Deliveroo: higher delivery fees for all customers

The new charges will hit rural customers hardest – especially those who live alone

Deliveroo introduced an “extended delivery charge” on 1 May , increasing the fees customers pay when they order from restaurants that are further away. 

We’ve done some digging to try and work out how this works in practice, and asked Deliveroo for clarification, although it’s being a little elusive with the details. Here’s the new fee and what it’ll cost you.

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What’s the change?

Initially, Deliveroo said the only change would be a higher delivery fee if customers order from less local restaurants. However, it said it would be discounted for Silver and Gold Plus members. 

Now the charge has come into play, it’s clear that there are two different aspects to this. If you order from restaurants that are further away, you can expect:

• A higher delivery charge
• An increased minimum spend

If you’re a Deliveroo Plus member, you’ll pay less. We’ll explain how this works further down. 

So let’s get into these changes and what they actually mean. 

Higher delivery fee if you live further away

The new changes will impact everyone, but especially those who live in more remote areas. Deliveroo refused to clarify at what distance the charge would apply, but we saw it being charged when restaurants were 3.7 miles away or more.  

For example, The Yemeni Coffee Co, in Peacehaven, is 6.1 miles away from our Deputy Editor Amelia, in Brighton. It stated a £30 minimum spend and £5.49 delivery fee. And Uncle Sam’s Hamburgers, 5.8 miles away in Shoreham, required a £30 minimum spend and £4.99 delivery fee. 

However, there’s no hard and fast rule. I’ve seen charges up to £6.50 for restaurants six miles away from my house near Surrey, whereas another eatery 6.2 miles away will still deliver for free. 

Increased minimum spend

The restaurants that are further away are likely to have higher minimum delivery amounts too — these don’t seem to directly correlate with how far they are. For me, they range between £25 and £35. 

If you don’t meet the minimum order, you’ll pay a small order fee. This is the case for all customers.

For example, bakery Bake Out, 4.7 miles from Amelia’s house, has a minimum order of £25. Say your order comes to £11. You’ll pay a £4 small order fee, £4.99 ‘extended delivery fee’, 99p service fee and 10p bag fee so £10.08 in total. 

But if you spend £27.60, the order fee is wiped. So on this order, you’ll just pay the £4.99 delivery fee, a higher £2.49 service fee and the bag fee. This is an extra £7.58 overall – a saving of £2.50 on the extra fees. 

If you lived a mile closer, you’d pay an extended delivery fee of £4.49 and the minimum order is reduced to £20. 

And if you’re 2.1 miles away, there’s no ‘extended’ delivery fee. You’d pay £2.49 standard delivery and would need to spend £7.

How much will it cost me?

When we tried to order from restaurants beyond four miles away, we were being charged more than £10 in additional fees. However, it’ll depend on the restaurant, the location and how much you order. 

Who does it affect?

The new charge is for all Deliveroo members, including those who subscribe to Deliveroo Plus. However, if you’re a Silver or Gold member you have a lower delivery fee and if you order above the raised delivery minimums, the fee is scrapped.

Both Silver and Gold members have to pay the small order fee and the extended delivery fee for orders under £15. But if you order above £15 you’ll not pay the delivery fee. And if you order more than the restaurant’s set minimum, the small order fee is wiped too.

These new changes are going to hit people hardest if they live in rural areas, outside of cities, with fewer restaurants nearby. And you’ll be hit twice as hard if you live alone and more remotely, as you may struggle to meet the minimum spend.

How can you avoid the new charge?

Try to order within a four-mile radius – you can filter your options by distance so you can see the closest ones first. 

If you fancy something further afield, you could consider upping your order to meet the minimum spend although this is counterintuitive if you’re only doing it for the sake of it. 

You could also try finding the restaurant on another delivery app or even going directly to them — you may find that they’ll deliver it for significantly less. 

Alternatives to Deliveroo

If going direct isn’t cheaper, the best thing to do when ordering a takeaway is to try making the order with all of the apps available and see which one comes out less. The main competitors of Deliveroo are JustEat and Uber Eats.

If you’re a regular order-er, you may want to consider a subscription. Deliveroo Plus, Silver and Gold, offer free local delivery and a small discount if you order enough food, but you’ll be paying between £3.49 and £7.99 a month for it, though Silver does come for free via Amazon Prime memberships.

Uber Eats has Uber One, which costs £59.99 a year. We’ve reviewed this recently and pointed out the benefits, such as free delivery on orders over £15 as well as 5% off these orders. You also get a free annual subscription to Disney+. 

What does Deliveroo say?

Deliveroo was light on the details but told us it had dramatically increased the selection that customers see in the app by expanding delivery radii to give customers greater choice. This means that some of its partners are further away so riders need to ‘go the extra mile’ to deliver these orders.

A spokesman said: ‘We will therefore be introducing a small extended delivery fee for long distance orders which will be discounted for Plus customers.’