Why Is the FTC Sending $23.8 Million to Grubhub Drivers and Diners?

What the complaint alleged

The Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney General filed a complaint in December 2024. They said Grubhub misled drivers about potential earnings. The company also blocked diners from their own accounts and funds. And it listed restaurants on the platform without asking permission first. Those three practices formed the core of the case.

Drivers saw ads promising specific income numbers. The reality fell short. Diners found themselves locked out with no way to recover money already paid. Restaurants appeared on the app without ever signing a contract. The settlement requires Grubhub to stop all three.

How the payments reach people

The FTC is sending money to 640,038 affected consumers. The total comes to more than $23.8 million.

Most people will receive a paper check in the mail. Check recipients should cash their checks within 90 days. PayPal recipients should redeem their PayPal payments within 30 days. The refund administrator is Analytics Consulting LLC. Their phone number is 1-888-446-4992.

No one has to pay to get a payment. The Commission never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a payment. That rule applies to every FTC refund program.

What Grubhub must change

Grubhub must advertise driver pay honestly. It must give users a way to dispute blocked accounts. It can only list restaurants that have given consent. These changes apply across the company's operations. The order covers the whole platform, not just Illinois.

The settlement does not say how much each person will get. It does not say how many drivers versus diners are in the 640,038 total. The state-by-state breakdown exists on an FTC dashboard but the release does not quote any state figures. The $435 million in 2025 redress covers all FTC cases, not just this one.

Deadlines and what follows

Checks expire after 90 days. PayPal links expire after 30 days. Money that goes unclaimed typically returns to the Treasury. The press release does not say whether a second distribution round will happen. It does not say how long Grubhub has to build the dispute mechanism. The compliance timeline stays in the court order, not in the public announcement.