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McDonald's Reviews & Complaints

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the Chicago-based quick-service restaurant company; about 95% of its 45,356 restaurants were franchised at year-end 2025, so most U.S. restaurants are run by independent owner-operators rather than by the company. Under McDonald's U.S. Terms, refunds, wrong orders and price errors are handled by the restaurant that took the order, delivery problems by the delivery service, and other concerns by McDonald's Customer Care through its online contact form. A proposed consumer class action over menu pricing, Thomas v. McDonald's USA, LLC, was filed in federal court in Chicago on October 2, 2026 and is pending; its claims are allegations.

REVIEWS & COMPLAINTS1,029on USAComplaints · 1 in last 3 yrs
WEBSITEmcdonalds.com
HEADQUARTERSChicago, IL
PROFILE CHECKED2026-10-28
Submit a Complaint Read reviews & complaints ↓ Official website ↗
VERIFIED

Contacts

Customer service & general contact

Corporate & press

  • Corporate office phone, not for restaurant orders630-623-3000

Other contacts

VERIFIED

Locations

  • Headquarters110 North Carpenter Street Chicago IL 60607
EDITORIAL

McDonald's complaints, refunds and contacts: who handles what

Problems such as a wrong or missing item, a long wait, a rude exchange or a charge that looks wrong are handled first by the restaurant that served you. About 95% of U.S. McDonald's restaurants are franchised, so the restaurant that served you is most likely run by an independent owner-operator, and McDonald's U.S. Terms make that restaurant responsible for your order.

1. Start with the restaurant. The Terms say that if you have a complaint about your experience with a McDonald's restaurant or product, you should contact that restaurant, with McDonald's Customer Care as the alternative. For app and online orders, the Terms leave any refund to the discretion of the restaurant where you bought the food, and they ask you to contact that restaurant for a refund of the difference if you were charged the wrong price. Store phone numbers are in the Restaurant Locator on mcdonalds.com. Keep the receipt: its top shows the restaurant number, the visit date and time, the order number and the total.

2. App orders. An app order is a contract between you and the restaurant that accepts it, and payment is charged when you tap Pay & Place Order. You can cancel with the Cancel Order button in your order details only as long as the restaurant has not started preparing it; after that, a refund request goes to the restaurant.

3. Delivery orders. McDelivery orders are delivered by Uber Eats, DoorDash or Grubhub, and the delivery service handles support, refunds and complaints for them. Check the Vendor Name on the order, then contact Uber Eats at 1-866-987-3744, DoorDash at 1-833-510-0332 or Grubhub at 877-866-4482.

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4. McDonald's Customer Care. If the restaurant does not resolve the problem, or the issue is serious, use the contact form on mcdonalds.com. It asks for the store number from your receipt (or a Restaurant Locator search), how you ordered and picked up, the visit date and time, a description, your name and personal email, an optional phone number and the email on your McDonald's app account. If you are following up, have your case number ready. The Terms note that McDonald's cannot read or answer every comment posted on social media, so the form is the channel to use. The contact form gives phone numbers only for the delivery services and for Arch Cards; it lists no general customer-service phone line. The corporate office number in the contacts on this page is not a channel for restaurant or order complaints.

5. Arch Cards. If a McDonald's Arch Card is lost, stolen or damaged, call 1-800-244-6227 right away to freeze the balance, then send the form with proof of purchase such as the activation or purchase receipt. A qualifying replacement or cash-out takes 4 to 6 weeks. Arch Cards cannot be refunded or exchanged for cash unless the law requires it.

6. A wrong or double card charge. McDonald's own FAQ says to check with the store first and, if the store is not responsible, to contact your bank. For a credit card, the Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute a billing error in writing with your card issuer; the letter must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the charge was sent to you, at the issuer's billing-inquiries address. For a debit card, contact your bank as soon as you can.

