Name: Drinks Direct
Rating: 4.91

“Great service - items arrived promptly and well packaged. Was disappointed though that postage cost was circa ?16 - just because I live in Belfast should not mean I pay extortionate amounts for postage - I buy from Britain all the time and do not encounter this discrepancy with other sellers.”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

“We ordered online but seemed to be a problem with the payment centre. Tried ringing up to pay but only a trade phone number. Rang it got answer phone and left message but nobody got back to me. Had to ring three times, however once paid the delivery was fast so I was happy in the end!”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to read of the issue you experienced in paying for your order. It appears the delivery of your order was relatively quicker than the payment processing. If you should experience any problems in the future with paying for your order online, please select the "phone me for card details" payment method. You would then be contacted, usually within 1-2 hours, during normal business hours. We apologise for any inconvenience and hope you enjoy your purchase.

Posted 10 years ago

“This service is by and large excellent. However the prices shown on the sales pages are subject to a delivery charge to which is then added the Vat, adding ?6 to a case of six. Shame. The wine is not cheap, so perhaps the delivery charges need adjusting.”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. The delivery charge information for mainland UK is communicated on the homepage of the website and also in the delivery section. The delivery charge for mainland UK is fixed and is free for orders over ?500. The mainland UK delivery charge shown on the website includes VAT. At the checkout the delivery charge is divided into the non-vat and the vat element of the delivery cost. Both the delivery charge and product costs are shown in the order summary before you to proceed to enter payment information for an order. Orders are also dispatched on a next working day delivery service as standard and there is no extra/premium charge for this. We apologise if you have not been able to locate the delivery charge information on the website. The link to the delivery section can be found at the footer of each webpage.

Posted 10 years ago

“One bottle from case of 12 from Drinks Direct arrived broken (from the bottom of the bottle). I let you know only to be asked by some jobsworth to send back the packing! It was a big, cardboard box, which we threw out when we emptied it. The bottle only cost ?4, so I was hardly likely to defraud you. But I thought you should know that there ought to be a double layer of packing at the bottom of the box to prevent this sort of thing happening.”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

“all was good, right product delivered to the right address on the right day.....but the message tag was missing so recipient didn`t know who sent it”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. There are stringent order processing checks in place. We can confirm from the order records that the gift message and details of the item packed in your order was included. It is possible that the gift message and packing slip document slid to the bottom of the box and were not immediately visible to the recipient. We would always be happy to assist a recipient in case there are any issues in locating details of the sender of an order. However it looks on this occasion that this was not necessary, as it appears you may have contacted the recipient before the recipient contacted us for more information. We apologise for any inconvenience, however if the recipient still has the packaging for the item received they should find the sender information inside.

Posted 10 years ago

“However the charge for delivery to Scottish Islands was excessive.”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. The delivery charge to the Scottish Isles is higher than for Mainland UK due to the higher costs of transport to this location. Some online companies also charge higher delivery rates for the upper reaches of Scotland on the Mainland, however for all of Mainland UK, DrinksDirect.co.uk charges a fixed delivery charge. We think it would be great to see a fixed delivery charge for the whole of the UK including the Isles, however as our couriers need to cover their costs, as do we, there is a higher delivery charge to the Scottish Isles. If this is a possibility, you may like to consider shipping to a friend or relative in the upper reaches of Scotland, on the Mainland and avoid the higher shipping cost of direct delivery to the Scottish Isles. We hope you still continue to enjoy using the DrinksDirect.co.uk service in the future.

Posted 10 years ago

“I had ordered 2 bottles of Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX and only one was dispatched, with other to follow, I then received a further email stating that thus was now out of stock, although it can still be purchased on the website, rather puzzled and still awaiting refund”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. It looks like there was only 1 bottle of your ordered product available for dispatch and this was processed and the second bottle on your order placed on back order. Information subsequently received from the UK supply agency of the item on back order was that the was no further stocks are available and the item is now discontinued. The item should have been changed to out of stock on the website. It looks like this has not happened and a change request has been submitted to get this product updated as being out of stock immediately. We apologise for not being able to fulfill your order in full, however your ordered product was a limited production item and no further stocks are now available. Your refund of the back ordered product will be processed within the next 48 hours. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Posted 11 years ago

“I ordered the wine after tasting it a a function. I never noticed different years on the web site when ordering, it was only when delivery was received that I noticed a different year had been sent. 2011 year is nice, however 2009 was what I expected. Citylink did not follow the delivery instructions which were clearly marked upon the order.I picked up the order from the Citylink depot and asked why it had not been left as per instructions. The reply was "we need a signature upon delivery".”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. The product on your order was listed on the website at the point of ordering as 2009/2011 vintage. It looks like when your order was processed all stocks had moved to the 2011 vintage and this is the vintage that was processed for your order. If you require any specific vintage of a product, it is recommended you email info@drinksdirect.co.uk with your requirements and customer services can then check with the warehouse on the product vintage being processed. In respect of the delivery instructions not being followed through; orders are required to be signed for upon delivery. So if an order is addressed to a residential address, it may be left with a neighbour if no one is in, unless instructions are provided to only attempt delivery at the delivery address provided. It is recommended that a delivery address is provided where there will be someone available during normal business hours to sign for an order e.g. a work address, if no one is likely to be available at a home/residential address. We apologise if the service has not met with your expectations.

