Wine Drops con

bernieA

I responded to a Facebook ad from a company called Wine Drops who were offering 6 bottles of wine, delivered, for £39.99. I paid the amount on my Santander credit card. I was a little suspicious when I didn't receive any follow up by email with a receipt but didn't follow this up. My only communications were from the courier who said that they would be delivering a package shortly. The wine arrived 2 weeks later. A flyer in the package mentioned that I was now a member of their club. This was the first I had seen or heard about this club. I checked my credit card account and found that I was charged a further £119, 2 days after my £39.99 was taken. It was only now that I received an email from Wine Drops, welcoming me to membership and with tasting notes for my wine.

I went on to their website (winedrops.com) and discovered that they automatically charge you the annual membership fee 2 days after making a purchase and that it can only be cancelled within this period. 

I emailed Wine Drops support address and told them that I had not signed up for this membership and did not want it. They reiterated that I could only cancel in the first 2 days and refused my demand to pay back the £119.

I contacted Santander, hoping that they would authorise a charge back but although they agreed that what they did was amoral they did not think it was illegal. They said I must have agreed to their T&Cs to make my purchase and that on their site, deep in the T&Cs it does mention the fee. I said that I thought that the transaction happened on Facebook rather than on their website and that I had no recollection of a T&C checkbox. They said that I would need to prove this in order to proceed. I have been unable to find their advert on facebook.

I am stuck with having paid £158.99 for 6 very mediocre bottles of wine.

The membership just gives you the right to buy more wine from them at prices they claim are typically a 10% discount on normal prices. The range of wines on offer is very limited and most of these are at far higher prices than I would ever pay for wine.

This is very clearly a con trick and somehow they are able to get away with it. Please make all MSE members aware of this con.
Any advice appreciated.

Pollycat

bernieA said:

I responded to a Facebook ad from a company called Wine Drops who were offering 6 bottles of wine, delivered, for £39.99. I paid the amount on my Santander credit card. I was a little suspicious when I didn't receive any follow up by email with a receipt but didn't follow this up. My only communications were from the courier who said that they would be delivering a package shortly. The wine arrived 2 weeks later. A flyer in the package mentioned that I was now a member of their club. This was the first I had seen or heard about this club. I checked my credit card account and found that I was charged a further £119, 2 days after my £39.99 was taken. It was only now that I received an email from Wine Drops, welcoming me to membership and with tasting notes for my wine.

I went on to their website (winedrops.com) and discovered that they automatically charge you the annual membership fee 2 days after making a purchase and that it can only be cancelled within this period. 

I emailed Wine Drops support address and told them that I had not signed up for this membership and did not want it. They reiterated that I could only cancel in the first 2 days and refused my demand to pay back the £119.

I contacted Santander, hoping that they would authorise a charge back but although they agreed that what they did was amoral they did not think it was illegal. They said I must have agreed to their T&Cs to make my purchase and that on their site, deep in the T&Cs it does mention the fee. I said that I thought that the transaction happened on Facebook rather than on their website and that I had no recollection of a T&C checkbox. They said that I would need to prove this in order to proceed. I have been unable to find their advert on facebook.

I am stuck with having paid £158.99 for 6 very mediocre bottles of wine.

The membership just gives you the right to buy more wine from them at prices they claim are typically a 10% discount on normal prices. The range of wines on offer is very limited and most of these are at far higher prices than I would ever pay for wine.

This is very clearly a con trick and somehow they are able to get away with it. Please make all MSE members aware of this con.
Any advice appreciated.

Enough said, already.

Ayr_Rage

This should be moved to Praise, Vent and Warnings as no consumer rights have been breached here and certainly no con, you received your wine and the subscription you signed up to.

We all need to read the small print especially when clicking through from Facebook adverts.

Pollycat

Pollycat said:

bernieA said:

I responded to a Facebook ad from a company called Wine Drops who were offering 6 bottles of wine, delivered, for £39.99. I paid the amount on my Santander credit card. I was a little suspicious when I didn't receive any follow up by email with a receipt but didn't follow this up. My only communications were from the courier who said that they would be delivering a package shortly. The wine arrived 2 weeks later. A flyer in the package mentioned that I was now a member of their club. This was the first I had seen or heard about this club. I checked my credit card account and found that I was charged a further £119, 2 days after my £39.99 was taken. It was only now that I received an email from Wine Drops, welcoming me to membership and with tasting notes for my wine.

I went on to their website (winedrops.com) and discovered that they automatically charge you the annual membership fee 2 days after making a purchase and that it can only be cancelled within this period. 

I emailed Wine Drops support address and told them that I had not signed up for this membership and did not want it. They reiterated that I could only cancel in the first 2 days and refused my demand to pay back the £119.

I contacted Santander, hoping that they would authorise a charge back but although they agreed that what they did was amoral they did not think it was illegal. They said I must have agreed to their T&Cs to make my purchase and that on their site, deep in the T&Cs it does mention the fee. I said that I thought that the transaction happened on Facebook rather than on their website and that I had no recollection of a T&C checkbox. They said that I would need to prove this in order to proceed. I have been unable to find their advert on facebook.

I am stuck with having paid £158.99 for 6 very mediocre bottles of wine.

The membership just gives you the right to buy more wine from them at prices they claim are typically a 10% discount on normal prices. The range of wines on offer is very limited and most of these are at far higher prices than I would ever pay for wine.

This is very clearly a con trick and somehow they are able to get away with it. Please make all MSE members aware of this con.
Any advice appreciated.

Enough said, already.

No matter how many warnings appear here, people will still think they've found a bargain.

Ayr_Rage said:

This should be move to Praise, Vent and Warnings as no consumer rights have been breached here and certainly no con, you received your wine and the subscription you signed up to.

We all need to read the small print especially when clicking through from Facebook adverts.

Move requested.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a warning about this company before.

MyRealNameToo

I go to any random product page, lets say https://www.winedrops.com/product/chateau-d-esclans-whispering-angel-2024/ given they've been advertising heavily with it and right below the price and before the "add to cart" it states:

By claiming this discount you will be enrolled in a 3 day free trial of Winedrops. At the end of the trial you will automatically be charged the annual membership (£119.00/year). Cancel anytime.

I mean, how could they make it any clearer?  Its not below the page fold, its not hidden away in T&Cs you state you agree to but dont even have to have read on the payment page etc. It's front and centre before you can try to buy anything. 

Ayr_Rage

MyRealNameToo said:

I go to any random product page, lets say https://www.winedrops.com/product/chateau-d-esclans-whispering-angel-2024/ given they've been advertising heavily with it and right below the price and before the "add to cart" it states:

By claiming this discount you will be enrolled in a 3 day free trial of Winedrops. At the end of the trial you will automatically be charged the annual membership (£119.00/year). Cancel anytime.

I mean, how could they make it any clearer?  Its not below the page fold, its not hidden away in T&Cs you state you agree to but dont even have to have read on the payment page etc. It's front and centre before you can try to buy anything. 

Thanks for that, it really couldn't be any more obvious, the biggest non-con we've seen for a while.

I bet the OP's cheeks are now the same colour as one of their bottles of red.

Pollycat

I find that most threads that mention 'con', 'scam' or 'rip-off' are nothing of the sort.