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Jul 27, 2023

Aussie company Wine Stash racks up more complaints

More disgruntled customers of an Australian wine rack company have come forward

More disgruntled customers of an Australian wine rack company have come forward with complaints of delivery delays, damaged items and trouble getting refunded.

An Auckland woman was refunded more than $600 in January after battling with Sydney-based Wine Stash for three months.

Since then, 1News has received more emails from dissatisfied customers experiencing delivery delays, damaged items, items not arriving and trouble getting their money back.

Wine Stash said it had faced "various delays" over the last 18 months but all of its products come with lifetime guarantees and are handmade to the highest possible quality from 100% FSC Certified New Zealand timber.

It added it has sold thousands of wine racks to customers all across New Zealand.

A Queenstown customer's interior designer described dealing with Wine Stash as a "nightmare" and an "appalling" experience. She said she'd never experienced anything like it in her 20-year career.

READ MORE: Auckland woman's three-month battle for wine rack delivery

The customer paid nearly $3500 in May for a number of wine racks as part of renovations. Wine Stash said some of the order was in stock and should be with the customer by the end of the week ending May 22.

The interior designer chased Wine Stash throughout June as some of the order hadn't showed, despite a tracking number being allocated back in May. She asked for a new, replacement order to be shipped as soon as possible.

Some of a Queenstown customer's order arrived damaged. (Source: Supplied)

Some of the May order arrived in July, but was damaged. The packaging on one rack had torn, damaging part of the wine rack inside.

"In general the quality is very poor, we are going to have to paint over the chips and bits where the paint is flaking off. This is turning out to be quite the nightmare experience," the interior designer wrote to Wine Stash.

Wine Stash promised a replacement would be sent out, along with the rest of the order, by the end of the month.

The interior designer emailed a few days later asking for a full refund instead. She said she and her client were "very upset" with the delays, a lack of customer support, the "poor quality" of what items had arrived undamaged and "poor packaging", resulting in damage.

Wine Stash replied offering to replace the whole order, with more bubble wrap to stop items getting damaged in transit. They also offered a 10% discount "for the delays and inconvenience this has caused", promising more stock was coming in.

Thinking the issue would be resolved in two weeks, the interior designer decided to "sit tight" instead.

Some of a Queenstown customer's order arrived in July. They had ordered back in May. (Source: Supplied)

Wine Stash gave July 25, then August 4, as the date the stock would arrive. It arrived on August 5, and the company told the interior designer it would be posted on August 8 or 9. Then the goalposts shifted to "within a week".

By August 12 the wine racks still hadn't arrived.

The interior designer said she and her client wanted to "put this nightmare behind us", asking for tracking to be provided or a full refund given.

Three days later Wine Stash replied to say the wine racks were being shipped that day, and a number of tracking numbers would be received.

A week later nothing had been sent.

The interior designer made a second refund request on August 29.

"We have been more than understanding about delays but we cannot accept being misled and not being able to contact you means we have lost all faith in your company and products."

A woman selecting a bottle of wine from a cellar. (Source: istock.com)

They said they would be pursuing a formal complaint.

On September 6 she asked for confirmation her client would be receiving a refund. Despite a promise it would be processed by the end of the month, it wasn't until October 4.

"So after ordering in May they have no wine racks but finally have their money back," she told 1News.

A Wellington customer, who did not wish to be named due to his work, got his money back from his credit card company after disputing his $900 Wine Stash purchase because it hadn't arrived as expected between June and July.

He had asked Wine Stash for a refund but said he'd never received it, despite it supposedly being sent through to the business's accounts team.

The customer said he contacted the Commerce Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) about his experience.

A Blenheim customer, who also didn't wish to be named, ordered a number of wine racks worth about $960 in April. The estimated delivery time was between April 19 and May 5. Some of it arrived in June.

A Wine Stash customer in Blenheim wasn't happy with the quality of the product. (Source: Supplied)

In August - after a delayed shipment in July - the customer asked for a refund, threatening to go to the Disputes Tribunal if he didn't hear back about the rest of his order, which was "missing". Tracking numbers were then sent and the last of the order arrived in late September.

Like the customer in Queenstown, he wasn't pleased with the quality of what arrived, telling 1News the racks weren't square, had been chipped and his partner had to drill more holes.

The Commerce Commission said between September last year and September this year it had been contacted 13 times about Wine Stash and alleged delivery issues.

"The commission is assessing these to understand whether there has been any potential breach of the Fair Trading Act, the level of harm caused and whether we will need to take action (and what that could look like)," general manager for fair trading Vanessa Horne said.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it's unable to comment on individual companies and particular complaints.

Consumer NZ said it expects retailers to let customers know if unexpected delays occur and that retailers should be upfront about it so customers can decide if they want to wait for a product or get a refund.

A wine rack full of bottles. (Source: istock.com)

If a retailer indicates an item will be delivered within a specified timeframe, it has an obligation under the Consumer Guarantees Act to honour that timeframe, Consumer NZ said.

It also explained customers have the right to reject the goods where delivery times are significantly longer than what's provided at the point of sale.

Consumer NZ said if an item's faulty or damaged upon delivery, a customer is within their rights to request the retailer rectify the issue. If this isn't done within a reasonable timeframe, a customer can reject the item and request a refund or replacement.

1News put the customers' experiences to Wine Stash, along with questions about its new Auckland warehouse.

"Wine Stash takes great pride in the quality of our products," chief executive Matthew Childs said. "Being handmade from 100% FSC Certified New Zealand timber, our wine racks are by far the most environmentally sustainable products available globally. Admittedly, we have faced various delays over the last 18 months, however, we aim to continuously improve to offer our customers the best possible shopping experience.

"We now stock products in our Auckland warehouse, offering next day delivery across a range of different wine racking products.

"All of our products come with lifetime guarantees and are engineered to the highest possible quality. We have sold thousands of wine racks to customers all across New Zealand who are now storing their wine safely and professionally."