7. Outside agencies. Report suspected food poisoning or an unsanitary restaurant to your city, county or state health department, which inspects restaurants and tracks illness reports; keep the receipt and any leftover food. Unresolved consumer problems can be reported to your state attorney general's consumer protection office and to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; you can also file a complaint with the BBB on the McDonald's USA, LLC file. Workers at a franchised restaurant are employed by the franchisee; unpaid wages or overtime can be reported to the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243.

EDITORIAL

Company Information

Legal name
McDonald's Corporation
Business type
Publicly traded (NYSE: MCD) quick-service restaurant company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois; about 95% of its restaurants, in the U.S. and worldwide, are franchised
Website
mcdonalds.comSource: McDonald's U.S. Contact Us page, checked 2026-10-22
Headquarters
Chicago, ILSource: Form 10-K cover page and McDonald's U.S. online Terms, checked 2026-10-28

McDonald's Corporation is a publicly traded company that files annual and quarterly reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (CIK 0000063908); its latest annual report, the Form 10-K for 2025, was filed February 24, 2026. It is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Chicago. In the U.S., the website mcdonalds.com and the McDonald's app are run by its subsidiary McDonald's USA, LLC under Terms effective August 24, 2026, which include an arbitration agreement and a class action waiver. McDonald's Customer Care is reached through the contact form on mcdonalds.com.

EXTERNAL SOURCE

Independent Sources

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

BBBMcDonald's USA, LLC, Chicago
147 reviews · 415 complaints · BBB business grade A+ · average customer rating 1.24 / 5
BBBMcDonald's Corporation, Oak Brook
1 review · 0 complaints · average customer rating 1 / 5
Trustpilot
2,511 reviews · TrustScore 1.7 / 5
CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Reviews & Complaints on USAComplaints

1,029 complaints on USAComplaints, including 1 published in the last three years.

Show 15 more on this page
EDITORIAL

Complaint Themes

Wrong or missing items in an orderSlow service or long waitsRude staff or customer-service complaintsFood quality or temperatureCleanliness or hygienePricing, overcharging or couponsPosts mentioning managers, hours, pay or hiring

Themes summarize what people write about most often. One complaint can touch several themes, and some complaints (a positive report, or one later retracted by its author) fit none, so themes are not a count of complaints.

Had an experience with McDonald's? Tell other people what happened.

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EDITORIAL

Complaints and reviews: BBB, Trustpilot and reports on this site

BBB. McDonald's has more than one BBB file, and their figures are not added together. The main U.S. file is McDonald's USA, LLC at 110 North Carpenter Street, Chicago: BBB Accredited since 2010, rated A+, with 415 complaints in the last 3 years, 157 of them in the last 12 months, and an average of 1.24 out of 5 from 147 customer reviews. The separate file for McDonald's Corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois is not accredited and not rated; BBB notes there that complaints about the business are handled by another BBB, and the file shows 0 complaints and a single one-star customer review. Some individual McDonald's locations have BBB files of their own.

Trustpilot. The unclaimed Trustpilot profile for www.mcdonalds.com shows 2,511 reviews with a TrustScore of 1.7 out of 5, 260 of them posted in the last 12 months. Its reviews come from several countries, not only the U.S., and Trustpilot does not verify what reviewers write.

Reports on this site. 1,029 published complaint reports are linked to this profile. They were written between 1999 and 2014, mostly from 2008 to 2013, and describe visits to individual restaurants, orders, staff and jobs; many concern franchised restaurants. They are the authors' own accounts, not findings, and are not combined with the BBB or Trustpilot figures.

EDITORIAL

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

What the annual report says. Item 3 (Legal Proceedings) of the 2025 Form 10-K does not name individual cases; it describes the kinds of disputes a company of McDonald's size faces. They include disputes with current or former franchisees, with suppliers, with employees (among them wage and hour disputes and alleged discrimination), with customers over products, service, incidents, pricing, advertising and disclosures, over intellectual property, and over government regulations. The company says it does not believe these matters will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results, while acknowledging that unfavorable rulings could occur.

