case (6 bottles) Tattinger £65 + p+p

triticale

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8652197.stm

'Cheap wine' ads for SurplusWines.co.uk did not deliver


Hundreds of people are thought to have lost money after responding to two national newspaper adverts for consignments of cheap wine.
The ads for SurplusWines.co.uk promised "huge savings on fine wines and champagnes".

The half-page adverts appeared in both the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail on Saturday, 6 March 2010.
West Yorkshire Police estimate several hundred people placed orders, but are unaware of any wine being delivered.

The adverts read: "With restaurants and public houses closing down on an almost daily basis due to the current recession, a European supplier to the wholesale wine merchant and restaurant trade has been left with surplus stock due to cancelled orders."
"Surplus Wine UK have been instructed to clear this surplus stock by the case, direct to the public at less than trade prices!"


The premise of the advertisement made a lot of sense


Clare Dunstall


But people who paid up-front for cases of wine have not received them.
"The premise of the advertisement made a lot of sense in that there were companies who had bought stock who could no longer afford to pay for it", says Clare Dunstall.
She and her husband Justin from Norfolk ordered two and a half cases of wine costing £375 which were not delivered.

Neil Cammies from Newport writes a wine column for the Western Mail. He spent £430 on several cases of wine.
"The things on the list were all bits and bobs and not necessarily all the usual suspects, the real stellar stars. There were some very unusual little wines in there. They were all good value but not ridiculously cheap".
Mr Cammies says the money was taken from his credit card account within three days of him placing the order and he was given a date and time for his delivery. When it failed to arrive he started making some calls.
"I decided to ring a friend of mine who had also placed an order and he said that he was waiting for a delivery the previous Saturday and hadn't received anything. I feel very let down and very angry about it". ]

No refunds
West Yorkshire Police have been unable to find anyone receiving wine or champagne after placing an order but would like to hear from anyone who did.

Surplus Wines UK was owned by a parent company, Mardenis Ltd, which was based at a restaurant - No 3 York Place - in Leeds city centre. Mardenis went into administration just four weeks after the newspaper advertisements appeared.

The restaurant is closed and police say they have been unable to contact the director of Mardenis Ltd, Dennis LeFrancq and believe he is no longer in the UK.

"Quite clearly we would like to speak to him at the earliest opportunity," said Acting Detective Sergeant Jon Cockeram from West Yorkshire Police's Economic Crime Unit.

"We would hope he would be able to fill us in with the background of what has occurred and clarify the situation."

In a letter sent to customers who ordered wine, the administrators, Armstrong Watson, state: "If anyone has ordered and paid for goods that have not been delivered by the Company, regrettably, the Company is not in a position to supply these orders".

"Refunds will not be possible due to the Company's lack of funds when it entered administration. Anyone affected by this is now classed as an unsecured creditor".

The administrators have refused to comment any further.

jeff_tower

just received a report from ArmstrongWatson, regarding the Administration.
It seems all they recovered was a vehicle(£24,000) and some wine(£6,300) worth £30,300, ArmstrongWatson's fees etc. £26,528, you couldn't make it up could you?
There is a list of how the £26,528, is made up
A few examples
15.6 hours £3,300
74.5 hours £11,920
1.5 hours £375
There is still some "high quality wine", floating round Europe, which they cannot locate, thankfully the courts have granted ArmstrongWatson another 12 month extension:rotfl:, till 6 April 2012.
Nothing is mentioned in the report exactly how much the crook Lefrancq scammed with his SurplusWine offer, or if indeed he has been arrested.
I thought I was over this, but obviously not, I was one of the mugs who was not able to claim from the credit card company, as I paid by NatWest switch, who promptly told me where to stick my claim.

docflipper

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13712684

Two men responsible for a wine scam involving bogus newspaper adverts have pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

Denis Le Franq, who is 35 and a Belgian national and Jeremy Gillis, 33, from Leeds, admitted conspiracy to defraud...