’re not happy with the response you receive from Domino’s, you can go a step further and file a dispute with your credit card company.

If you ordered your pizza online, there’s a good chance you paid by credit card, and that purchase is covered by the United States Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA).

These FCBA settlements apply to disputes about billing errors, including several things like unauthorized charges. 

The one that would apply to your Domino’s delivery promise would be:

Charges for goods and services you didn't accept or that weren't delivered as agreed.

The process may vary depending on the credit card company, but the basis of the complaint is to contact your creditor and explain why you’re disputing the charge.

To access the consumer protection of the FCBA, you would write to the creditor (credit card company) at the address for billing inquiries.

The Federal Trade Commission even has a sample letter to follow. You need to include your name and address, your account number, and a description of the billing error. 

The letter must reach your credit card company within 60 days after you get the bill with the pizza charge, and you should keep a copy of your dispute letter.

The credit card company must acknowledge your complaint, in writing, within 30 days after getting it. The dispute must be resolved within two billing cycles, not more than 90 days after the company got your letter.

So in this instance, it could be a while before you receive a refund if the credit card company agrees with your complaint.

If you don’t agree with the creditor’s response, you can pursue filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which does seem like a bit of overkill for a late pizza.

#6 File an online complaint With The Better Business Bureau (BBB) 

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was founded in 1912 and is a private, nonprofit organization that operates in the United States and Canada.

BBB’s mission is to focus on “advancing marketplace trust” and has over 100 independently incorporated local BBB organizations. 

Accredited businesses pledge to adhere to the BBB Code of Business Practices and can use the trademarked BBB logo in marketing materials in return.

Customers can also file complaints through the BBB for disputes related to problems with a business's products or services. BBB follows up on whether or not the business is accredited through the Bureau. 

In the case of how to get refund from Domino's, your complaint would be filed with BBB because you want the Bureau’s help to “resolve a dispute with a company, usually (but not always) involving a monetary claim, and to share the outcome with the public.”

In other words, you’re not happy with your initial response from Domino’s.

That’s because one of the criteria that is encouraged by the BBB is that the consumer has contacted the business at least once to attempt to resolve the issue.

A complaint is not the same as a review, in which you share with BBB and the public your opinion – good or bad – about the company. You can’t file a complaint and a negative review. 

Here’s how to file a complaint:

1. Go to the complaints section of the BBB website. 
2. In the words of BBB, provide information about your complaint describing a “deficiency in the company’s marketplace performance with regard to the services or products that the business provided or allegedly agreed to provide.” In this case, it would be Domino's delivery insurance promise.
3. You can also mail a written letter of complaint to your local BBB.
4. BBB works to get the complaint processed within two business days, submitting the complaint to the business.
5. The business is asked to respond in 14 calendar days from the date you filed the complaint. If a response is not received, a follow-up letter will be sent to the business.
6. You will be notified of the response when the BBB gets it.
7. If the business responds to a complaint but the customer remains dissatisfied, BBB may ask for a second response from the business. BBB staff will also consider whether you should be offered mediation or arbitration. 
8. Complaints are generally closed within approximately 30 calendar days from the date filed. When closed, they are assigned as resolved, answered, unresolved, unanswered, or non-pursuable (BBB cannot locate the business).

If Domino’s doesn’t respond to the complaint, it could hurt the BBB rating of the business.

You can also use Google Places to find your specific Domino’s location and send a complaint with the review tools Google gives you.

#7 Ask for a partial refund or freebie from Domino’s

If you’re not getting anywhere with the other six tips for how to get a refund from Domino’s for late delivery, you can try sweet-talking your local restaurant manager into giving you a partial refund or a freebie instead.

Try asking for a coupon for a discount on your next order or a coupon for a free side like Cinna Stix.

Explain to the manager that your order was late, but by giving you a freebie, you’re guaranteed to order from the store again

And don’t forget to thank your delivery driver when you are happy with the service!

Domino’s likes to give incentives, as proven by the “Surprise Fees” promotion in 2021, where Domino’s surprised random customers who ordered delivery online with “Surprise Frees” or free menu items.

These surprises ranged from pizzas to boneless chicken dippers. That was in response to third-party food delivery apps charging surprise fees.

So it’s worth a try.

How to Get a Refund from Domino's FAQs 

Who pays for Dominos' late delivery? 

A story once circulated that Domino's delivery drivers had to pay for late pizzas, which caused the reckless driving and led to a lawsuit in 1993.

However, Domino's spokesperson Tim McIntyre told The New York Times that delivery drivers were not penalized monetarily for late deliveries.

Instead, Domino’s covered the costs. In fact, any pizza that left a Domino's restaurant more than 25 minutes after a customer placed the order was automatically marked late.

Does Dominos refund if they are late?

Domino’s offers “Delivery Insurance” with an offer that if you aren’t happy with the delivery experience, Domino’s will “make it right or refund your money.”

There is a process to this, however.

The insurance program gives you the points to redeem for a free pizza next time or a coupon to save on it. That’s not quite the same as getting your money back immediately.

Does Dominos guarantee delivery time?

Domino’s Delivery Guarantee states: “If you are not completely satisfied with your Domino's Pizza experience, we will make it right or refund your money.

In the Domino’s Delivery Insurance Program, you report your delivery issue on the Domino’s Tracker page, your order confirmation page, or your order confirmation email. 

Tell Domino’s about the problem, and then you get the option of a coupon for 20 percent off your next order or 60 Pieces of the Pie Rewards points.

To rget the points, you must be a member of the Domino’s Piece of the Pie Rewards program. Domino's also offers Carryout Insurance for pickup orders.

How to get a refund from Domino's conclusion

While these tips are sure to make it easier for you to get a refund from Domino’s, it’s always a good idea to try different ways and find out what works best. As mentioned earlier, your Piece of the Pie Rewards are a good place to start.

However, if this isn’t possible, you need to contact Domino’s by email, phone, through their app, or fill out the form on their website and wait for them to reply.

Follow the tips mentioned above and you’ll likely have your Domino’s delivery refund soon.