Laithwaites

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.

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.

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 was a LaithWaites Wine Member for two years and finally left, because their billing management is terrible. There website does not allow you to clearly see when your next case delivers or how frequently they will deliver. They send you the case and then provide the bill after, so if you didn't want that shipment you are stuck with it. After sending me two cases in the same month, I tried to clearly understand what my bill was, but you can't see it on your online account, and certainly can't pay it online. They operate like a business in the 1990's by mailing you an invoice asking to mail a return envelope with a check or credit card info or paying by phone. I mailed a check to the address they had provided and received a return to sender twice. Laithwaite's Wine began sending me nasty grams that they were going to forward my delinquent bill to collections if I didn't pay, despite their mailing address returning my check. When I called customer service they informed me that their mailing address had changed, though they had not updated it. I had a week old letter in my hand that was still using the old address! I paid over the phone and requested a receipt by email, the customer service rep said she couldn't provide one and that I would need to email customer service asking for one (seriously!?!? Isn't that you?). When I emailed customer service, they informed me since the payment was still being processed that they couldn't provide a receipt yet and that I should call customer service asking for one. This company operates like a shell game, they send you on run arounds and don't clearly present information, so you're never quite sure whats going on, so they can get more money out of you. I was certain I had already paid my bill, but was told it was for a separate shipment. They never provide receipts, so its hard to know for certain. They don't allow their members to have a holistic view of their subscription, which allows them to keep sending you cases without you being able to plan for what you need and don't need. Customer service is terrible and not helpful. Use any other wine club!

I signed up for the National Geographic Wine Club, which is actually Laithwaites.com. The first club case was encouraging and I ordered a couple more cases afterward. The second wine club case came a couple of months later and it was not of the same quality, but OK. But when I tried to order more wine after that case, each order was canceled. When I called to ask why, they said I hadn't paid for the second wine club case. I go no notice and they could have used my credit card. So I paid it immediately over the phone. They said all good and I could re-order in a couple of days. I did, but every order canceled. This was in June. It is now the last week of October. I have called numerous times, hours on hold, and been promised callbacks. I just got off the phone again, with them saying there is another billing issue, of which I had no knowledge. Now they say I owe for a case of wine that I had paid for, but they canceled it, and then refunded my money (I cannot find a record of this refund.). But, they said they reactivated the order and shipped it. But, I never received a bill for the case (that I had already paid for once). Plus, they have my credit card on file which they did not use. So their story changed again. But what is really mystifying, almost none of these explanations match the order history on my account. I have called customer service too many times to count. On at least three occasions, I was promised a call back. Never got one. I was told at least twice that the situation was resolved, and I could order. Orders still canceled. And when I get through to someone with customer service, I never get the same story. So today, when I learned about the "unpaid for case of wine", I said "OK, let's pay for it now." Her response: I can't access... (billing) today. And I don't want to tell you that someone will call you because they probably won't. So could you please call us back on, say, Friday?" Ridiculous.

I'm so pleased I read the reviews on here after I ordered my wine, I ordered a box of wine because I was fed up with buying wine at supermarkets which I felt even at £5 a bottle was dreadful, I followed the advice from a friend whilst attending a dinner party at which I tasted 3 of the Laithwaites Wine, they were superb, I asked my friend where he had got the wine from and he told me it was Laithwaites, he was on what they call a Wine Plan, the first case was around £45 and I was informed at the time that the next case would go back to the normal price, I then asked, "what if I don't like it or didn't want to be on a Wine Plan " they informed me that if I didn't like the wine that they would replace it or give me my money back, also I was assured that I could cancel my Wine Plan at any time. The wines were out of this world, I did have a bottle of wine that wasn't to my taste and Laithewaites sent me out not just two bottles to replace the wine I didn't like but also sent me a credit note which I used against my next wine Plan case that came out, the customer service was second to none, I don't normally write reviews but after seeing all the negative reviews on here I just had to, it's only fair, I forgot to mention, I ordered at 9.45 one day, was promised my wine within 3 working days and it came the following afternoon, was so pleased with this. Nothing bad to say at all, Susan