thanks Turtle - i moved my wine from Cellarlink last dec before the charges - it's still stored in bond @ in england, so still paying storage charges, but not as much as before...tried selling through multiple brokers but no interest unless nearly zero..will try through your internet sites...otherwise my relatives and friends will get a nice big drinking present next Christmas...
I bought my "wonderful" wine collection in 2003, got 3 yrs of free storage and was in denial for the next 6 yrs about being scammed. In this time I continued to pay the rapacious fees and finally a great further cost (VAT as well .... I'd be very surprised if this VAT ever got to the UK authorities) I finally pulled the plug in January of this year. Half of my collection was in the UK ( and because of the prohibitive cost of bringing it back to Australia I had it sent to a family member who has now been able to have some great parties at my expense). The other half now sits with a HK who cant give it away. Its expired by now I think. Cost of my adventure into wine was about $16K now written off.
I was talked into buying this wine by a bunch of crooks who ran an outfit called on line super. Sadly Australia's superannuation system and the very ineffective ASIC has allowed all and sundry PIGS to have their noses in the trough when it comes to telling people how to invest their super. THESE SCAMS CONTINUE.
In hindsight I was an absolute idiot for buying something I knew absolutely nothing about!! I believed the sellers of this crap that it was worth the price. LESSON NOW LEARNT - ALWAYS ALWAYS GET AN INDEPENDENT OPINION FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ABOUT THE THING YOU ARE BUYING!!
if you gave your wines to family you must have paid duty to take it out of bond how much do they charge also delivery so you must have been out of pocket by a great deal. there must be a number of investors who have been caught out from the smooth talking sales people' there is no way out of this catch 22 situation. this company should be investigated to find out what is really going on. what distance were your wines stored from your family and did you collect them yourself. the more replies we are getting on this subject the more you realise it is a massive scam.
Anybody that charges VAT and doesn't pay it would be in serious bother. Give these chaps a call and see what they say.
HMRC Contact us
You bet!! The wines were stored in Glasgow. My brother is in London ...so I paid something like $A1200 in VAT and transport costs to get about 36 bottles to my brother (there's no way the wines were worth anything like that). I weighed this up against keeping this worthless stock with Cellarlink and paying $1000 a year ad infinitum(I think $400 went towards their portal which was useless anyway) .
I got so sick of it all that I took the line of least resistance! I am normally very astute when it comes to financial matters and can only feel embarrassed at having been fleeced by this mob!!
Stormfront
Newbie
- Messages
- 8
- Likes
- 0
Can I get some recommendations on alternative storage sites in the UK to keep the wine in bond so I can try and do the same please? I've had no interest from UK brokers either when they actually return calls/emails.
Thanks in advance.
Stormfront
Seems this sort of thing has become an embarrassment and they are finally going to do something about it, well maybe.
FSA to stop promotion of fine wines, crops as investments - Telegraph
FSA to stop promotion of fine wines, crops as investments - Telegraph
Curious investor
Newbie
- Messages
- 1
- Likes
- 0
Would agree stay well away from APW which is now Cellarlink!! Run by the same person who we will call EE.
I refused to pay storage fees as they were jacking up annual fees and storage fees to a point that was greater than wine value. They sold enough of my wine to cover my outstanding fees including $40 per month direct debit refusal, then sold the remaining wines to themselves at $1 per bottle.
It was amazing how quickly they were able to sell the wine when they were owed money as they went close to 3 years without selling a bottle.
Stay well away from APW & Cellarlink. Better places on the internet to purchase wines!
I refused to pay storage fees as they were jacking up annual fees and storage fees to a point that was greater than wine value. They sold enough of my wine to cover my outstanding fees including $40 per month direct debit refusal, then sold the remaining wines to themselves at $1 per bottle.
It was amazing how quickly they were able to sell the wine when they were owed money as they went close to 3 years without selling a bottle.
Stay well away from APW & Cellarlink. Better places on the internet to purchase wines!
I have been bitten by them. They are not able to sell my stock, and seems like I will have to right off my investment:
Very disappointed with the service and the outcome. I would not touch it with a barge pole.
I invested nearly £5000 with two purchases. I had to keep ringing them and even went to ther office in London. They make big promises and can't deliver. I eventually refused to pay any more cellar charges and transferred all my collections to "Bid or wine" they have managed to sell 75% of my collection and recovered about 70% of my investment so far in less than a year. I can highly recommend them. Money gets transferred to your account quickly and they only charge listing fees which are pretty small. The other company I'm looking at is Farr Vintners who "may" buy your wine off you at current prices -20%. So some return if not all. At least it's something.
