I didn’t even think spirits could be shipped over state lines? what’s the deal with that?
Agreeing not to charge the credit card until availability is confirmed and then refusing to refund when repeatedly being asked to do so, is fraud. I would love to have seen LE investigate and hear their lack of justification. I can almost guarantee you if this did this to Alan it isn’t the only time.
Why are you so fervently defending this site? You’ve gone as far as pulling random samples to prove something, although I’m not certain what exactly.
Alan emailed them multiple times and the person/people behind the site have chosen to ignore him. They failed to produce a product they sold to him. And they won’t refund him. Seems pretty simple to me.
I am in no way of defending them. Andrew has come out and alleged they committed fraud and that Alan should contact LE. So far there is zero evidence of that. Alan posted his experience, which appears (and I believe) to be very poor customer service. We have only one side’s story at this point. Perhaps there is more that we don’t know yet that may explain some things. Perhaps not. Regardless if there is or isn’t, yes it was bad customer service.
I simply went to their site, which I’ve never heard of before and never been to before, to look for myself. I very clearly saw that they don’t stock much, even basic bottles one can get at their local grocery market are not in stock. It appears Alan either ignored all warning signs he should have seen that this place doesn’t stock much and uses a distributors list as what they sell or he willfully ignored those clear signs, perhaps hoping to get a good deal or something no other retailer had at the moment. Buying from any company like that is known by anyone active on this forum that it’s a high risk they won’t deliver on said item. Alan has been around enough in the online wine forums/community to know better and to know what to expect. He gambled and lost. Again, that has nothing to do with the poor customer service he received.
As a former detective who’s case load was fraud, there is nothing presented so far that even remotely rises to the level of fraud. One bad experience of trying to get a refund doesn’t make it fraud. If that was the case, the 2 weeks it took me to finally speak to someone about a refund from Virgin America would also be fraud. Or all the issues people on this forum have had with various cable and phone companies. Let me be clear, poor customer service is not a crime in and of itself.
That said, if there is a pattern of issues, Premier Cru is a good example, then yes there may be something wrong. So far there is nothing to indicate anything of the sort with this on-line only retailer.
I just did a quick price check on the latest Last Bottle offering, and who should show up but Your Wine Cellar. How much do you want to bet that they don’t have the wine, or even know where to get it?
Wine Searcher needs to clamp down on clowns like these.
P Hickner
andy–listen carefully–they told me they wouldn’t charge me till the product was in inventory. Yet they charged me. But they never got the product, won’t get the product, and wouldn’t refund the money. So I will get the money from the cc company. And the store has a great rating on wine-searcher!
Doubling down on the use of bold fonts does not an effective argument make.
That is substaintionally different from what you initially posted. So what was the exact conversation between you and the store?
And please address if you knew ahead of time they didn’t have it in stock. They seem to be very up front what they have in stock and what they need to source.
Having read this thread from the beginning, it seems like Alan has been consistent with his reporting throughout.
No he has not. Here is what his initial post was (see below). Please tell me it is the same as what is written in the above quote. It’s not even close. Alan is now saying they informed him they won’t get the product and won’t refund his money. That is far different than him saying they were trying to source it and that he got auto-generated email replies as he indicated in his first post. So what was the real conversation between him and the store?
And again, this store seems to be very upfront about what they don’t stock, which is most of their inventory. A quick non-pro version of winesearcher indicated this Bourbon is pretty widely available yet he chose to buy from one of the cheapest places on the internet for it, at a place on the opposite side of the country when it’s available and in-stock here in his home state and within driving distance of where he lives.
placed email order early Sep, quickly confirmed by yourwinecellar. When I didn’t receive product, email correspondence back and forth indicated they really > didn’t have it, but would get it soon from supplier. > When that didn’t happen and contact was poor, I contacted them about it and received answers like “we have received your inquiry and will be in touch,” > but never got an answer to the question: will product be delivered and when? > So I initiated refund w them and contact became even more vague with promises to let me know when it was processed, etc. Finally > I got an email that they thought it had been processed. > Waited another week for confirmation of that–never received–and called credit card company. No refund issued. Started the refund process w credit card company today. It’s been like pulling teeth with this alleged wine store. Caveat emptor. And they still list the product! May be yourwinecellar but won’t be mywinecellar.
That’s a crucial fact.
I suspect their supplier told them they had it and they charged his card, then their supplier didn’t deliver and they were trying to find a new supplier. Pure speculation of course, but that often happens with places like this store and why most of us here don’t do business with them. The obvious result of non-delivery of product is usually the result. Again, that in no way excuses their poor communication and shoddy customer service.
I’m not sure why you continue to dispute the facts presented by Alan. As you put it, it’s pure speculation on your part versus his actual customer experience. If not out right fraud, it’s certainly in a very grey area.
of course I have. Andy even responded to the post where I quoted the store writing that the card wouldn’t be charged till product was in inventory. I have been completely consistent. Read the thread.
for Andy, I post the following “evidence.” There are other emails that are not in this email thread where they promise to respond to my inquiry and don’t. I took out my address and phone number, no other edits.
"Hi Alan,
I am so sorry you are going through this situation. We have do everything we can to expedite you refund. We have done everything we can do. I would recommend to simply dispute your transaction and let the bank deal with this. Please let me know what else we can do to make you happy.
