ComplaintsforWine.com, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  12/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  wine.com automatically renewed my membership without my knowledge. When I discovered this on 12/7/23, I contacted several associates via wine.com chat. I was informed by ************ that she would refund the renewed membership AND that I could still order until my prior membership expired -- on 12/8/23. This did not occur. She cancelled my membership two days early, I lost out on my birthday discount, I was charged for shipping on the order I placed that day, and she never refunded my auto-renewed membership fee! I have received lie after lie after lie by wine.com chat associates, as well as via email. Not one person has told me the truth! In addition, the champagne I ordered was to come with a gift box. I never received the gift box. I was not reimbursed the $22.00 I was told for the shipping I had to pay for the order placed 12/7/23. I was reimbursed *****. Another lie. I was told the associate would follow-up via email concerning the gift box. This did not take place. Another lie. I did not receive my birthday discount -- ever. Another fault by wine.com. I received my credit card statement today and saw that my auto-renewal was not credited. wine.com owes me ***** IMMEDIATELY. When I told them this via chat today, I was told it would take 3-5 business days. It has already been 21 days and they already credited the $ ***** for shipping fees. Therefore, they could have credited the $ *****. I am extremely disappointed and will not recommend wine.com to anyone.

  Business response

  01/02/2024

  Hello ****,  Thank you for your feedback!  In reviewing your account, kindly be advised that our Stewardship Membership Program is governed by our Terms of Service which states the following:   If you register for StewardShip membership, you accept these terms, conditions, limitations and requirements. Please read these Terms carefully.  Please be advised that your Stewardship Membership was in fact refunded for $74.70 on 12/29/23 and an email notification was sent to you on 12/30/23.  We apologize for the two days that your membership was curtailed; however, it appears that an appeasement credit of $50 on 12/22/23 has been applied to your account in addition to the refund of $21.50.  Thank you for your recent purchase on 12/29/23- we see that you've taken advantage of the $50 credit as well as a promo code towards this order!  We appreciate your feedback and we are always making strides to provide the best customer service.

   

   

  Customer response

  01/03/2024

   
  Complaint: 21073498
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  In the meantime, I was lied to by multiple wine.com employees, my membership was cut short by two days, I was in fact charged for shipping DURING my membership period, I was not sent the gift box that came with my order 'champagne WITH gift box', I lost my birthday discount due to your employee's mistake, I had to spend HOURS on chat with wine.com to rectify this situation -- only to be lied to by multiple wine.com employees.  Please note: multiple employees.  I really enjoyed being a member of wine.com...until it was ruined by many of your chat associates.  I would have renewed my membership if ONE of them would have been honest with me.  Unfortunately, they were not.  I could no longer trust anyone working for your company.  

  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  01/05/2024

  Hello again, ****- thank you for clarifying your dissatisfaction.  Kindly be assured that an account credit for the past shipping charge of $19.99 has been applied to your Wine.com account.  The order number for the gift card purchased on your behalf is 33815235.  You should see this reflected in your Payment Method when you log into your Wine.com account and hover over the silhouette.  Again, thank you for your feedback and we hope you consider giving us another chance as we are constantly striving to improve our services for our customers!

  Customer response

  01/11/2024

   
  Complaint: 21073498
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I was told by ************ that my credit card would be refunded for the Stewardship membership on 12/7/23.  This did not occur; yet, I was penalized by your company and my current membership at that time was halted.  You did not, in fact, refund the amount of $ ***** that was charged to my credit card.  That is theft.  The refund was to occur within **** business days.  This did not occur.  

  You cut short my current membership by two days, took away my birthday discount, then charged me shipping for my order during my membership period.  The shipping was resolved.  The fact that you did not send the gift box with my purchase of 'champagne with gift box' issue was resolved.

  >>> You still owe me $ ***** for the cancelled Stewardship membership.  <<< 

  I could never recommend this company to anyone.  It is such a disappointment.  I really enjoyed being a member of wine.com until the last two days of my membership.  