Good luck
A year has passed since my last "primer" for CellarLink customers, and Private Messages have been disabled since then, so here's a redacted re-post:
============================================
CellarLink do have real stocks of wine. Tons of them. They are indeed in LCB Glasgow. If you have wine stored on your behalf there, you want to move them to a different UK storage facility, but don't know where to go, I'd recommend LCB's own service at Vinotheque (Welcome To Vinotheque) or the Locke-King Vaults at EHD (EHD London No.1 Bond - bonded wine warehouse and distribution company).
The Australian wine market in Europe is indeed really, really bad. If I were personally were try to sell the same bottles and maximise value (which I am not), I would probably use a UK online wine auction like Bid for Wine (Bid for Wine :: Online Wine Auctions :: Fine Wine, Rare Wine, Bin Ends and Vintage Wine. Buy wine from and sell wine directly to other users.) *for disclosure, this is run by an old University friend of mine.
Alternatively, some people posting on this thread have in the past used private message (no longer available) to ask me to help by just "buying them out" of their wine 'portfolio'. It can be done and I have done it, drop me an email at [email protected] if you'd like help.
CellarLink are indeed difficult to deal with. I think I am their largest UK customer, or certainly amongst them. From personal experience I have emailed them regarding orders, delivery logistics, etc and received no reply and my requests were not actioned; but of course as a "member" I've been given the chance to buy some fabulous wine: as the saying goes: "one man's misfortune,..." My interactions with them have ranged from very friendly to not so friendly at all. The business model has some inherent tensions and as part of that I think customer service has ended up a lower priority than many other businesses; they have a Gordian-Knot problem which is that the wine their clients have most of, is also the stuff hardest to sell.
Best,
Alex W.
============================================
CellarLink do have real stocks of wine. Tons of them. They are indeed in LCB Glasgow. If you have wine stored on your behalf there, you want to move them to a different UK storage facility, but don't know where to go, I'd recommend LCB's own service at Vinotheque (Welcome To Vinotheque) or the Locke-King Vaults at EHD (EHD London No.1 Bond - bonded wine warehouse and distribution company).
The Australian wine market in Europe is indeed really, really bad. If I were personally were try to sell the same bottles and maximise value (which I am not), I would probably use a UK online wine auction like Bid for Wine (Bid for Wine :: Online Wine Auctions :: Fine Wine, Rare Wine, Bin Ends and Vintage Wine. Buy wine from and sell wine directly to other users.) *for disclosure, this is run by an old University friend of mine.
Alternatively, some people posting on this thread have in the past used private message (no longer available) to ask me to help by just "buying them out" of their wine 'portfolio'. It can be done and I have done it, drop me an email at [email protected] if you'd like help.
CellarLink are indeed difficult to deal with. I think I am their largest UK customer, or certainly amongst them. From personal experience I have emailed them regarding orders, delivery logistics, etc and received no reply and my requests were not actioned; but of course as a "member" I've been given the chance to buy some fabulous wine: as the saying goes: "one man's misfortune,..." My interactions with them have ranged from very friendly to not so friendly at all. The business model has some inherent tensions and as part of that I think customer service has ended up a lower priority than many other businesses; they have a Gordian-Knot problem which is that the wine their clients have most of, is also the stuff hardest to sell.
Best,
Alex W.
winecellar
Newbie
- Messages
- 1
- Likes
- 0
Consider yourself very lucky to have such an easy exit. If you read more on the thread until last year cellar link is failing to sell the wines, not even with unpaid storage fees. There is even someone who hasn't paid for over 3 years and cellar link still didn't sell the wines and sue him forcing him to pay for the debt. Cellar link only options was releasing the wines or destroying the wines. Both are very costly options for anyone not living in UK and having the wines stored in UK. Check the approximate cost here:
http://www.trade2win.com/boards/dir...australia-portfolio-wines-11.html#post1749898
Thanks a lot to this forum and everyone who has the courage going to court against cellar link, so we all can have an easier exit now
Also thanks a lot to alexwuk for providing more exit options.
Last edited:
Hi - Late comer to this unfortunate party, but at least feel there is at least some light at the end of the tunnel gven your posting. Could you provide a little more insight into what process you followed to get the assetts clear of APW and then how you worked with Bid for Wine?
here's hoping.
Br.
