McDonald's

Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 1042 historical complaints about McDonald's, published between 1999 and 2014. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.

• Eddystone, pa mcdonalds FoodPublished Jan 21, 2014 · Historical consumer allegation
• Mcdonalds store27295 - the food i order was a 10 pice chicken nugget mealPublished Dec 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Did not include food in drive thru ordePublished Dec 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Totally wrong burge - "Ranch habanero" quarter pundePublished Dec 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Not that gullablePublished Dec 26, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Food ColdPublished Dec 4, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Great service!Published Nov 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Unprofessional - the servicePublished Nov 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Poor service language - attendantPublished Nov 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Mcdonalds unfair to employeePublished Nov 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• McDonalds Service in Switzerland, WilPublished Nov 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• 6688 black horse pike eht njPublished Oct 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Extremely poor service and bad attitudes from employees - foodPublished Oct 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Aw chicken mcnuggetsPublished Oct 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Highly salted foodPublished Oct 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Customer service was horrible - customer servicePublished Oct 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Fly from cup in mouth, almost swallowed from Coffee Sip Cup (Coffee)Published Oct 17, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Tiny pieces of hair in McDonald's coffeePublished Sep 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Mc Donald's - Large Vanilla Ice CoffeePublished Sep 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• A missing pursePublished Sep 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation

Complaint Themes

Each tag reflects a complaint's single primary theme (not every angle it raised), and complaints outside any problem theme — a positive report, or one later retracted by its author — aren't tagged. Counts may total less than the full complaint count above.

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts

• McDonalds.com (U.S. site): https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us.html
• Contact form (feedback, app, customer care): https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/feedback.html
• Corporate phone (SEC filing): 630-623-3000

Locations

McDonald's complaints, refunds and contact: what McDonald's own pages say (checked October 14, 2026)

Most McDonald's problems start at one restaurant: a wrong order, a long wait, a charge you dispute or a service issue. McDonald's says that about 95% of its restaurants are franchised (10-K for 2025), so the restaurant that served you may be run by an independent owner rather than by the company.

Contact route for a restaurant problem. McDonald's FAQ on a double charge says: 'If you were double charged at a McDonald’s Restaurant first check with the store to see if they are responsible,' and, if not, 'check with your bank to rectify the issue.' The FAQ points to the Restaurant Locator for store contact information.

Contact form. McDonald's U.S. contact form is titled 'What's on your mind'. It asks whether you are contacting about a previously reported case (a case number is required if so), then for feedback details (up to 2,000 characters), first and last name, a personal email, an optional phone number and the email used for the McDonald's App.

Delivery orders. The form's banner says to check the Vendor Name to see whether Uber Eats, DoorDash or Grubhub handled your order, and lists Uber Eats at 1-866-987-3744, DoorDash at 1-833-510-0332 and Grubhub at 877-866-4482.

App and online orders. The U.S. online-services Terms (effective August 24, 2026) say: 'You purchase products directly from restaurants ... the contract for supplying the products will be between you and the restaurant that accepts your order.' On refunds they say: 'The decision regarding how to resolve any refund request is at the discretion of the restaurant where you purchased the product (excluding delivery). Any refund request related to delivery must be submitted directly to the third-party delivery provider.' An order can be cancelled with the 'Cancel Order' button 'as long as it has not started being prepared'. On prices: 'In the event you discover an error in the price of a product charged to you, please contact the restaurant where you purchased the product to seek a refund of the difference.'

What the form asks for. The contact form asks for the store number on your receipt (or a restaurant locator search), how the order was placed and picked up, and the visit date and time, so keeping the receipt helps. For a lost or stolen Arch Card the form says to call 1-800-244-6227 to have the balance frozen, then complete the form with proof of purchase; if the request qualifies, 'allow 4-6 weeks'. It adds: 'Arch Cards are not refundable or redeemable for cash unless required by law.'

Outside routes. If a card charge is wrong, your card issuer or bank is the route McDonald's FAQ names. For a food-safety concern at a restaurant, your local health department handles restaurant inspections; this page did not verify a specific agency page for each state.

Who McDonald's is: legal entity, size and franchise model

The registrant is McDonald's Corporation, a Delaware corporation with its business address at 110 North Carpenter Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607; its shares trade on the NYSE under MCD. In its 10-K for 2025 (filed February 24, 2026) the company says it had 45,356 restaurants at year-end 2025, 'approximately 95% were franchised', in 'more than 100 countries', and that company employees 'totaled over 150,000 worldwide' with about 70% outside the U.S.