  I expect a refund to my credit card immediately.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My StewardShip membership renewed on May 24, 2023. I am attaching the May 5 email which was sent to let me know it was scheduled. You will note that in the text it specifies ***** standard shipping on every order". This what I expected and agreed to when I permitted the scheduled auto renewal. I did NOT agree then, nor do I agree now, to pay $10 shipping for any order under $49. I did NOT receive a subsequent email clearly communicating this change nor giving me the option of discontinuing the StewardShip membership and getting a refund for the remainder of the year from renewal. I would not have agreed to renew if this change was made known at the time of the May 5 "Wine.com StewardShip Renewal Scheduled" email. I purchased the renewal with the expectation that I could order one or two bottles of relatively inexpensive wine without paying for shipping.I attempted to remedy this problem by calling and emailing customer service. They were not helpful over the phone and said no refund for the remainder of my membership could be issued because I had "used the membership" (meaning I placed orders after the renewal). Why would I renew if I didn't plan to continue placing orders with the company? After a cookie cutter reply within 15 minutes of my initial email, my response to that email went unanswered for 10 days. I called customer service again today, this time getting to speak with an apparent "manager" who spouted the same ridiculous line about not being able to do anything because I "used the membership". Furthermore, she said they have the right to change their membership terms at any time.This is bait and switch behavior which should not be tolerated.

  Business response

  10/10/2023

  Hello ******,

  My name is **** and I am part of the Leadership Team at Wine.com. I want to extend my sincerest apologies for any confusion for any inconvenience you may have experienced concerning your Stewardship Membership.  Please understand that our Terms of Service explicitly state that that your use of the Wine.com website, mobile application, and StewardShip membership are also governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, as well as all other applicable terms, conditions, limitations and requirements on the Wine.com website, all of which (as changed over time) are incorporated into these Terms. Should you register for StewardShip membership, you accept these terms, conditions, limitations and requirements.  The Program Benefits are as follows: StewardShip members are *********** free or discounted standard shipping on eligible purchases.
  Eligible *************** standard shipping is provided on orders with a subtotal greater than $49 and discounted $10 shipping is provided on orders with a subtotal of $49 or less. The StewardShip membership fee and gift cards do not count towards the order minimum. From time to time, Wine.com may choose in its sole discretion to add or remove StewardShip membership benefits. I apologize again for any confusion and appreciate your feedback.

  Customer response

  10/11/2023

   
  Complaint: 20717117
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  The terms of service at the time that I agreed to renew my StewardShip membership were not as you have described in your response, rather they were changed materially and unilaterally after I had already renewed. I attached the "scheduled renewal" email when contacting customer service and again in this reply to BBB.  It says "FREE standard shipping on every order".  This is what I agreed to at the time of my renewal, and what I insist on receiving if you will not alternatively cancel my membership as of the date it was requested and refund the prorated portion of the $59 membership fee from the date I requested the membership cancellation.

  Offering the more favorable terms of service when renewing and then changing them as such afterwards - without giving the customer the option to opt out and leave the membership - is the very definition of bait and switch.  Had I been offered the free shipping only on orders over $49, even with discounted shipping below that order total, I would never have renewed.  Shame on you.

  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  10/13/2023

  Hello ******, Thank you for your response.  Again, I apologize for any confusion.  While you received an email from us in May 2023, a subsequent email was sent to all our Stewardship Members on 6/30/2023 explaining the changes being implemented.  This is also reflected in your Wine.com account Stewardship settings (please see attachment #1).  We see that you have made several purchases online since your Stewardship Membership renewal whereby our website banner indicates the current conditions indicated on our email to you on/around 6/30/2023 (please see attachment #2).  My sincerest apologizes for any confusion regarding your past Stewardship Membership.  Please be assured that your request to have your Stewardship Membership canceled has been honored.  Thank you again for your feedback.

  Customer response

  10/20/2023

   
  Complaint: 20717117
  
  I am rejecting this response because: attaching a picture which appears on the website or in the middle of emails for ads/promotions is not the same thing as explicitly sending an email with an appropriate subject heading such as "Change in terms to StewardShip Membership" and indicating the options which a member has going forward if he or she doesn't approve of the terms going forward.  Was the June 30 email specifically for this purpose, sent only to existing StewardShip members and indicating it as such.  Or was one of these little boxes which you're so proud of buried somewhere in the body of a general email to all of the people whose email you address, StewardShip member or not?  Please attach a copy of the June 30 email you are referencing in your reply, including subject heading, which was purportedly sent to me.  