Thomas v. McDonald's USA, LLC et al. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:26-cv-12149) was filed on October 2, 2026 by Michael Thomas of DeKalb, Illinois, as a proposed nationwide class action of people who bought menu items at U.S. McDonald's restaurants, whether company-operated or franchised, 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 since at least 2019 McDonald's has run a central pricing engine that uses company and franchised restaurants' nonpublic sales data to recommend menu prices, that franchisees are pressured to follow those prices, and that customers paid more as a result. These are the plaintiff's allegations. In a statement reported by the Associated Press, McDonald's called the suit inaccurate and said it would defend itself vigorously; it said that franchisees, not an AI tool, set menu prices at its restaurants, and that the pricing tools it offers franchisees are optional and do not automate, coordinate or fix prices. On the docket, the summons was issued on October 5, 2026 and a pro hac vice admission was granted on October 8, 2026; no answer or motion to dismiss had been filed by then. The case is pending, no class has been certified and the court has made no finding on the claims.

PUBLIC RECORD

Court & Public Records

Thomas v. McDonald's USA, LLC and McDonald's Corporation

Filed

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern DivisionDocket 1:26-cv-12149Source ↗

Filed — no final outcome recorded

Proposed nationwide consumer class action filed October 2, 2026 by Michael Thomas, a resident of DeKalb, Illinois, against McDonald's USA, LLC and McDonald's Corporation, with an Illinois subclass. The complaint pleads four counts over menu pricing: 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. These are the plaintiff's allegations; McDonald's has publicly disputed them, saying franchisees set menu prices. The summons was issued on October 5, 2026, and the latest docket entry, on October 8, 2026, is a pro hac vice admission; no answer or motion to dismiss had been filed by then. The case is pending; no class has been certified and the court has made no finding on the claims.

EDITORIAL

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

McDonald's Corporation is a Delaware corporation headquartered at 110 North Carpenter Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607; its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under MCD. Its Form 10-K for 2025, filed February 24, 2026, reports 45,356 restaurants at year-end 2025 in more than 100 countries, approximately 95% of them franchised, including 95% in the U.S. The U.S. had 13,706 McDonald's restaurants at year-end 2025. The company and the restaurants run by its subsidiaries employed over 150,000 people, about 70% of them outside the U.S.

Corporate or franchisee. A franchised McDonald's is owned and run by an independent owner-operator, who hires the staff, handles the restaurant's day-to-day problems and, under the U.S. Terms, sets the restaurant's own prices and decides on refunds. The remaining U.S. restaurants are run by company subsidiaries: Exhibit 21 to the 10-K lists McDonald's USA, LLC, a Delaware company, as a domestic subsidiary of McDonald's Corporation, and refers to 59 wholly-owned subsidiaries of McDonald's USA, LLC, many of which operate one or more McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. and the District of Columbia. McDonald's USA, LLC is also the company that runs mcdonalds.com and the McDonald's app in the U.S.

VERIFIED

Company Relationships

  • Affiliated withMcDonald's USA, LLC
CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Related Complaints

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

EDITORIAL

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I file a complaint with McDonald's?

Start with the restaurant: McDonald's U.S. Terms say a complaint about a restaurant or product goes first to that restaurant, and store phone numbers are in the Restaurant Locator on mcdonalds.com. If that does not work, or the matter is serious, use McDonald's Customer Care contact form on mcdonalds.com. Choose feedback for a specific location, Arch Card or something else, enter the store number from the top of your receipt, how you ordered and picked up, and the visit date and time, describe what happened and give your name and email. If you are following up on an earlier report, select that option and enter your case number. For delivery orders, contact the delivery service instead.

What does McDonald's say to do about a double charge?

McDonald's FAQ says to check first with the restaurant where you were charged, using the Restaurant Locator to find its contact details, and, if the store is not responsible, to contact your bank. Have the receipt or the card statement line ready. If it was a credit card and the restaurant does not fix it, you can dispute the charge in writing with your card issuer; under the Fair Credit Billing Act the letter must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the error was sent to you.

Who handles a problem with a McDonald's delivery order?