The U.S. online-services Terms identify the operator of the website and apps as McDonald's USA, LLC, headquartered at the same Chicago address. Exhibit 21 to the 10-K (Subsidiaries of the Registrant) lists McDonald's USA, LLC [Delaware] among the registrant's domestic subsidiaries and says the omitted subsidiaries include 59 wholly-owned subsidiaries of McDonald's USA, LLC, many of which operate McDonald's restaurants in the United States. The 10-K's restaurant table shows 13,706 restaurants in the U.S. at year-end 2025. A franchised restaurant is owned and operated by an independent franchisee; which entity runs a given restaurant is shown by the restaurant itself, and this page does not state it for any particular store.

Complaints and reviews: BBB, Trustpilot and the usacomplaints.com archive (as displayed October 14, 2026)

BBB. The BBB file 'McDonald's Corporation' (Oak Brook, IL) shows 'NOT BBB Accredited', a rating of 'Not Rated' with the reason 'Complaints against this business are handled by another BBB', '0 complaints' and one customer review at 1 out of 5. BBB states that these reviews cover the headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. Other BBB files for McDonald's exist and are not combined here.

Trustpilot. Trustpilot shows 2,503 reviews at 1.7 out of 5 for McDonald's (www.mcdonalds.com), 'Unclaimed profile', with 250 reviews dated in the last 12 months according to the profile page data. The reviews on this profile are not limited to U.S. restaurants (the page data shows reviews in several languages). Trustpilot says it does not fact-check reviews.

Archive on this site. usacomplaints.com holds 1,052 approved posts linked to McDonald's as the subject (written between 1999 and 2014, mostly 2008-2013) that describe individual restaurant visits and employment questions; nine more name an operator or a person alongside McDonald's and are linked as affiliates. These are unverified accounts from the people who wrote them, are not combined with BBB or Trustpilot counts, and many concern franchised restaurants. See the themes list for keyword counts.

Legal proceedings: 10-K categories and one filed class action

Item 3 of the 2025 10-K lists categories of disputes, not named cases: franchising ('occasional disputes arise between the Company and its current or former franchisees'), suppliers, employees (including wage and hour and discrimination claims), customers ('disputes occasionally arise relating to products, service, incidents, pricing, advertising, disclosures'), intellectual property and government regulations. The company says it does not believe any of these will have a material adverse effect, while noting that 'unfavorable rulings could occur'. The 10-K states that cybersecurity risks 'did not materially affect' the business in 2025.

Thomas v. McDonald's USA, LLC et al. (N.D. Ill. No. 1:26-cv-12149) was filed on October 2, 2026 as a putative consumer class action by plaintiff Michael Thomas against McDonald's USA, LLC and McDonald's Corporation, with a jury demand. The complaint pleads four counts: two under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, one under the Illinois Antitrust Act and one under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. It alleges that McDonald's runs an information-sharing pricing platform that sets menu prices across U.S. restaurants, most of which are owned by independent franchisees. These are the plaintiff's allegations. The CourtListener docket, opened on October 14, 2026, lists entries through October 8, 2026 (summons issued October 5; a pro hac vice motion and order) and shows no ruling, no class certification and no answer or motion from the defendants.

No other individual court case or regulator order is listed on this page: none was verified from a primary docket or agency page in the searches run on October 14, 2026. This is a scoped statement about the sources checked, not a statement that none exists.

Is McDonald's Legitimate?

McDonald's Corporation is an SEC registrant (CIK 0000063908) with a Delaware charter, a Chicago business address, a Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 filed February 24, 2026 and a published U.S. contact form. Its U.S. websites and apps are operated by McDonald's USA, LLC under Terms effective August 24, 2026 that include an arbitration agreement and class action waiver. The company's U.S. website is mcdonalds.com.

Court & Public Records

Related Complaints

Names this company in a role other than the primary subject — not necessarily current or complete.

• Named as an affiliate: Consumer Report
• Named as an affiliate: This company claim i came up short on my register one day, checking my working history
• Named as an affiliate: Discriminated against and refused services for asking forr a fresh fish fillet (Just like the person in front of me did)
• Named as an affiliate: Life is a B! Tch
• Named as an affiliate: Misrepresentation of loitering
• Named as an affiliate: McDonald's Restaurant And T & J Towing towed my vehicle and may tow as many as 300 per week Downtown Ripoff
• Named as an affiliate: Mistreats employees, Pays MINIMUM WAGE on final check
• Named as an affiliate: McDonaldss aka Erwin Managment Specializes in Old Food.insider Complaint from Martinsburg West Virginia ripoff
• Named as an affiliate: McDonalds's Restaurant, N.Y. - - beware!

Company Relationships

• Affiliated with: McDonald's USA, LLC

Frequently Asked Questions