Laithwaites

Ordered wine as a present for Christmas, all went well in that i received the wine in the specified time. What i wasn't aware of was that i was now part of some wine club which i never signed up for. I don't drink so why the hell i would want to join a wine club beats me. So fast forward a few months and the first i was aware of my new membership was when a box of wine was delivered, hmmm strange i never ordered wine. Quick check of my bank account and yep you guessed it Laithwaites had taken £80+. Quick phonecall and all was good, wine was getting picked up, very apologetic about the mix up and assurances that my name had been removed from their list, phew what a relief. Did a quick happy dance that it had been resolved so easily... or so i thought. So 5 months down the line, I'm relaxing on holiday and check my emails... what's this? We've delivered your wine... what bloody wine! Yeah you've guessed it another £80+ out my account when I'm not even a bloody member of their wine list. So sitting in a foreign country £80+ down and wondering just where on earth they delivered this unwanted wine because it's certainly not my empty house. So Laithwaites have got my money and i don't have the wine that i didn't want in the first place. Very shoddy in my experience.

Can I give a ZERO! Horrible, terrible, atrocious - there arent enough words to describe these idiots! I cancelled my membership after the first shipment of mediocre, over-priced wine many months ago. Still - I get a charge last month for $185. Ok, mistakes happen. But then proceed to send me on a month-long rabbit hole of customer support half-truths (contact PayPal, we've done what we can... blahblah) only to find out they're just mother EFin idiots who in my opinion steal money, yes, steal- sue me if you think it's libel you freakin thieves! Terrible wine! Terrible service! DO NOT JOIN THIS CLUB OF THIEVES AND (in my opinion) LIARS!

I started this membership back when it started with Zagat and the wines and service were 5 star. Over the years the quality has gone down, service has gone down and all together just awful customer service.
No matter what you do they just do not know how to listen to instructions. You ask them to skip a shipment and they send you two. Ask them for 2 ring binders for the leaflets they hand out and you never get them.
DO NOT USE LAITHWAITES. NOT WORTH THE WINE, HEADACHE, FRUSTRATION AND STRESS.
Much better services out there that have better wines and will listen.

I've been a very long time customer. Many, many years.
They recently published an email that exoired at midnight. I was visiting some friends but took the time to go to the website to pick up a great deal: $9.99 a bottle and free freight for a year.
I placed the deal in the cart, pushed order and get told because i already have free freight I can't buy it again, your order cannot be processed call or email customer service.
Well, if you type too many words in the cust service form it errors out with no explanation. I figure it out and leave several emails because customer service is closed at 10pm est.
Next day i get a response after i send another email stating just call and we'll get your order in. Well, after a very long call and waiting for a supervisor I'm told call back later when a supervisor is not busy. And how do I know when one is free?
Long story short... I get told the offer expired last night and they will not honor it. I explained I ordered it on time and its their system. Was told too bad nothing we can do.
I offered to close my account in my last email, no one cares.

Not sure what I'm going to do. We'll see if this review gets to the right people. Otherwise...

Bought 24 whites, nothing comes close to a supermarket 7.00 Marlborough. Very let down. Now stuck in contract that I did not realise. Avoid the wine plan offer!

I have had this wine club for a long time now BUT, lately they have messed up my order by adding more whites than reds. I love reds. About 2 or 3 weeks ago my order came. BUT, it wasn't my regular order. It was a bonus order, according to the lady I talked to by phone, after receiving a notice that my next order was on its way. I receive them every 3 months. I immediately wondered why I was receiving another one so early. She said I had received the special bonus one, or something to that nature. I the said, " You mean this is a special order that I am not charged for?" she told me "NO' I would have to pay for it. I was very upset and asked her to cancel all future orders. The one on its way is my regular order, according to her. I told her I was not paying for it. She said I already paid the minute it left the warehouse. So, I have asked for them to cancel my Membership. GEEZ. They kept sending me more whites than reds, which I like so I have been unhappy. I told her I was going with a new Wine Club. She was not very friendly about it! Where do they get these people that are in Public Relations?

If I could give them 0 stars I would. Have been dealing with this company since they were Zagats wine club. They started out great. Now prices have skyrocketed. Fixing a problem, becomes my problem. Not one thing right on my order. Wine was late from the expected date range. Ordered all reds, got 6 whites, 6 reds. Mystery Case. That's for sure. Supposed to send me a mechanical corkscrew with stand, got 4 wine tasting glasses instead. I have to wait for a return label. Hope it comes. I have to pack up the case. Worst packing I have seen and I have ordered many cases of wine. I have to call fed ex and wait for them to pick up the box that barely can be picked up. I canceled my membership and canceled my order. My credit card will not be credited until they get their case back. No sense of "we put you through a lot for nothing let us make it up to you". Horrible customer service. Have no idea how to treat a customer. Especially a repeat customer. My advise, stay as far away from them as possible. Go to Trader Joes. Good wine selection, good prices. Make your own Mystery Case. One of the mysteries is how do they stay in business. Maybe that's why they changed their name a couple of years ago.