  Furthermore, you keep coming back to the fact that the membership has been "used".  Paying for a membership for a year does not come with a limited number of uses.  I could place no orders, one order, or a million orders if I wished during the yearlong membership.  I'm not requesting a refund of the full $59, just the prorated amount from the date I requested cancellation until the year expired at the end of May 2024.  The fact that I placed orders prior to requesting the cancellation is immaterial.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 12/15/22, I placed Order # ******** on Wine.com for 4 bottles of wine for $110.20. I never received the order. I reached out to wine.com to inquire on the status of the order 3 times: twice via the chat feature on their website on 12/17 and 12/22, and once via email to their customer service email address "cs@**********************" on 12/26. They have not yet responded to any of the 3 of these communications. I have attached all 3 to this complaint. The shipper, ***** claims that the package was delivered. As wine.com is aware, the package requires signature by an adult 21+. Wine.com has not provided an image of the signature. At this point, I am requesting a re-delivery of the items or a refund in the amount of the order. I have given wine.com ample time to respond yet instead, they have simply chosen to do nothing. Unfortunately, reading complaints from other customers on BBB, it appears as if wine.com has a history of similar situations with other customers.

  Business response

  04/28/2023

  Hi ****,
  My name is *****, I am a member of the Leadership team at Wine.com. I want to start off by giving you our sincerest apology for the poor service you received during the holidays. While this is the busiest time of the year for us it is no excuse for missing your email inquiry. Our agents are trained to respond to emails in a timely manner. I will investigate your order and will keep a record of this for improvements, moving forward. 
  Thank you for your feedback

• Initial Complaint

  12/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I was gifted 3 bottles of wine from wine.com. 1 arrived damaged. I’ve asked the company 7 times via the wine.com chat, their customer service line and email for a replacement. They put me on hold and hang up or end the chat without any resolution. I would simply like a replacement for the bottle of wine that was damaged.

  Customer response

  01/03/2023

  I finally got a reply back.  Wine.con shipped me a new bottle.  Sorry for the trouble, you can close out this incident.  Have a nice New years!

• Initial Complaint

  11/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I placed an ordered for a bottle of wine on 2/21/2022, which was to be delivered in September of 2022. The order number is ******** and this was paid in full at the time of the order.I have reached out to the company many times over both phone and email, and each time I am told I will hear back regarding the status of my order but I never hear back.I am not sure what to do at this point, and would appreciate help.One additional piece of information. My account was canceled by wine.com, stating that I was in violation of one of their terms of service. They have not provided me with any further clarification regarding what happened besides a terse email. Regardless, I am not looking for them to resume my account. All I would like is to receive the wine that I paid for already.

  Business response

  04/28/2023

  Hi *****,
  My name is *****, I am a member of the Leadership team at Wine.com. I am so sorry for all the inconvenience youve experienced. I will investigate your order and account to see that all was sorted correctly. Please know we do appreciate your business and would like to continue here on out.
  

  
  

  Customer response

  04/29/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  10/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a gift basket from ***** Steak who uses wine.com to fulfill their orders. The basket I ordered included two bottles of wine and an array of products. The receipt received one bottle of wine and a small snack box. Not what I purchased. I called Omaha Steaks to rectify the issue and was informed that the vendor wine.com was unwilling to assist as they indicated the correct products were delivered. This was absolutely not true. I ordered two bottles of wine, only one was delivered and it was not the brand I ordered. In addition the other box items were also missing. I ordered a dry sausage, never received, mustard, never received, cookies, never received. If the company is unable to fulfill orders correctly they shouldnt take peoples money.

  Business response

  04/28/2023

  Hi ******,
  My name is *****, I am a member of the Leadership team at Wine.com. I want to start off by apologizing for all the confusion and mishaps with your Order. It is true we are affiliated with ***** Steaks however, we are limited when it comes to fixing ***** Steak Orders. While we do provide the wine for these orders, unfortunately, ***** Steaks are more inclined to correct your order, and they will contact the issue.
  
