Instacart: Shopper Agreement violation (no clear reason given) deactivation appeal

What this deactivation means

The email from Trust and Safety only says you violated the Independent Contractor Agreement, with no order or incident named. This is common, and the real trigger is usually one of the other reasons on this list (a fraud flag, a complaint, a metric). Reread the email for any order number or date, and check your app for recent order issues before you write.

Where and when to appeal

The evidence that moves this reason

• The exact wording of the deactivation email (screenshot it)
• your ratings and stats screens
• your last few weeks of orders
• delivery photos and chat logs from any order that had a problem
• any earlier warning emails

What actually works

Ask Instacart to name the order and the specific violation, then answer the most likely trigger anyway. Walk through your recent orders, flag anything that had an issue and give your side of it with proof, and state plainly that nothing you know of breaks the agreement. Ask them to point to the exact incident so you can respond to it directly.

You can win this one, but only with strong, specific proof; a form letter won't move it.

If Instacart denies the appeal

Denied: rework the appeal and send it again, quoting the exact order ID and date. Cite Instacart's own fair-investigation clause. File a BBB complaint and a state AG consumer complaint (CA/NY/IL active). If the background or driving report is wrong, dispute it directly with the company that made it (usually Checkr). The law (FCRA) makes them recheck it, usually within 30 days, and the fixed report goes to the platform automatically. Fixing a wrong report is often the easiest win there is. Seattle's ordinance (90-day challenge, private right of action) and NYC's Dec 2025 protections apply where relevant. Individual arbitration via JAMS per the IC Agreement (CA Prop 22 opt-out window). Separate any unpaid-earnings claim (small claims) from reinstatement.