Lieferando tip refund legal dispute

The Kammergericht Berlin ruled against the food delivery service Lieferando regarding its policy on prepaid tips. The court found that a clause in the company’s terms and conditions, which prevented customers from receiving refunds on tips even if an order was canceled, was invalid.

The legal action was initiated by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband), which argued that customers should not be forced to pay for a service that never occurs. The court characterized the clause as a “unilateral contractual arrangement” that attempted to “abusively enforce the company’s own interests at the expense of customers.”

While the ruling prevents Lieferando from using this clause in the future, it does not mandate automatic refunds for customers who lost tips on previous canceled orders. A company spokesperson noted that Lieferando had already removed the clause from its terms and had been automatically refunding tips for cancellations since March 2026, though an appeal to the Federal Court of Justice remains possible.