Terms for customers
Version 2026-11-13. Last updated 13 November 2026.
These terms are for you if you order food, or ask for a table, from a restaurant that uses Own Dine. We have tried to keep them short and plain.
Where these terms say “restaurant” they mean any food business that uses Own Dine — a takeaway, a restaurant, a café etc.
1. Who we are and who you are buying from
Own Dine is not the restaurant. We make the software your restaurant uses to take orders.
When you place an order, your contract is with the restaurant, not with us. They cook your food, they pack it, they deliver or hand it to you, and they take your money — it goes to their own account, not ours. We never hold it.
We act as agent for the restaurant in taking the order. We are not the seller, and we are not a party to your contract with them.
The restaurant’s name, address and contact details are shown on their page and again when you check out, so you always know who you are dealing with before you pay.
Own Dine itself is Own Dine Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, company number 17493501, registered office Office 10465, 321-323 High Road, Chadwell Heath, Essex RM6 6AX. You can reach us at hello@owndine.com.
2. What we are responsible for and what the restaurant is
Being straight about this is more useful to you than a long disclaimer, so:
| The restaurant is responsible for | We are responsible for |
|---|---|
| The food — what is in it, how it is cooked, how it is packed | The software working |
| Allergen information being correct | Showing you their allergen information clearly and in good time |
| Its menu, its prices and its opening hours | Showing you what they told us, accurately |
| Delivering, or having your order ready | Passing your order to them, and telling them it is there |
| Refunds, and putting things right with your order | Our own mistakes — for example if our software shows a price other than the one the restaurant set, or if our site is down |
| Checking your age if you buy alcohol | Asking you to confirm it, and marking the order for them to check |
If something is wrong with your food or your order, contact the restaurant — they can fix it and we cannot. If something is wrong with the website or the app, contact us.
We do not say that nothing is ever our fault. If we get something wrong, that is ours.
3. Ordering
- Choose a restaurant, build your basket, and pay at the checkout.
- Your basket is kept in your own browser, not on our server, until you place the order.
- Placing an order is an offer to buy, not a completed sale. The restaurant has to accept it.
- If the restaurant does not accept your order in time, it lapses and you are not charged. We email you to say so, and if you paid by card we release the money held on it.
- You will get an email confirming your order. Keep it — it has your order number, what you ordered and what you paid.
4. Paying
- The restaurant takes your payment, into the restaurant’s own account. Own Dine never holds your money and never takes a cut of your order.
- The price you see is the price you pay, including any VAT. Any delivery charge is shown before you pay.
- Some restaurants take cash on collection or delivery, up to a limit they set. Where they do, you will see it as an option.
If you pay by card:
- The payment goes through a payment company, into the restaurant’s own account. Your card details never reach Own Dine. You type them into the payment company’s own secure window.
- We hold the amount on your card when you order, and it is taken when the restaurant accepts. If they reject your order, or do not answer in time, the hold is released. If an accepted order is cancelled, you are refunded.
- A hold is not a charge, but your bank may show it as a pending amount for a few days.
5. Allergies and what is in your food
If you have a food allergy or intolerance, read this.
- Allergen information for every dish is on the restaurant’s menu page, before you order, and it comes from the restaurant.
- The restaurant is responsible for that information being right. They know their kitchen; we do not.
- You can add a note to your order. We print it on the ticket in their kitchen, marked so it cannot be missed.
- The allergen information for what you ordered is also printed on the label on your bag, so it is with the food when it reaches you — not only on a screen you saw before you paid.
- A “may contain” note matters. Kitchens that handle allergens cannot always promise a dish is free of them.
- If your allergy is serious, speak to the restaurant directly before you order. A note on an order is not a conversation, and nothing on a website can replace one.
6. Alcohol
If your order contains alcohol:
- You must be 18 or over. We ask you to confirm it before you can order.
- You will be asked for ID when the order is handed to you — at the counter, or at your door. Confirming your age online does not replace that and the restaurant can refuse to hand over the alcohol if you cannot show ID.
- The restaurant holds the licence and makes that decision, not us.
- It is a criminal offence to buy alcohol for someone under 18.
7. Collection, delivery and times
- The restaurant tells you when your order will be ready, or roughly when it will arrive. Those are estimates, not guarantees — kitchens get busy.
- Whether a restaurant delivers to you depends on where you are. Some set delivery areas by postcode, some by distance.
- Where distance is used, it is measured as a straight line from the restaurant to your postcode, and we say so on screen. It is not a driving distance.
- If nobody can take delivery, the restaurant will try to contact you on the number you gave.
8. Offers
- A restaurant may offer a percentage off on certain days.
- The day that counts is the day your food is for, not the day you order it.
- Only one offer applies to an order — if more than one could, you get the biggest.
- An offer comes off the food, not the delivery charge.
- Offers apply to orders placed online, not to orders taken over the phone or at the counter.
9. Table bookings
- A booking is a request until the restaurant confirms it.
- The restaurant will tell you when it is confirmed. Until then you do not have a table.
10. Cancelling, and your right to change your mind
The 14-day right to change your mind does not apply to this kind of order. Food and drink prepared to order are exempt, because they cannot be returned and resold. This does not affect your other rights — if your order is wrong, late, or not what you paid for, you are still entitled to a remedy.
Once a restaurant has accepted your order they have started cooking it, so you cannot cancel it yourself. If you need to, ring the restaurant — they may be able to help, and that is their decision.
11. If something goes wrong
Start with the restaurant. They cooked it, they can fix it, and they can refund you. Their phone number and address are on their page and in your order email.
If the problem is with Own Dine — the site was down, or your order never reached the kitchen — that is ours, and we will deal with it. Tell us at hello@owndine.com.
Nothing here affects your legal rights. You can also take a complaint to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133).
12. Our responsibility to you
We take care to keep Own Dine working properly, and we are responsible when we do not.
- If we have been careless and that causes you loss, we are liable — nothing here limits that where the law does not allow it.
- We never limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud.
- We are not responsible for the food itself — what is in it, how it was cooked, or whether it arrived hot. That is the restaurant’s, because they made it and they are selling it to you.
- We cannot promise the site is never unavailable. If it is down when you want to order, we are sorry; we will put it right as soon as we can.
13. Your information
Your details belong to the restaurant you ordered from, and they decide what happens to them. Your details are stored on our system, which is how the ordering and the order screen work. We only ever handle them to run that restaurant’s ordering, and only as they tell us to. We never use them for anything of our own.
- We will never email you to advertise Own Dine, or another restaurant. If you hear from a restaurant you ordered from, it is them.
- Each restaurant’s customers are kept separate. Ordering from two Own Dine restaurants creates two unconnected records.
- Your details are removed 24 months after your last order, automatically. The record of the sale survives for tax, without your name on it.
- To see, correct or delete what a restaurant holds about you, ask the restaurant. They decide, and we do what they ask. Tell us and we will point you to them.
Our full privacy policy is at owndine.com/privacy.
14. Changes, and the rest
- We may change these terms. The version that applies to your order is the one in force when you placed it. This is version 2026-11-13.
- If part of these terms turns out not to be enforceable, the rest still applies.
- These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you can bring a claim in your own courts.