Lot 18 Holdings, Inc.

Review: This is thee most upsetting incident with a company that has unethical credit card practices - The company misled me and charged my card without my express authorization. The promotion was worded in such a way that it was clear that in order for me to be charged, I had to have sent in the tasting card indicating my wine preferences and then and only then a shipment of wine would be sent based on my selections. But they charged my card and have refused to issue refund even after I refused the delivery as I did not place the order.

The charges on my credit card are unauthorized for wine I did not order. Now they are telling me that by accepting the company solicitation online somehow obligates me to be charged for products I never ordered. Yet the entire point of the tasting kit was for me to make my selections and then place my order. This is is unethical and dishonest! The marketing email clearly stated that the company was different from other wine club companies in that in enabled customers to taste wines and complete a comment card and that the results of the comments would be used as a guide to formulate the clients palate and taste preferences for individual wine selections.

Given that I have not conducted my wine tasting at home, nor have I sent in the comment taste card. I fail to see why I was charged as I never placed an order nor did I place an order.

I never knowingly authorized an automatic shipment of wine to be charged to my card as I was of the understanding that I would activate the process only by sending my tasting comment card, I feel exploited and mislead.

I have been charged $64.97 and I want my money back.

I thank you for your help with this matter.

[redacted]Desired Settlement: A full refund would settle the matter for me.

Business

Response:

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. [redacted] self-enrolled in the Tasting Room wine club on the date of 6/**/14 and was canceled, per her request, on 8/**/14. Before [redacted] was able to submit her membership enrollment and before her credit card was charged for her first club shipment, she agreed to the club's terms and conditions, which included authorizing the Tasting Room to process, charge and ship new packages of wines until her membership was canceled.

During the course of [redacted]'s membership, a total of 3 shipments were sent out to her. Her first wine club delivery, for the a six mini-bottle wine tasting kit, was returned to sender as [redacted] was not available to sign for the package. The Tasting Room member services department reached out to [redacted] on the date of 7/**/14 to arrange for a new shipment to be sent out; [redacted] worked with the service representative to have a new shipment sent, which was delivered by UPS on 7/**/14.

[redacted]'s next shipment was processed 30 days after her replacement shipment was processed, on 8/**/14. [redacted] had the opportunity, between the dates of 7/**/14 and 8/**/14 to log onto her Tasting Room account and submit an online rating of the six mini-bottle wine tasting kit that was delivered on 7/**/14. If she had done so, she would have received a red and white WinePrint profile, which would have been used by the Tasting Room to curate her future shipments according to her taste preferences. This is an optional service offered by the Tasting Room and while the club does actively encourage our members to take advantage of this unique feature, it is not mandatory or required before future shipments are processed. This is clearly stated in the literature and informational materials presented during enrollment as well as noted in emails to new members. Additionally, it is publicly posted on the Tasting Room website in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section. The relevant passage states:

What if I don't rate the wine samplers you send me?If after 30 days from when you placed the order for your wine samplers you don't rate them on our site, our wine curators will simply select a range of wines for your first wine shipment, and you can rate those wines after you receive them. You're not required to rate any of the wines we send you. But doing so enables us to create your Wine Profile and refine our selections according to your feedback.This can be viewed on the Tasting Room website, by members and non-members by visiting [redacted]

Unfortunately, it seems that [redacted] was confused about this aspect of club membership. To clarify, the optional ratings can only be submitted online, through the Tasting Room website. The Tasting Room does not give members physical "comment cards" to fill out and return with wine ratings, nor is this practice described in any of the Tasting Room marketing or informational materials.

An order confirmation was emailed to [redacted] on the date of 8/**/14 alerting her to the new shipment of six bottles that has just been processed on her account. This is the order that [redacted] references in her complaint to the Revdex.com. On 8/**/14, another email was sent to [redacted], letting her know that her package was on the way with UPS. The same day, [redacted] contacted the Tasting Room via phone and requested that the order be canceled; she had not contacted the Tasting Room prior to 8/**/14 to either cancel the order or her membership. The representative helping [redacted], on the phone, explained the Tasting Room policy that processed orders cannot be canceled and that the member would still be sent any orders charged and processed before they canceled their membership. The relevant passage from the publicly available Tasting Room FAQs states:

You can cancel your membership at any time, for any reason, simply by calling member services at ###-###-#### or emailing us [redacted]. Please keep in mind that orders cannot be canceled once they are processed. Any orders processed before a membership cancellation is requested will still be shipped.

This can be viewed on the Tasting Room website, by members and non-members by visiting [redacted]

Currently, [redacted]'s final order from the Tasting Room is in transit with UPS. Per the Tasting Room wine club policy, a refund cannot be issued for the current shipment as it was processed while [redacted] was actively enrolled in the wine club, three days before she contacted the Tasting Room to cancel her membership. To confirm, [redacted]'s subscription to the wine club has been canceled, per her request, and no further shipments will be billed or sent unless she chooses to re-enroll at a later date.

We appreciate your understanding and are happy to provide further information in resolving this complaint.