Re: cellar link
Eamonn Egan is a complete ******! I My daughter goes to the gymnastics club in the same complex in Lane Cove West and heard him swearing and carrying on at a young girl trying to direct children, traffic and parking - she was so busy but he was busy telling her what she was doing wrong and didn't help at all!!! He was yelling at people in cars all over the place !!! - for what?! I felt very sorry for all that was involved. Grow up - you never know who's around.
Eamonn Egan is a complete ******! I My daughter goes to the gymnastics club in the same complex in Lane Cove West and heard him swearing and carrying on at a young girl trying to direct children, traffic and parking - she was so busy but he was busy telling her what she was doing wrong and didn't help at all!!! He was yelling at people in cars all over the place !!! - for what?! I felt very sorry for all that was involved. Grow up - you never know who's around.
Last edited:
a p w misselling
terrible company they sell you wines and leave them in storage indefinitely and send you a bill for storage.why should this company get away with false promises and cold calling and no update on your wines
terrible company they sell you wines and leave them in storage indefinitely and send you a bill for storage.why should this company get away with false promises and cold calling and no update on your wines
chestnuthill
Newbie
- Messages
- 1
- Likes
- 0
Hi
I recently brought my wine out of LCB away from Cellarlink and transported it back to Oz to stop the money drain. You need to know the tax rules at both ends but if it leaves Uk it does not get taxed by them! Customs on this end tax you on the current value NOT the price you paid for it. Its not that hard nor expensive. The secret is you are 'returning Ozie goods to OZ'..not importing them. You must sell your wine to a retailer..not you! Wholesale prices are still better than trying to sell in UK.
I recently brought my wine out of LCB away from Cellarlink and transported it back to Oz to stop the money drain. You need to know the tax rules at both ends but if it leaves Uk it does not get taxed by them! Customs on this end tax you on the current value NOT the price you paid for it. Its not that hard nor expensive. The secret is you are 'returning Ozie goods to OZ'..not importing them. You must sell your wine to a retailer..not you! Wholesale prices are still better than trying to sell in UK.
Thanks for reporting that success, Cellarlink are rapacious in their demands, and I am glad it is possible to outflank them. Can you share how you did it ?
Thanks
Hey everyone - I have seen cellarlink's .co.uk website. It seems you can buy wine from them at some good prices and they simply deliver it to your door. So, Im not sure why so many of you have a problem with your wines being stuck in expensive storage? What am I missing here?
Cellarlink demanding payment of annual marketing fees/Global Wine Portfolio access
HI there,
I'm wondering if you can help me. I have had wine stored with APW which then became Cellarlink. I bought the wines when I lived in Australia, but I moved to the UK in 2007. I was advised on the imminent invoice on 7/1/2016, to which I replied on 10/1/2016 to say that I wish to remove my wine from Cellarlink.
However they insist that I pay them for the annual marketing Fee and access to the Global Wine Portfolio, because I did not inform them 5 business days before 31/12/2015. These are services they can turn off at the click of a button, so I am refusing to pay the annual fee and will only pay for storage fees until I can arrange to have my wines shipped to me in London. So they will not release my wines until I pay these (unfair) fees. Are you able to advise the best course of action so that I and my wine can be re-united in the UK?
HI there,
I'm wondering if you can help me. I have had wine stored with APW which then became Cellarlink. I bought the wines when I lived in Australia, but I moved to the UK in 2007. I was advised on the imminent invoice on 7/1/2016, to which I replied on 10/1/2016 to say that I wish to remove my wine from Cellarlink.
However they insist that I pay them for the annual marketing Fee and access to the Global Wine Portfolio, because I did not inform them 5 business days before 31/12/2015. These are services they can turn off at the click of a button, so I am refusing to pay the annual fee and will only pay for storage fees until I can arrange to have my wines shipped to me in London. So they will not release my wines until I pay these (unfair) fees. Are you able to advise the best course of action so that I and my wine can be re-united in the UK?
Wine disposal?
Hello Alex,
Just saw this thread, I realise we are a few years down the track, but perhaps you could help, if still in the business.
We are having misgivings about our Cellar Link holdings, and would like to get out. Having read these threads we are feeling somewhat foolish about our so called "investment".
Here is our list of wine - perhaps you would be interested in buying them?
Thanks in advance,
Jo & Bob.
Hello Alex,
Just saw this thread, I realise we are a few years down the track, but perhaps you could help, if still in the business.
We are having misgivings about our Cellar Link holdings, and would like to get out. Having read these threads we are feeling somewhat foolish about our so called "investment".
Here is our list of wine - perhaps you would be interested in buying them?
Thanks in advance,
Jo & Bob.
