This company baits people into buying their wines with a first time deal, then secretly signs them up for a monthly subscription. The first order will be a great deal, $40 for 12 bottles or something similar. Then a month later you'll suddenly get a $250 charge for a similar box of 12 bottles. Judging by the other reviews on here, that's not an uncommon occurrence.
They will claim they told you, but at no point in the process do I remember seeing anything saying it would be a monthly subscription. Most people, when checking out of a website where they're purchasing something, go through the "OK" "Confirm" buttons without looking too much at what they're saying okay to. Everyone knows that. Firstleaf knows that and they are using that. I wouldn't be able to tell you where it might have said this would be a subscription, whether it's in the terms and conditions (which everyone knows no one actually reads, and they are most likely taking advantage of that fact) or hidden elsewhere, the fact that this is a subscription may be there but it is not obvious in the slightest, and I think that is the point.
Whoever is running their account and replying to these complaints can say "we put a disclaimer" "it's in the terms" all they want, but at a certain point, with this many people feeling they've been duped, you're obviously not making it clear enough, and I'm guessing that's not an accident. Shameful business practice.
I joined thinking I'd receive wines of solid qualtiy curated by wine experts. I was excited at the prospect of receiving good wines that could not be readily found in a wine store shelf. Had two wines so far from our order and both are mediocre at best. I can find better wines myself from my local wine store.
This site is not flexible in accounting for conflicting work schedules and has the audacity to charge you for a refund if your work schedule happens to collide with the delivery times and dates. Absolutely horrible and not working class or student friendly.
While we’re required by law to make sure someone 21+ signs for the wine, we completely understand that it’s difficult to always be around when the carrier comes. That said, if you won't be home to receive it, we can certainly send your order to your local hold location or a business address if that works better for you. You can also sign up for FedEx delivery manager to request a weekend delivery. If you would like to give us another shot we'd be happy to help with any of these options!
Opened account in Jan. 2022- they screwed the order at the start. I cancelled by March 2022. They reset my account themselves, charged my credit card in Dec 2023, nearly two years later,
And sent 6 bottles of wine I did not order. They are unsafe, liars and sneaks. Do not use this club.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this review. It is Firstleaf policy that we must speak with the account holder in order to make changes to their subscription, or they can cancel or resubscribe through the website with their email and password.
Account privacy is a priority at Firstleaf and we take the utmost care in making sure only the account holder can make changes on the account. We see that you rejoined on November 11 at 9:25 AM after logging in using your email and password.
We do send a reminder email a few days before the order is shipped to give account holders time to reach out via email or phone if needed. Our records show the reminder email was sent on 12/04 at 8:00 am EST.
At this point, the order has been signed for and delivered as of Sunday 12/10/23 at 3:17 PM. We can offer a $25 discount on the order as a one time courtesy as a gesture of goodwill, but we would be unable to grant your request for full reimbursement.
Worst experience ever trying to cancel. Wife cancelled multiple times (orders and subscription), still continued to charge. I called to request a refund (wife works and was unable to call) they refused to do anything with it even though I was able to give the representative all of the account information, the bank name, charge amount, date of charge etc. when I asked to speak to a manager they were "unavailable". Still unable to cancel the order/get a refund so I am currently dealing with my bank and since I am the one who is home when the orders arrive, I'll be refusing delivery. That is unless the unavailable manager becomes available this evening and they call us to deal with this major issue.
We're so sorry your wife had trouble cancelling her account. We take account privacy seriously at Firstleaf and only allow changes to be made by the actual account holder. Once an account is closed we do not send orders or charge your card. It looks like a manager was able to contact you and the account is now closed. If you have any questions on how the membership works in the future please feel reach to reach out to us at any time at service@firstleaf.com.
This company gives you a good price for the first order and tricks you with the second order you haven't ordered! And nothing extraordinary about their wine. Check you account if you have an active membership
We are so sorry for the confusion regarding your membership. We try to make it as clear as possible that we a subscription wine club and you will be receiving future orders every month unless you change your frequency or cancel your account. This is shown at checkout before you place your first order. We also send out several welcome and reminder emails before the second order is processed. You can view our terms and conditions here: https://www.firstleaf.com/terms
Horrible experience. I ordered a one month shipment as a gift for a family member who lives out of state. I experienced two problems:
1.) They secretly signed me up for continuous shipments.