  Thank you for the feedback.

• Initial Complaint

  10/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I made a purchase order ******** at wine.com and they were supposed to use my remaining gift card but instead charged my card ending **** $35.58. I asked wine.com to fix and they refunded my card ending **** for the mistake but then also debited $35.58 from my card ending **** on 9/24. I have since sent 4 emails asking for an explanation and refund for the second mistake and no one has responded.

  Business response

  04/28/2023

  Hi *******,
  My Name is *****, I am a member of the Leadership team at Wine.com. I want to start off with a sincere apology for the inconvenience. Moreover, I am sorry for the delay, we do not intentionally ignore E-Mails I would like to have our team investigate this error. 
  
  Thank you for your feedback!

• Initial Complaint

  09/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 14th, I used a gift card I had received from a friend for Wine.com. When ordering they also requested a credit card # be provided because I went $0.16 over the value of the card. On the 19th I received notice that one of the wines was out of stock. This seemed to trigger something in their system because on August 22nd my credit card was charged for the same amount my gift card was for, so double billing me. I chatted with a rep ****** that day and the rep said they forwarded my issue to the credit department for a deeper look.???? I contacted them on the 24th and the rep(*****) said there was no updates on this issue except that management assistance was requested because the refund had an error in processing. On the 27th I chatted with ******* and she said the previous agent requested a refund but it could take 3-7 days. She also said that "it appears the gift card should have been the only thing applied and the payment on file was charged in error." Fast forward to September 27th. I received my credit card statement and the charge is still on there and no credit. I chatted with ****** this time and he said he would 'escalate my original request to his supervisors." So obviously nothing has been done.

  Business response

  04/28/2023

  Hi ******,
  My Name is *****, I am a member of the Wine.com Leadership team. I want to apologize for the billing error you experienced with your first order. We try our best to make the order experience as problem-free as possible. After reviewing your account, I was able to see all was eventually corrected, which I am happy to see. However, this is no excuse and should be resolved sooner. Your complaint has been well received and will be used to correct our flaws.
  
  Thank you for the Feedback!

• Initial Complaint

  09/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 9/10 I placed an order online via wine.com for a specific bourbon they had on their site. Before ordering, I contacted their customer service team to confirm availability and to confirm if there were any limits for ordering. I was advised there were no limits and they're able to ship to **. It was over a $7k order. Flash forward to today, 9/12/22, I attempted to get in contact with customer service again and was advised my order has changed from 70 bottles to 1. I was also advised that it is due to being unavailable. I then contacted *** at their corporate headquarters and he attempted to assist. He gets ahold of "***************" Director of Merchandising who informs him that no, they are limiting it now to 1. They have also now raised the price on their site to an estimated $699 per bottle. I purchased this at $109 a bottle. I have been lied to and told different stores from not being available to limiting to price gouging. **** would not take my call and I am now told to wait 48 hours for a manager. This is extremely concerning as they have two +$7k holds on my credit card and don't want to provide a long term solution. I want my original order filled at 70 bottles.

  Business response

  04/28/2023

  Hi *******,
  My name is *****, I am a member of the Leadership team at Wine.com. I want to apologize for the inconvenience of this entire transaction. I fully understand that sudden changes to pricing can create a frustrating experience please know that this is not the type of service we want to give you or any of our customers. 
  Thank you for the feedback!

  Customer response

  04/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 18015031
  
  I am rejecting this response because: there is zero ownership. No solution just an admittance of them fraudulently changing prices on the back end. They need to be avoided at all costs. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My yearly membership was auto renewed despite my selection of "do not renew automatically" with wine.com. When I realized the auto-renewal on seeing the charge on my statement after a couple of days the business promised to process a refund (I have the chat notes) and later refused the refund. Please refund $64.39

  Business response

  04/28/2023

  Hi ******,
  My name is *****, I am a member of the Leadership team at Wine.com. I am sorry this auto-renewal occurred unexpectedly. You should have been notified before the renewal date. I have double-checked your account to confirm you were refunded and opted out of any future renewals.  
  Thank you for the feedback!

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