Refund & Cancellation Policy
1. Customer (Buyer) cancellation
As a general rule, a Buyer is not entitled to cancel an Order once placed, except within a short grace window where shown in the App (for example within 90 seconds of placement, if enabled for that Order).
Subject to the Buyer’s cancellation history, Zestome may deny refund for Buyer-initiated cancellations even within the grace window, and may suspend the account where misuse is suspected.
After the Home Cook has accepted the Order or preparation has begun (including after the listing’s “accept order before” deadline has passed with a confirmed Order), Buyer cancellations are generally not refundable.
2. Non-customer cancellations & penalties
Zestome reserves the right to cancel Orders and, where the cause is not attributable to Zestome, to apply a cancellation fee / withhold refund in cases including:
- wrong, incomplete, or out-of-zone address / society for cook-drop or pickup instructions;
- failure to contact the Buyer by phone, SMS, or in-app channels at handover / delivery time;
- failure to complete fulfilment due to lack of information, directions, or authorisation from the Buyer;
- Buyer unavailable at the agreed pickup or drop slot without timely reschedule accepted by the Cook;
- Buyer refusal to provide any handover confirmation / OTP required by the Platform (where applicable).
If items become unavailable, Zestome or the Home Cook will attempt to contact the Buyer. The Buyer may then cancel the Order and may receive a refund of up to 100% of the Order value (subject to verification).
Where cancellation is attributable to Zestome or the Home Cook (and not to the Buyer), no Buyer penalty will be collected.
3. Refunds (prepaid Orders)
Buyers may be entitled to a refund for prepaid Orders in the situations below. Zestome may deduct any applicable cancellation fee from the refundable amount.
- Packaging of an item or the complete Order is tampered or damaged and the Buyer refuses acceptance at handover for that reason;
- Wrong Order delivered / handed over;
- Items missing from the Order at handover, if reported before the Order is marked delivered / completed;
- Home Cook or Platform cancels for reasons not attributable to the Buyer (e.g. Cook unable to prepare, kitchen closed, items unavailable, overcrowding / capacity);
- Fulfilment failure attributable to the Home Cook or Zestome (assessed case-by-case), including material delay beyond the committed window where the food is no longer reasonably usable;
- Order could not be completed within a reasonable outer limit (for example beyond 2 hours of the committed slot) for reasons not attributable to the Buyer.
Refund amount may be up to 100% of Order value depending on the issue. Zestome’s decision on refund eligibility after review of facts (and Cook input) is final and binding, subject to applicable consumer law.
4. Refund timelines & method
- Approved refunds are credited to the original payment source where supported by the payment partner.
- Estimated timeline: 5–7 business days after approval (bank/UPI timelines may vary).
- Where offered, you may choose credit to a Zestome wallet instead of the source account.
5. Pay-on-fulfilment / COD-style collections
If payment is collected at handover, the Buyer will not be required to pay when, before marking delivered:
- packaging is tampered or damaged;
- wrong Order is handed over; or
- items are missing,
provided the issue is communicated to Zestome support via the Platform immediately.
6. Important notes
Note 1 — Inspect before confirming handover. Verify the Order before confirming receipt (including any OTP / in-app confirmation). Issues must be raised immediately. Once handover is confirmed, the Order is deemed accepted and cannot ordinarily be cancelled or refunded.
Note 2 — Spurious or unsafe products. Liability for spurious, adulterated, or unsafe food lies with the Home Cook selling the product. Zestome merely facilitates the transaction and assumes no product liability, but may delist Cooks and report incidents to authorities.
Note 3 — Perishable nature. Home-cooked food is perishable. Refunds are not available for change of mind after preparation has started or after successful handover, except as required by law or expressly stated above.
7. Home Cook (Seller) impact
Refunds, chargebacks, and penalties arising from Cook-attributable issues may be deducted from Cook payouts as described in the Home Cook / Seller Terms.
8. Contact
For cancellation or refund requests, use in-app support or email admin@zestome.co.in with Order ID, issue details, and photos where relevant.
Name: Sajal Agarwal
Address: Qeotek LLP, Noida, India
Email: admin@zestome.co.in
Operated by Qeotek LLP, Noida, India.