2.) They sent the second shipment to me. Not to the the same address as the first shipment, but to me. I don't even drink wine.
We are so sorry for the confusion regarding your membership. We try to make it as clear as possible that we a subscription wine club and you will be receiving future orders every month unless you change your frequency or cancel your account. This is shown at checkout before you place your first order. We also send out several welcome and reminder emails before the second order is processed. All shipments are sent our to the default shipping address entered in your account. If you have any questions about how the club works or would like copies of your records you please reach out to us at service@firstleaf.com.
I've only had the opportunity to sample the Malbec and the Cab. The wine is of very poor quality with an odd chemistry aftertaste. In addition I found several of their offerings priced at nearly half of what they charge online. We have gatherings at our home where hursts bring wine for the guests to sample. Their Malbec was described by guests as "gross"
Hi Bob, we're so sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your wine selection! Discovering new wines is a process and it takes us some time to learn exactly what you like. We offer our 100% satisfaction guarantee and can apply a credit to your account for any wine you dislike. As for the pricing, our website shows the retail price of our wines but we do not have control of resellers and their prices. We do not recommend purchasing from resellers as we cannot guarantee the quality of the wine at that point. As a reminder, all members receive 30% off on all Firstleaf wines when you purchase 6 or more bottles!
FRAUD Philip James is the founder and CEO of Firstleaf, one of the largest wineries in the US…
He has resorted to FRAUD to live a lavish lifestyle.
I took a PROMO offer through Planet Fitness gym membership but this Firstleaf and his FRAUDULENT computer CODE signed me up for additional deliveries of highly overpriced Wine
BE AWARE FRAUD.
We're so sorry for the confusion regarding your introductory offer to our club. We believe in transparency and make it clear that we are a club before checkout. All customers who purchase their first order from us are asked to acknowledge the benefits of joining our club. The complete message as shown in the screenshot states “Auto-new notice - By clicking Place Order, you are enrolling in an auto-delivery wine club and authorize us to charge you for future shipments of 6 wines until you cancel your membership or change your shipment frequency. You also agree to our Terms and Conditions.” You can view our terms and conditions here: https://www.firstleaf.com/terms If you have any other questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to service@firstleaf.com.
I received a Nift Gift card for $30 and used it on First Leaf. Had to pay about $9 in sales tax, but that wasn't bad. When I checked my bank statement for this month, I noticed an unexplained charge of $118 from them. I never signed a membership consent form, nor do I have an account. They kept my debit card information and enrolled me in a membership I did NOT authorize nor did I desire. ROYALLY pissed!
Hi Olivia, we are so sorry for the confusion regarding your membership. We try to make it as clear as possible that we a subscription wine club and you will be receiving future orders every month unless you change your frequency or cancel your account. This is shown at checkout before you place your first order. We also send out several welcome and reminder emails before the second order is processed. You can view our terms and conditions here: https://www.firstleaf.com/terms
I canceled twice on the website and then sent an email stating I had canceled twice before but they were sending me emails stating they are sending me a new order. I stated I would not pay for any further deliveries, a delivery was left on my doorway without me signing and I was charged $215 on my credit card. I called when I received the bill and was told yes they saw I tried to cancel but it is not official, because I did not receive an email from them stating they closed the account. Total FRAUD
Apologies for the confusion regarding the cancellation process. It does seem you logged on to your account and attempted to cancel however the updates to your account were never confirmed. In order to make changes to your account we do ask that you save changes in order for them to take effect. Your account has been closed as of August 2023 and you will not be receiving any future shipments unless you reinstate your account with us.
I reached out to the customer service with a concern and was immediately met with blame and insult. The customer service rep Ella J has been of no assistance and should be relieved from her position.
Hi James, we are so sorry to hear about your experience with customer service! We want to make this right ASAP. Would you be able to reach out to us at service@firstleaf.com so we can get more information and find a solution that works for you?
