Strict New Rules Change Could Affect Louisiana Food Delivery Services

(KMDL-FM) What a time to be alive. Turn the clock back just ten years, and imagine telling someone that you're going to ask a stranger to pick up some food for you and bring it to your house. Fast forward a decade, and food delivery services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats are all the rage, but rage is one of the issues a strict new rule change could ease for customers of those services.

When you think about food from a drive-thru or a home delivery service, what is the only major concern that you have regarding that order? "Did I get what I paid for?" seems to be the overarching theme that most of us would ascribe to in contemplating that query.

What Is The Biggest Complaint About Home Delivery Services in Louisiana?

Let's face it, as long as humans are filling and delivering the orders, there will be mistakes. A new strict rule regarding food delivery services aims to ensure that customers are not paying for the mistakes of others, at least when it comes to food delivery.

 READ MORE: You Can Now Put Your Food Delivery Order on "Lay Away"

As of December 2025, the standard practice in the food delivery industry was that if a mistake was made, an order was not completed, or the customer did not receive the order at all, the service would issue an "in-app" credit. In other words, they kept your money and held it hostage until you decided to do business with them again.

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What Are The 3 Major Changes Proposed for Home Delivery Services in 2026?

Based on a new law that went into effect on January 1, 2026, that solution is no longer viable. Instead, the delivery service must offer customers a full cash refund. Here are the three main points of what the new law would require:

1: The delivery service must refund the full amount that the consumer paid for the order, including the price of the food, taxes, and tips.

2: The delivery service must provide the refund to the customer's original payment method instead of an in-app credit.

3: The service must also provide a human customer service agent for customers to speak to when they request a refund.

Oh, I love the one about having to provide a human being to speak with regarding customer concerns. I can only imagine the conversations between "foreign call center" employees and "hangry" customers. But at least you've got someone you can call, right?

READ MORE: Hidden Fees in Your Food Delivery? Lawsuit Says There Are

We should note that under the legislation, delivery services will still be allowed to offer in-app credit on partially incorrect orders. The full refund will only be available for missing orders or orders that are not correct at all.

Do New Home Delivery Refund Rules Apply to Louisiana Customers?

As of now, this legislation is only enacted in California, but many other states are looking into California's lead regarding the regulations and rules regarding home delivery services. If you think this is a good idea for Louisiana, you might want to call your representative.

If you don't think the legislation is a good idea, then you can pick your own tomatoes off your hamburger or pull your own anchovies off your pizza, and don't complain with your mouth full.