Have had a membership for almost 2 years - was generally happy with it. I enjoyed getting the deliveries, and even recommended the business/service to friends. I typically received a shipment every 3 months. Recently, they automatically opted me INTO an extra shipment. Apparently I received notification in the mail, not via email about the extra "holiday" shipment. Supposedly other customers request extra wine around this time due to visitors, blah blah blah. FINE - if someone wants an extra shipment, offer it, BUT LET PEOPLE MAKE THIS DECISION FOR THEMSELVES. I find it very questionable that they forced this extra $170 shipment on me. I am now receiving 2 $170 boxes within a week of each other, and yes, paying for both. There's a reason I only get one every 3 months! Apparently, I had the option to decline the holiday shipment, via phone, had I received the original notice in the mail. I moved recently, though, so I never received the notification to begin with. I had also updated my address, at least a month prior to shipments, and neither of them were sent to the correct address. When contacting customer support, I only get very generic "We're sorry for your frustration" responses.

Whatever you do... BEFORE you order from Laithwaite Wines, READ THIS REVIEW!

This company has committed FALSE ADVERTISING, and if they cannot HONESTLY and ETHICALLY stand behind their advertising, then they cannot be trusted with the words they speak about their products! DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY!

Worst customer services ever. Indifferent and brusque. Never ever ever! Didnt deliver in time for Christmas and went on to speak to me like I was an imbecile.

They cleverley sign you up to regular wineplan without you realising

The wine is good but the business model of taking your money and then a box turns up that you didn't expect is terrible!

I ordered the introductory case of wine from Laithwaites because we were wanting to start using a wine club membership company and the introductory deal looked great. The shipment arrived yesterday and only had 7 of the 8 bottles of wine. I called customer service to report the missing bottle and was told multiple times that the wine bottle was included on the inventory list so it should have been in the box. It was not. I asked for a refund or to have the bottle sent to me. The response was that I could have $10 off a case of 12 bottles of wine in the future. I explained that I would be hesitant to order a case of 12 when I've already had issues with a case of 8 and again asked for a refund or for my bottle to be sent. I was then told that maybe my bottle wasn't included because the wine was either on back order or sold out, so I asked why a replacement was not included then and was not given an answer. The Laithwaites company has a guarantee that states on the website " It's simple. We want you to enjoy every bottle you buy from us. If you are not completely satisfied with any wine, for any reason, just let us know and you'll receive a refund." I read off the guarantee that was included in my box since I was not completely satisfied with the wine because it was missing and was told that the guarantee does not apply to introductory boxes, even though there was a statement with the guarantee listed in my introductory box. After 18 minutes on the phone, no offer to refund or send a replacement was offered. I canceled my membership and do not recommend.

Only got 8 bottles when it should have been 11 and one was broken. No response was made to my email I sent.

I joined a wine club serviced by Laithwaite's about 6 months ago. The first shipment was missing some important paperwork and that should have been my first clue but since this was my first experience with a wine club I forgave them. I called and about a week later I received my tasting cards describing each wine. Next time I ordered, my wine didn't show up in a timely manner. I called and their reason was a change in warehouses ( although there was nothing on their website about that when I ordered). I waited a couple more weeks, still no wine. Called again to complain and was offered a $20 credit. I took it, waited a little longer and finally got my wine. Next order I went online and said when I wanted my next TCM curated shipment sent. Never heard anything and it took over a month to get it. I didn't complain since they didn't bill me right away. The final straw was with the October order. I spent a long time going through all their wines and curating my own case. Placed my order of 12 bottles. Received only one bottle! Couple of weeks later customer service told me all bottles had shipped, to expect it any day now. Called them a week later and was told they never shipped. They couldn't tell me why, credited my account and said I'd have to reorder all over again. I could not get any explanation as to why this happened. I cancelled my membership. My sister has also had trouble with getting her shipments. Buyer Beware!

I've been a member twice and cancelled twice. I enjoy their wines and am generally satisfied with their offerings. But I typically share one bottle per week with my girlfriend. Sometimes less. I don't need a case every three months but maybe every four would be perfect. As I live in a small condo, I don't have room to store a lot of wine. Twice, I've found good deals with Lathwaites and ordered cases only to be blindsided less than a week later that another case had been shipped to me. I don't want 24 to 30 bottles of wine sitting around.