I sent A LOT of wine to my employess over the holidays. Barely any arrived on time and I received daily updates saying they were having trouble with my order. One of the deliveres arrived on January 12th and all orders were purchased on December 21st. I reached out through email twiceregarding my experience and NO ONE answers. This company needs to get better at customer service!
Hi Crista, we're so sorry your orders were delayed! The holidays can be especially busy for carriers, especially during storm season. We do want to make sure you have the correct information for our customer service team as all inquiries from 1/24 and earlier have been responded to. You can reach us at service@firstleaf.com or give us a call at 1(800)461-7203.
I ordered a subscription on March 30 2021 and should have had my 1st box by now. I intentionally planned to be home today because someone 21+ has to be here to sign for it. At 5pm today 4/3/2021 per the tracking confirmation they would no longer fulfill this delivery. I won't be home tomorrow, which is the next delivery date. Canceled my subscription but would like the taxes and shipment fees refunded for them dropping the ball.
Hi Dana, we're so sorry you had some trouble with the carrier delivering your order, as much as we'd like to, we can't fully control their operations. We are always happy to file a claim for packages stuck in transit and send a replacement or credit your account right away. We would love to get a little more information so we can see where the ball was dropped in our member experience team, we are always looking for ways to improve. You can reach us at 1(800)461-7203 or service@firstleaf.club.
They lure you in with a discounted trial box. Try the wide for $40. We shipped the box to friends so they could try the wine. They opened 3 bottles. Said 2 were not good but the third was ok.
We tried one, took the first sip and couldn't drink the rest. Wine was not good.
Less than a month I see a charge for $109 on my credit card, then next day I get an email saying my next box has been delivered.
As far as I was aware, I didn't want any more wine from this company.
I called and emailed and said I didn't know it was a club and I want to cancel and return the wine. They don't take returns from what customer service said.
I told them "wouldn't you want to take the wine back and have a happy customer rather than them writing you a bad review" and they didn't seem to care.
" I apologize that we cannot meet your request.
We can no longer give refunds if an order is marked as delivered in the tracking information.
We take your feedback seriously as it is our most valuable tool, and I will be sure to share it with our team.
Please let us know if you have any additional concerns.
Cheers,
Cyril"
So basically, don't order any wine if you don't want to be a member of the club. If you want 6 bottles of below average wine for $109 then sign up. Or just go anywhere and buy 6 bottles of wine for $10 each and BOOM! $49 for something else.
I would not recommend them to anyone.
Hi Ben we apologize for any confusion! We do have the option for customers to purchase wine without signing up for the subscription, however you specifically signed up with our introductory order to the club. We believe in transparency and communication with our members and always let you know the subscription is recurring before checkout. In order to ensure members see the selection for each delivery (and have time to cancel if needed), we send a “rate and preview” email 10 days prior to each shipment. We also send a second email before the wine is in route confirming the shipment as well. Once the order has been delivered it is too late to cancel the order for a full refund. We're so sorry to hear you didn't like the wine you tried in the first shipment, that isn't the experience we wanted you to have. At Firstleaf we offer a store credit for any wine a member dislikes. We can confirm your subscription was canceled as of 10/31/22. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
This company should not be recommended to anyone. They automatically enroll you in a membership without your consent. I bought a case of wine for a birthday party from them and they charged me $200 for a second case the following month. I called them to address the issue and the rep got the nerve to offer me a $30 discount. They even refused to let me send them back the wine. Till now, i am still fighting to get my money back.
Hi Wahabou, we are so sorry for the misunderstanding here! We are a wine club subscription, this is explained at checkout before you place the introductory order. We also send you a confirmation when you join the club along with a welcome email that explains how the club works. To ensure even further that you're aware of any future shipments we also send a preview email about a week before any subscription orders are processed, just in case you need to cancel. We also allow you to cancel the order after it has been processed and shipped, as long as the order is returned before the delivery is accepted. Once the order is delivered and accepted we are unable to process a refund. If you end up disliking any of the wines in your order just let us know and we can process a credit right away! For additional information on our refund policy, check out our help center here: https://help.firstleaf.club/hc/en-us/articles/115011925068-Refund-Policy
Got the trial box didn't like. I'm not a member but they still stole my money. They they took 109.62 from me and I didn't get what I wanted. It was horrible, I just want my money back because I am not a member. I am also on a fixed income ppl just can't take from others when they please. I am really pissed right now~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~£~~~~~££££££~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``~`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~££~
Hi Dionne, we apologize for the confusion! What we offer is an introductory box for our membership, that way you can try the wine at a discounted price for your first club shipment. If it turns out the club doesn't work for you, you have the ability to cancel at any time. We try to be as transparent as possible and send you a confirmation when you join the club along with a welcome email that explains how the club works. If you ever need help cancelling an order just reach out to us at service@firstleaf.club or refuse the package at the time of delivery. Once an order is on it's way back we can process a refund in full. We're happy to look into your account and make sure it's closed at 1(800)461-7203!
