Refunds & cancellations
Last updated 8 September 2026
Food is cooked to order, so timing matters. Here is what to expect.
Cancelling as a buyer
- Free cancellation before the cook accepts your order, or before the dish's cut-off time — whichever comes first.
- After the cut-off, ingredients are usually already bought and cooking has started, so a refund is at the cook's discretion.
- Once the food is ready or handed over, orders cannot be cancelled.
If the cook cancels
If a cook cancels an accepted order, or cannot have the food ready, you are entitled to a full refund of that order. Repeated cancellations affect a kitchen's standing on HappyBelly.
Missed pickups and failed deliveries
If you do not collect within the agreed pickup window, or nobody is available at the delivery address, the food may be disposed of for safety reasons and no refund is due. Message the cook as soon as you know you will be late.
Something wrong with the food
If your order was missing items, badly wrong, or arrived in an unsafe condition, tell the cook within 24 hours with a photo if you can. Cooks are expected to put it right with a refund or a replacement.
Raising a dispute
If you and the cook cannot agree, email hello@happybelly.food with your order number and what happened. We will look at the order record and messages and decide fairly. Where money moved through the platform we can reverse it; where you paid the cook directly we will work with the cook to arrange the refund, and we may suspend a kitchen that refuses a fair outcome.