I much prefer reds to whites. My first delivery was a mixed order. You have to take six reds and six whites, all reds, or all whites. Several months ago, I changed my preferences on their website to reflect that I wanted all reds. My most recent delivery was half and half. Meh!

The other unpleasantry is the frequent calls offering me "deals." I know when I want more wines and it's not on their schedule. I may rejoin, but I have a lot of wine to get through before I reconsider my cancellation.

I placed an order - with a wine 'adviser' (for that read salesman) - for a large quantity of Pillastro Primitivo 2018 for my son's wedding this year and I paid for that. When Covid 19 struck, I got in touch to say the wedding had been postponed until next year and could they store the wine for me in the meantime or not. They said they could - normally only for 3 months but this 'adviser' said he would just keep an eye on it and roll the order over every 3 months. NOTHING was ever said about them selling my wine on to other customers because they couldn't store it. I have now just discovered, quite by chance, that this is what they have done & the 2018 is now not available. My issue is that this was not their decision to make & should have given me the option to decide whether to cancel or ask someone else to store the 2018 wine in the meantime. They are, so far, not taking any steps to accept their rather deceitful handling of this. I have been a customer for many years & feel pretty fed up. Laithwates have got too big, so terrible disinterested customer service as a result.

I ordered a case of wine with a picnic table & glasses thinking this is a great deal. My purchase was dispatched 2 days later & I thought this is amazing service. But the wine never came. I waited & waited. Contacted them & got the official email we will answer you in 2 days.
Rang the courier company who said the carton arrived damaged so they did not deliver to me.
Contacted Laithwaites on chat line & was told we will investigate & dispatch a new case ASAP. Well after several emails & phone calls I am still waiting for a replacement.
Then they emailed and told me it would take them at least 2 weeks to replace! Really! They gave me all sorts of pathetic excuses which didn't wash with me. The main one was they are changing their system. This is not my concern. How bad is that. Customer service is really bad. Im still waiting for my wine & picnic table.
I have since been contacted again by customer service to ask me for my credit card details as they need to recharge me to send a replacement and they would credit my original purchase but that would take 7 - 10 days to show on my credit card! Really? But the recharge would be immediate. This is the process they use I was told because they are changing their system. How rude is that. Of course I did not give permission to recharge my credit card. I am not paying twice for something I have never received and feel likely to never receive. I am now waiting for a credit.
Im really wondering if I will receive that. I am really unhappy that what looked to me like a great purchase has turned out this way where Laithwaites are expecting me to put right the fact that the original purchase was damaged in transit. This is so wrong on so may counts I am extremely disappointed that they have put all onus of the damaged consignment on to me. I am the customer they should put it right not ask me to pay again.

Ordered on the 22nd never got I think this site is a fraud they are stealing from people and this site needs to be shut down

Brilliant wine, very well priced, lots of offers and great service. No1 company to go to for wine delivery.

Sent wine, expected to print out and take half off 2 more times for pick of wring and re-delivery of correct wine. Will not do business again.

Just like most of the other reviews here, I've had a horrible experience with Laithwaites Wine. I placed an order on December 5th for a case of wine to be delivered to my sister as a Christmas present. They charged my card on Dec 6th, and generated a Fed Ex label with tracking number on Dec 9th. However, the case never shipped, nothing to track. I was given a delivery window of Dec 17-20, then moved to Dec 20-24. I have called the company 7 TIMES, only to be told repeatedly that the order would deliver by Dec 24th, even as late as Dec 23rd when Fed Ex still had no record of ever receiving the shipment. A second call on Dec 23rd told me that the problem was one bottle was on backorder, so that CS person said she subbed with another bottle and I'd get a new email with a new tracking number, and it would ship in 24 hours. Spoiler alert, it is now Dec 29th, no email, no new tracking number, and no one can explain why nothing has shipped. I've asked repeatedly for a Supervisor, only to be told they are all busy and I'd need to call back another time. Today I finally gave up, called back and cancelled my order and my membership. Supposedly I'll get an email within 24 hours confirming my cancellation (I'm not holding my breath), and a refund in 3-7 business days, but we'll see. After all of these issues, the best the company was ever willing to do was give me a $20 credit off my next case. CRAZY!

Would not rate them at all except you have to
Do not buy any wine from them as you cannot stop their emails

I can only imagine what the wine tastes like as I'm still waiting for it! If the wine is as good as the delivery company then I won't be coming back