I live in California and usually stay with California wine. The first leaf subscription includes some imported wine. I thought it doesn't hurt to try because the first subscription is cheap. Then the bottle of wine from Spain blew my mind. Instead of staying with Cab and Merlot, I'm going to try more red blend now. I brought a bottle with similar profile to share with family and they loved it too! So happy about it and I'm gonna order a case of it.
Hi Eve, we are so glad we were able to help you discover some new wines! That's what we're all about here at Firstleaf. We are so glad you like our service and hope you love future shipments just as much!
WORST WINE CLUB! Worst customer service. I ordered on 11/29 and told wine would be delivered on 12/1. It never came and tracking shows FedEx hasn't received my box. On 12/3, I was actually told my wine would be delivered on 12/1! So, I guess they've developed a time machine. The rep couldn't tell me where my order was or if/when I would receive it. His only solution was to cancel my order and membership. Fine with me. But, seriously, that's not good or appropriate customer service and satisfaction at all. Good riddance.
Hi Jeffrey, apologies for this, this is not the experience we wanted you to have. Unfortunately, it looks like there was an error with this specific order's processing and the only solution would be to cancel and reprocess the order. If you have additional concerns, please call us at 1-800-461-7203. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Our agents are available 7 days per week from 9am to 8pm ET!
Ordered trial box. Waited 3 weeks for my box to be delivered. Finally called to see where my order was and it wasn't until then, that they informed me that it was broken in transit. No one bothered to communicate that to me proactively while I waited patiently and loyally to give company a chance. Upon communication. Eunice the customer service representative was very apologetic, agreed to refund me, and even replace my box for my inconvenience. I confirmed my address with her, but then this Ella J. Denied a shipment of a new box at no charge and proceeded to tell me to wait for my "next shipment" of wine that I wouldnt get to choose and double the cost of introductory price. I sent screenshots of the previous reps satisfactory resolution to Ella J. She said she would move the date back for next shipment but would not make up for lack of communication from FirstLeaf on my delivery, adhere to previous reps satisfactory agreement with me, and did not give the list of my wine I originally wanted and was still going to charge me for them after all this back and forth and waiting being said and done. I would not recommend this company's customer service if anything doesn't go perfect. They will not help you.
Hi April, we apologize for the miscommunication here! We've updated your account email to the email address that works best for you. We can also confirm you have been refunded in full for your original order and a second order has been sent out free of cost. We are so glad we were able to find a solution that works for you. If you have any questions going forward feel free to reach out at service@firstleaf.club!
Overview
The company has garnered a largely negative reputation, primarily due to deceptive subscription practices and poor customer service. Customers frequently express frustration over unexpected charges and difficulties in canceling subscriptions, often feeling misled by the initial promotional offers. While some reviews highlight prompt shipping and satisfactory initial experiences with wine quality, these positives are overshadowed by complaints about mediocre product offerings and inadequate support when issues arise. Overall, the sentiment reflects a significant disconnect between customer expectations and the company's service delivery, indicating a pressing need for improved transparency and customer care.
This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews
Company Representative
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Hi Kelly, we want to make sure you're loving the wine you receive! Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If for any reason you're not satisfied with a bottle you receive through the club, we'll give you Firstleaf credit for it. We would love to have you work with our wine concierge team. They can work with you and discuss what it is you liked and didn't about your last selection, credit you, and help find the perfect wines for your next order. Just reach out to service@firstleaf.com!