The delivery service that carried the order. McDonald's Delivery Program Terms, effective October 20, 2023, make the third-party delivery provider responsible for collecting and delivering the order and for customer support on delivery orders, refunds and complaints. McDonald's contact page asks you to check the Vendor Name on the order to see whether Uber Eats, DoorDash or Grubhub handled it, then contact that service: Uber Eats at 1-866-987-3744, DoorDash at 1-833-510-0332 or Grubhub at 877-866-4482. Prices for delivery may be higher than in the restaurant, and delivery and other fees may apply.

Is my McDonald's restaurant run by McDonald's or a franchisee?

Most likely a franchisee. McDonald's 2025 annual report says approximately 95% of its restaurants, including 95% of those in the U.S., were franchised at year-end 2025, which means they are owned and run by independent owner-operators. To find out about a specific store, ask the restaurant, and when you contact McDonald's Customer Care give the store number printed at the top of your receipt so the complaint reaches the right restaurant.

Do McDonald's online terms require arbitration?

The U.S. online Terms, effective August 24, 2026, apply when you use McDonald's websites, the app and the MyMcDonald's Rewards program. They contain an arbitration agreement, jury trial and class action waivers and limits on McDonald's liability (Section 10, Dispute resolution). Before any arbitration, the side raising the dispute must send a personally signed notice describing the transaction, the dispute and the relief sought; a customer sends it by email to [email protected], and both sides then have 60 days to try to resolve it informally. Either side may instead take an individual dispute to small claims court, as long as it stays there on an individual basis.

With whom is my app order contract?

With the restaurant that accepts it. Section 3 of McDonald's U.S. online Terms says you purchase products directly from restaurants, and that when you order through the app or website, including Mobile Order & Pay, the contract for supplying the products will be between you and the restaurant that accepts your order, not McDonald's itself. That restaurant prepares the food, processes the payment and decides on any refund.

What does BBB show for McDonald's Corporation?

BBB's file for McDonald's Corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois is not accredited and not rated, with a note that complaints about the business are handled by another BBB; it shows 0 complaints and a single one-star customer review. A separate file for McDonald's USA, LLC in Chicago, the company behind mcdonalds.com and the app, is BBB Accredited, rated A+ and shows 415 complaints in the last 3 years (157 in the last 12 months) and an average of 1.24 out of 5 from 147 customer reviews. The two files' figures are separate and are not added together.

What does Trustpilot show for McDonald's?

The Trustpilot profile for www.mcdonalds.com shows 2,511 reviews and a TrustScore of 1.7 out of 5, with 260 reviews in the last 12 months. McDonald's has not claimed the profile, and the reviews come from customers in several countries, not only the U.S. Trustpilot reviews are the writers' own accounts and are not verified by Trustpilot.

Which company is behind mcdonalds.com in the U.S.?

McDonald's USA, LLC. The U.S. Terms say that by using the websites and apps you enter into an agreement with McDonald's USA, LLC, which controls and operates them from its headquarters at 110 North Carpenter Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607. Its parent is the publicly traded McDonald's Corporation at the same address; Exhibit 21 to the parent's 2025 Form 10-K lists McDonald's USA, LLC, a Delaware company, as a domestic subsidiary. Your food order itself is with the restaurant that accepts it.

Who decides on a refund for a McDonald's order?

The restaurant, for app and online pickup orders. McDonald's U.S. Terms (Section 3) say that if you want a refund for any reason after you select Pay & Place Order, including unsatisfactory food, you should contact the restaurant where you bought it, and that the decision on how to resolve the request is at that restaurant's discretion. Before that point you can still cancel with the Cancel Order button, as long as the order has not started being prepared. Refunds for delivery orders go to the delivery service, not the restaurant. The Terms add that your legal rights are not affected.

What do McDonald's Terms say about a price error?

Section 3 of the U.S. online Terms says each restaurant independently determines its own prices and applies any additional fees and taxes, and that some offers and prices may not be available at every location. If you discover an error in the price of a product charged to you, the Terms say to contact the restaurant where you purchased it to seek a refund of the difference. Prices for delivery orders may be higher than in the restaurant.