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Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises consumers to use caution if doing business with Drink Dispatch, an online retailer of wine and spirits headquartered in St. Louis. Consumers reported to BBB the company failed to deliver ordered products, did not issue refunds, failed to contact customers, and provided poor customer service.
Drink Dispatch has an “F” rating, the lowest on BBB’s scale due to recent unanswered complaints. The business is located in a warehouse at 5231½ Manchester Avenue. It primarily sells goods through its website. BBB has received complaints from consumers in 14 states.
“If this business can’t deliver the goods its customers have paid for, it should issue refunds,” said Michelle L. Corey, BBB St. Louis president and CEO.
A LaGrange, Kentucky, man told BBB that he ordered two bottles of wine in January 2023. He said he could not find the wine in his area and found them online through the Drink Dispatch website, paying $84.
The man said he tried to contact the business several times via email and phone with no success. He said he had not received his order and had not been able to contact the business about a refund.
“They just took my money,” the man told BBB.
A Sterling, Virginia, woman told BBB she paid Drink Dispatch $200 for two cases of wine in December 2022. When the order failed to arrive in the promised time period, the woman said she canceled the order. She said she eventually received the order despite the cancellation request. She said the product was bad and was unable to return the product.
The woman said Drink Dispatch was not responsive when contacting it. She said she could get a refund through a chargeback on her credit card.
“I’ve bought wine online before and never had a problem,” she told BBB. “I’m very reluctant to buy wine again online and certainly won’t buy from them again.”
A woman from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, told BBB she paid Drink Dispatch $444 for 13 bottles of wine in March 2023. She did not receive the order in the time promised by the company, so she filed a complaint with BBB.
“I received my order a week or so after I filed my BBB complaint,” the woman told BBB. “But I never heard from the company. They didn’t return any email messages I sent to them. I will never order from them again.”
According to Missouri Secretary of State records, the business was registered as Drink Dispatch LLC in July 2020. Alexander Head is listed as the organizer of the business.
“I have let the entire team on this side of the business go and am rehiring and training people now to attempt to address all issues,” Head wrote in an email response to BBB. “I am working 7 days a week to solve as fast as possible. Our previous manager embezzled a large sum of money and did not place or ship orders. I’m pulling personal funds from everywhere I can to make things whole.”
BBB offers these tips on how to avoid online shopping problems:
- Research any business and its owners before paying any money. Check the company’s BBB Business Profile at BBB.org or by calling 888-996-3887.
- Be wary of sales or prices that seem too good to be true. The items often do not exist or are of poor quality.
- Read all terms and conditions before completing a purchase. Make sure to understand expected delivery dates and refund policies. Know your options in case you receive an item that was not as advertised.
- Pay by credit card whenever possible to challenge the payment.
- Check a site’s security settings. If the site is secure, its URL (web address) should start with “https://.” You also may see a picture of a small, closed lock in the screen's lower right-hand corner.
- If you have a complaint, file it at BBB.org and with your state’s attorney general’s office.
