I ordered a bottle of rum on 8th…
I ordered a bottle of rum on 8th December to be shipped to New Zealand in time for Christmas. The bottle duly arrived ahead of Christmas Day. However, it was held up at New Zealand customs in a secure bonded warehouse because a commercial invoice wasn't provided by The Whisky Exchange. I contacted The Whisky Exchange and (quite ironically) the necessary paperwork was then issued after I threatened to cancel my order. BUT, to release the bottle to the recipient (my son) he had to pay additional storage charges amounting to over £60. This now makes the bottle of rum VERY VERY expensive. I asked The Whisky Exchange to refund the excess charge (£60) . They refused. Instead they said I had to speak to their courier who they had allegedly being liaising with (DHL). I asked for relevant contact details and was given a phone number in New Zealand. I asked for the name of the person who they were 'liaising' with and their direct contact details. I was given a standard DHL email address. They were unable/unwilling to give me the direct contact details of anybody at DHL in New Zealand. I did contact DHL approximately 6 weeks ago and to date I have had no response. The Whisky Exchange could have refunded the £60 had they chosen to do so or alternatively they could have given me a discount/vouchers for any future purchases. They did neither. I will not be using this company again and my advice to anybody else is choose wisely who you use for international shipping because The Whisky Exchange has been very poor indeed.
Vastaus yritykseltä The Whisky Exchange
Dear Bill Drumm,
Thank you for taking the time to review us on Trustpilot.
This is very much appreciated as customer feedback is important to us, to help us improve our service.
Please accept our sincere apologies for the difficulties you encountered with your recent order.
When your order was dispatched from our warehouse, it included the correct invoice required for customs clearance. Our Customer Experience Team also acted promptly and provided DHL with the additional documents they requested. Unfortunately, any delays that occurred within the courier’s network were outside of our control.
Any additional fees or charges that were levied are beyond our control, and while we are happy to offer guidance and support to help our customers reclaim charges paid, we are not authorised to issue refunds on behalf of DHL, as they are a separate business entity.
As we are a UK-based business, our primary point of contact is DHL UK Customer Support, whose role is to liaise with their counterparts in the destination countries on our behalf. Because we are not in direct contact with the teams in destination countries, we were unfortunately unable to provide you with a direct named contact for DHL New Zealand. However, we ensured that you received all the contact details made available to us.
Once again, we offer our heartfelt apologies for the frustration this situation has caused. A member of our team will be in touch with you to offer further assistance with this matter.
Kind regards,
The Whisky Exchange