Sadly I didn't read all these reviews before joining the Laithwaite club. The first club shipment came very quickly! But the next club shipment was inexplicably delayed (even though the credit card was charged) and an order placed outside the club was not delivered on the day they told me to expect it and then I found out they had created a shipping label but never actually turned the package over to FedEx. Simply unreliable.
Saw the offer in my National Geographic, Great deal, good wine. What you don't realize is that 3 months later they will send you less desirable wine at twice the cost without you even knowing. I canceled the club membership that never knew I had but still had to pay $183.14 for wine I didn't order and didn't want.
Customer service is trash. Should have read all the reviews. I cancelled my membership & deleted my card after I did the initial introductory offer. I didn't received any email notifications just $198.00 taken out of my account 3 months later. Their only response was that I signed the terms & conditions for the membership I signed up for it- Even though I had cancelled & deleted my information immediately after I paid for it.
Now I just have to "wait" for Fedex to deliver it so I can return it, but just received the run around & they "promise" my card information isn't stored. Such BS.
Joined the wine club from an introductory offer. Wish I hadn't. I selected the mixed case and received all whites (including a champagne) which I didn't want. Their website is messed up and will now only display options for all white wines, whether I select the mixed option, all reds, or whites. I sent screen shots of this to customer service who told me they can not help on email and I have to call. I called and the lady said it's an error on my end... how is your website being messed up an error on my end? They told me to send it back and they will resend a mixed case but that is a waste of my time and energy for a mistake that was not mine. I'd rather give my money to a company that is willing to fix their mistakes. Terrible service.
I ordered a promotional case of wine from an advertisement that I had in a National Geographic magazine. Unbeknownst to me, I was agreeing to a subscription plan for a case of wine and some sort of time interval. Once the second case showed up, I gave them a call to resolve the issue. I was told multiple times by multiple workers over the span of the year (I would call as I received "past due" notices) that I could keep the case as my payment had already transferred. Furthermore that I would be removed from the subscription plan. This was back in February 2017. Here in August 2019 I am still receiving notices stating that I am being sent to collections for fraudulent payment. I was just forced to pay 180$ pr else be sent to collections. The manager, Todd, could not have cared any less. Stay away from this scam and keep your money. As a learning sommelier, the wine was not worth the money to begin with.
This company sucks you in and then will not let you go - you can not easily cancel your wine plans - to cancel involves actually making phone contact with them. That process requires you to hold on the phone for 30 minutes or more (but it is worth holding). Then! Even if you cancel your wine plans, you haven't actually canceled your "unlimited" membership! You have to phone them all over again. Otherwise, they will continue to suck money out of your credit card until it expires.
Hi Martin, we're sorry for any confusion!
We’re always sorry to see a fellow wine lover go. With complete control of your membership, you can pause shipments, delay deliveries, make changes to your wines, and, of course, cancel at any time - and you can cancel online!
https://www.laithwaites.com/jsp/customerservice/common/customerservicequestion.jsp?question=cancel-club
The Unlimited shipping membership is separate from the wine club, as some customers choose not to have a wine club, but continue to place enough one-time orders to benefit from the yearly shipping membership. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. We understand how alarming it is to see a charge you didn’t expect. Please reach out to us by phone, email or chat, so we can take care of any remaining issues for you.
https://www.laithwaites.com/jsp/customerservice/common/contactus.jsp
I signed up for the welcome package. I paid for the welcome package. Never heard anything for about 2 weeks but had a delivery date. Called them. They said I had ordered before so the order was cancelled but I had not. Asked why they never notified me and was told it's an automated system. Asked if it was my name that ordered before and I was told they could not see that. Asked for a supervisor. Supervisor apologized and said he over road the block and ordered my wine right then. I was told an e-mail confirmation was on the way. Never got the e-mail or the order. I don't like being lied to. Just really sad. Very dishonest company. I would not care except I never ordered from them before and they straight out said the order was placed after I talked to management. Southwest Airlines needs to drop them as marketing partners.
I belonged to a Laithwaites Wine Club and wanted to check to see what the next shipment would cost me. When I went to my account the advertisement said, " Member's Only Price $149.98, Ships free. I assumed the member only referred to my membership in the wine club, so I went ahead with the order. When the wine arrived I was charged for shipping. When I complained to Laithwaites they said that was for a different membership. I was so angry, I cancelled my membership in the club and asked that I no longer receive their advertisements. The wine I received was all brands and only 1 recognizable vineyard. Be very careful of this club $189 for 12 non brand wines. You can do much better with Wine Insiders.
I tired of experimenting with supermarket wine at £5-£8 a bottle and took a trial with Laithwaites. The case came quickly and It was very good. I signed up for the wine plan which works out about £8 a bottle for a 12 bottle case. If you can push it to 15 bottles the postage is free. At £8 a bottle the quality is terrific. A couple of times I have been disappointed with a particular bottle, phoned up their customer service and it is replaced quickly with 2 bottles of my choice. I have nothing but praise for Laithwaites and have no intention of leaving them. Their No Quibble guarantee has worked for me and I cannot understand the bad reviews.
I have received 3 cases from the club - the wine is ok but nothing special. My biggest complaint is that you have no idea when it is shipping. Each of my shipments, i got a text from FedEx and email from the club on Friday night saying it would be delivered the next day. So each time i had to change my plans and wait around all day to sign for it. When i called to see if i could get more notice about shipping, the women was rude and acted like i was the only one with this issue. And there is no way to work around it. Again- the wine is ok and the prices aren't bad - just fix the people part!
Answer: They are a legitimate company. Wine is mostly good qualify but customer service is poor and the aggressive salespeople try to intimidate you Into buying g more than you want
Answer: There are so many wine club companies, you should choose someone other than Laithwaite's.
Answer: I cancelled over the phone with their 1-800 phone number.
Laithwaites has a rating of 1.4 stars from 184 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with Laithwaites most frequently mention customer service, wine club and credit card. Laithwaites ranks 98th among Wine sites.
We’re sorry to hear that you had such a negative experience, Allison. We’re always looking for ways to improve and would love your feedback. Please reach out to us by phone or email.
https://www.laithwaites.com/jsp/customerservice/common/contactus.jsp
Plus, we’re always adding new wines and looking to improve our service—and we do hope you give us another chance someday. If not, we wish you good luck on your wine journey!