Deactivation rules, platform by platform

Every platform publishes its own list of what gets an account paused or closed, and its own way to challenge it. Some give you four weeks, some review automatically, some never let you back. Here is what each one says.

By Issac DaviesPublished 29/09/20262 min read

Last checked 29/09/2026.

Most deactivations are for ordinary reasons, and a lot of them start with an automated flag. The platforms describe their rules in their help centres, and reading your platform's list before anything goes wrong is the best protection there is.

What each platform says

PlatformPublished reasonsHow to challengeComing back
DeliverooSuspicious activity such as location manipulation; material breach of the supplier agreementAsk Rider Support for a manual review; GMB can act for membersNo return after a material breach; inactive accounts reactivated on request
Just EatDuplicate accounts, detours, undelivered orders, spoofing, run-grabbing bots, fake holds, false VAT claims, abuse, no business insurance, wrong vehicleReconsideration form within 4 weeks; reply within 2 weeksDecision on the request is final
StuartDetours, spoofing, wrong transport, account renting, cancellation or return abuse, Challenge 25 failuresTemporary suspensions end with automatic re-approval; contact support on terminationsAfter a temporary suspension, yes
EvriContract ended by EvriThrough your Evri contactsNot after termination; yes if you left voluntarily
Uber EatsPersistently low rating, breaches of community guidelinesThrough Help in the appDepends on the reason

The common thread: location and detours

Almost every platform lists GPS spoofing and detours near the top. For multi-app drivers, the risk is real: taking a second app's order mid-delivery looks like a detour, and some location apps and battery savers make the GPS jump. Stuart names "multi-apping causing excessive delays" as a termination reason. Finish one order before diverting for another.

Documents are the easy one

An expired licence, insurance certificate or right to work document pauses an account on Just Eat until it is replaced, and the same is true elsewhere. Put renewal dates in your calendar a month ahead.

What to keep

  • Screenshots of any warning or message the platform sent, with dates.
  • Your own record of each shift: times, orders, miles.
  • Photos taken at delivery, and any chat with the customer.
  • Downloaded statements, because access to the app goes with the account.

You can also ask any platform for all the data it holds on you, including the data behind an automated decision. Subject access requests explains how, and deactivation and how to appeal it sets out the appeal itself.

Sources

Common questions

How long do I have to appeal a Just Eat deactivation?
Four weeks from the revocation. Just Eat replies within two weeks, asks you not to send more than one request in that time, and treats its answer as final. Fill in every section and attach as much evidence as you have.
Can I rejoin a delivery app after being terminated?
Often not. Deliveroo will not take back a rider terminated for a material breach, and Evri couriers whose contract was ended cannot rejoin. A rider who left voluntarily, or whose account closed for inactivity, can usually return.

About the author

Issac Davies, Founder of JoltMile

Issac Davies drives for gig apps in the UK and built JoltMile to show drivers what a shift actually pays once fuel, insurance and tax come off. Every guide here is checked against HMRC and gov.uk guidance, and is information rather than tax advice.

Track this automatically

The JoltMile app works this out from your own shifts, and keeps the figures ready for Self Assessment. Your first 10 shifts are free.

Was this useful?Sign in to say so

Related

Guide

Deactivation and how to appeal it

Deactivation is a platform switching off your access to work, often automatically. Appeal in writing, ask for the specific reason and the evidence behind it, and make a subject access request if the answer is vague. Your tax obligations for what you already earned do not stop.

Account & platform problemsUpdated 27/08/2026

FAQ

Why do delivery platforms deactivate accounts?

Most commonly a failed background or document check, a customer complaint, a fraud flag, or a pattern of cancellations and late deliveries.

Account & platform problemsUpdated 20/08/2026

FAQ

How do I appeal a deactivation?

In writing, promptly, through the platform's own process, with whatever evidence you have - and download your earnings statements first.

Account & platform problemsUpdated 19/08/2026

Guide

Subject access requests and your data rights

A subject access request obliges a platform to give you the personal data it holds about you, normally within one month and free of charge. For drivers it is the way to get earnings history out of a deactivated account and to find out what a decision was based on.

Employment rights & legalUpdated 27/08/2026

GuideJust Eat

Delivering for Just Eat: the full guide

Just Eat works differently from the other food apps. You set your availability each week and are scheduled into delivery runs, each order pays Transit Pay, and your acceptance rate decides how quickly offers reach you. Here is how all of it fits together.

Getting startedUpdated 29/09/2026

GuideDeliveroo

Substitutes, account sharing and the new right to work rules

Self-employed riders can usually send someone else to do the work. That right comes with rules on every platform, a tax position most substitutes and account holders get wrong, and from October 2026 a legal duty on the platforms to check who is actually working.

Account & platform problemsUpdated 29/09/2026