Highest regards,
Hugh Robinson
Your Wine Cellar Staff
Ph: 951-878-9463
FX: 636-212-8500
info@yourwinecellar.biz
On Nov 5, 2016, at 5:30 PM, Alan Weinberg <alancweinberg@gmail.com> wrote:
this has been nothing but a major pain in the ass with your failure to respond timely and, despite your assertions, no credit has been issued as of today. I will be
posting a thread on wine berserkers, world’s largest wine board, regarding your service.
Alan Weinberg
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 27, 2016, at 6:12 AM, Jeffrey Pecardal <info@yourwinecellar.biz> wrote:
Your request (#3570) has been reviewed by support team.
clickdesk-profile-pic
Jeffrey Pecardal
Oct 27, 1:11 PM (GMT)
Hello Alan,
I really apologize for the delay in responding back to you. I believe your refund has been issued but I will confirm it with our billing department. Please provide me at least 24 hours and I will provide you with more details.
Regards,
Jeffrey Pecardal
Your Wine Cellar Staff
Jeffrey@yourwinecellar.biz
Ph: 951-878-9463
FX: 636-212-8500
http://www.yourwinecellar.biz
clickdesk-profile-pic
Alan Weinberg
Oct 27, 1:37 AM (GMT)
are you going to respond? Has refund happened?
has been several days–refund processed yet?
Sent from my iPhone
clickdesk-profile-pic
Alan Weinberg
Oct 22, 3:03 PM (GMT)
has been several days–refund processed yet?
Sent from my iPhone
clickdesk-profile-pic
Jeffrey Pecardal
Oct 17, 1:58 PM (GMT)
Hello Alan,
e
I apologize for the inconvenience. Until now, we are still waiting for the Willet. I already have forwarded your information to our billing department for the processing of refund and will let you know as soon as this is done.
If there is anything else that we may assist you with on this or any other issue, please let us know. Once again, we are truly sorry for everything and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.
Have a wonderful day!
Regards,
Jeffrey Pecardal
Your Wine Cellar Staff
Jeffrey@yourwinecellar.biz
Ph: 951-878-9463
FX: 636-212-8500
http://www.yourwinecellar.biz
clickdesk-profile-pic
Alan Weinberg
Oct 16, 10:18 PM (GMT)
please cancel this order and refund the credit card since you have not provided product in 6 weeks and can’t tell me when it will be available. Thank you.
Alan Weinberg.
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 3, 2016, at 10:54 AM, yourwinecellar.biz < info@yourwinecellar.biz> wrote:
Yourwinecellar.Biz - Best Wines & Spirits At The Best Price!
1371 Sw 8Th St
Pompano Beach, Fl 33069
Tel: 786 406 6080
yourwinecellar.biz
Hi Alan,
Thank you for shopping with Yourwinecellar.Biz - Best Wines & Spirits At The Best Price!. This email is to acknowledge receipt of your order number 483. All purchases are verified in the order which they are received. Payment will only be processed after verification of inventory. You will receive a confirmation e-mail upon payment processing.
To complete and verify your order, please email us the front and back of your credit card along with a copy of your ID. Please email to: info@yourwinecellar.biz
Below are your order details.
Your order details are below. You can also access your Order History directly from your account page on our website
Order Number: 483 ordered on 09/03/16 01:54:07 PM
Shipping Address
Alan Weinberg
xxxxxxxxxxx
Fullerton, CA 92835
United States
Tel: xxxxxxx
Payment Method
ALAN WEINBERG
4271 (VISACARD)
Shipping Method
FEDEX GROUND
Billing Address
Alan Weinberg
xxxxxxx
United States
Email: Alancweinberg@Gmail.Com
Tel: xxxxxx
Qty
Description
Price
Total
12 Willett Bourbon Pot Still Reserve
1476985 750ml 35.79 429.48
subtotal: $429.48
Discount: 0.00
sales tax: $0.00
shipping: $66.58
TOTAL: $496.06
Please contact us with any questions.
Cheers,
Yourwinecellar.Biz - Best Wines & Spirits At The Best Price!
This email is a service from Your Wine Cellar. Delivered by Agile CRM
3570"
Alan thanks, Odd that they are the ones telling you to dispute with CC company for a refund. It almost seems as if someone else processed the CC info and they can’t get it refunded for whatever reason. That’s bizarre.
And odd that both their numbers (for Jeffery and Hugh) are for an area code here in Southern California, not far from you. The fax is a Missouri number, their main number is Miami area as is their address. ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
andy–whole thing is odd. I have often bought w success from low man on wine searcher. This is second time a confirmed order was not delivered (different story) but first that I had to fight for refund, hence the thread.
One of the ‘odd things’ is that you were only order #483, and my guess is they didn’t start with order #1. Second, he keeps referring to his ‘billing department’ and most of these operations are one person companies, as they don’t have a retail store, inventory, etc.
Well his name matches up with the domain name, Hugh Robinson. With his ‘production company’ business, which also leads to some party planner business when you look at the various domains owned. Postal Addresses all over the place.
an email to wine-searcher got their inquiry going, a rating star removed, and some oversight and questions–they appear to take the misrepresentation seriously.