Posted 11 years ago

“The service from Drinks Direct was great, my items were dispatched straight away (even though I?d left my Christmas shopping to the last minute) and the goods I received were excellent. My folks were chuffed as they can?t find this wine they love in the shops. I must admit I was a bit concerned that they wouldn?t be packed well enough for transit but there was really no need to be concerned. It?s a shame I can?t say the same about the courier they use (City Link)! I was informed of my delivery day so I arranged to be in all day so that I didn?t miss the parcel only to check online at 3pm that apparently my goods were back at the depot due to a failed delivery attempt! Don?t think so! I?d been keeping an eye out all day and nada, not even a missed parcel card! Since I was frustrated I sent a complaint to City Link (via e-mail) and I?m still waiting for a response from them. To my surprise it turned up the next day (if I?d have had another so called missed parcel I would have blown a fuse as they try to deliver your item twice then you have to go and pick it up from the ?local? depot which just so happens to be a fifty minute journey there and another fifty back (and that?s if you have a car!) So ? overall I?m really happy with the goods but I have reservations about using Drinks Direct again purely because of the City Link incident (I know it?s not Drinks Direct fault but this isn?t the first complaint on here about the courier and I?m sure it won?t be the last!)”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

“Placed order, 2 days later get an email saying one of the items is not in stock. Had to then cancel said item and wait another 24 hours for delivery. One of my biggest bugbears on online ordering is out of stock items Amazon never seem to have this problem.”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. There was insufficient quantities of one of the products you ordered. You were advised of this and that there was no information available on any further availability. Further to this information being provided you have requested the item to be cancelled entirely and for the remaining order to be processed. A refund was processed of the line item cancelled and your remaining order was processed for dispatch as requested. Stock availability issues can on rare occasions occur and we are not always made aware of availability issues from our suppliers in advance. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Posted 11 years ago

“My order was dispatched in good time and arrived in good condition so cannot fault the seller directly. However the delivery company used, City Link, caused nothing but problems with the order actually being delivered. This is not the first time I've had issues with orders delivered by City Link and so would likely not order again if the same courier is used.”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Thanks for your feedback. We are sorry for the delivery issues you experienced with your order. We recommend if it's possible a delivery address is provided where someone is likely to be available to sign for an order. This can be your home address or your work address. If there are any problems contacting the couriers we recommend you contact our customer services on info@drinksdirect.co.uk with your order number and delivery issue. They will be happy to assist and help resolve any delivery issue.

Posted 11 years ago

“They were quick as a service but there was a lot of hidden tax which goes higher the more you buy. Add the delivery charge it's extortionate. I only ordered one cherry brandy and 2 grenadine as at the time I couldn't find it. and it came to just under ?40 1/4 of the cost being tax. I ended up finding everything I needed elsewhere that was half the cost. It's conveniant but never again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

“I found what I was looking for easily, I found the cost of delivery easily, checkout was simple. My problem was with the delivery, on the checkout page it offered me to put in the date I wanted my item to be delivered, nothing was said about issues with weekend deliveries and so I booked it for a Saturday, only when my item is dispatched do I get an email, which says about the difference with Saturday deliveries, and so had my item attempted to be delivered a day early, with no one home to receive or halfway through the following week, with no one home to receive. I had to spend my time hassling the courier to try and get it to me, before they sent my order back to them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. On your order a Gift Box was selected and a Saturday Delivery date was entered. Saturday Delivery costs more than the standard delivery service and the Saturday Delivery service must be selected from the Class of Service drop-down box on the second checkout page for an order to be processed on the Saturday Delivery service. Further information is provided on the second checkout page and in the delivery section of the website. To help ensure your order was attempted for delivery in time for the Saturday delivery date entered, your order was processed for delivery on Friday however no one was available to take delivery and delivery records show that you arranged to collect the order from the couriers depot on the following Monday. The order was successfully collected on the advised date. We apologise if the delivery service has not fully met with your expectations.

Posted 11 years ago

“Shiraz advertised as 2009, but actual was 2010. In fairness DrinksDirect did let me know, but the website stocking levels needs updating.”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Thanks for your feedback. The vintage on your ordered wine had changed and you were called and emailed to confirm whether your order could be processed with a newer vintage. Only after your confirmation was your order then processed. Unfortunately we do not get vintage change information from all of our suppliers. And so vintages can on occasions change without prior notice. Where we do find a vintage has changed we try to contact customers to ensure they are happy to proceed before the order is processed.

Posted 11 years ago

“Yes, a good service, and the drinks were delivered when they said. There is a good selection of all sorts of drinks to order. In the end, one of the bottles I was sent was slightly different from what was ordered, but someone did call to ask if that was okay. (But I do not recall his saying why it had been changed.) Well, I had already paid, so how could I say no? In the end, the replacement bottle was okay and drinkable. But I was thinking that if you updated your order sheet menu to agree with actual stock on hand, then it would be impossible for anyone to order a bottle which is not available. When I say this, I am assuming the reason for the change was that the wine in question was no longer available.”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Thanks for your feedback. Your order shows the vintage on one of the wines on your order had changed and you were called to confirm whether it would be fine for a newer vintage to be processed. The product in question was the same product as ordered, but just a different vintage to that displayed when the order was placed on the website. Only after speaking with yourself and agreement for the item to be processed with the new vintage, your order was then processed. As you will appreciate there is only a limited amount of wines from any particular vintage and efforts are made to keep this information up to date and communicate any changes to customers.

Posted 11 years ago

“If not instructions to leave by bins lhs of house not at a neighbours. If you are nearly 70 it is not easy carrying boxes of wine cobntaining 12 bottles a time”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 years ago

Orders are required to be signed for on delivery. Where no one is in at the delivery address to sign for an order, the delivery driver can leave an order with a neighbour. Instructions to leave with a neighbour can be entered in the Shipping Instructions box during the checkout, as per the example provided next to the Shipping Instructions box. We apologise if leaving your order with a neighbour was inconvenient for you.

Posted 11 years ago


Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
Average Delivery Time	Next Day
On-time Delivery	98%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	99%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Telephone, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	5 out of 5

Drinks Direct Reviews