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Terms & Conditions

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1. These terms and conditions

1.1 These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") apply to all sales of wines and any other goods ("wines") by us, Appellations Ltd ("we" or "us") to you the customer ("you"). These terms apply to all orders placed with us.

1.2 All sales of wine by us are subject to these terms, unless changed by written agreement.

1.3 These terms apply whether you are a trade or private customer. Certain terms only apply if you are a private customer, and those are clearly indicated below.

2. Ordering from Appellations

2.1 All wines are offered subject to our final confirmation.

2.2 A contract for sale which incorporates these terms in full will come into existence when we expressly accept your order. Please note that an acknowledgement of your order by us by telephone, email or website confirmation does not constitute acceptance of your order. Your order will be accepted when we take payment from you or issue an invoice for the order.

2.3 In order to purchase wines from us you must be at least 18 years old or you must have reached the requisite age in your home territory for the purchase of alcohol.

2.4 Any indication on availability date of the wines for collection or delivery should be regarded as an estimate date only and is not intended to be binding. We will notify you once wines are available for collection or ready to be delivered. We ask our customers to collect the wines within one month of being available.

2.5 All pictures of bottles on our website are not always matching the vintage of the wine listed.

2.6 All prices on this website are in GBP, per unit size (case or bottle) as indicated, exclusive of VAT and duty where applicable.

2.7 Any change in duties, tariffs or other taxes which arise because of changes in laws will be your responsibility.

2.8 All wines are sold ex-Octavian Corsham unless agreed. Appellations will not be responsible for any charges, import duties, tariffs and taxes on wines being ordered from outside of the UK.

2.9 We have a £200 minimum order (excluding duty, delivery & VAT).

2.10 The issuing of an invoice by us will constitute acceptance of your order but we shall not be obliged to deliver or make available the wines to you until the invoice is settled in full.

2.11 Please note that the contract between us is conditional on the wines being available for sale to you and coming into our possession. We will be entitled to decline any order at any time up to acceptance in the event that we are unable to secure the wines on your behalf.

2.12 We may agree to deliver the wines to you, in this event we agree to deliver the wines to you, we will provide you with an estimated delivery date and delivery charge. Any dates are estimates only and we do not guarantee to meet any fixed delivery date unless specifically agreed.

2.13 Any orders placed via our website are also subject to our Website Terms & Conditions.

3. Payment

3.1 Payment in full will be due at the time of placing an order or as per the terms on our invoice

3.2 Appellations accepts a range of payment methods. Payments can be made by bank transfer, debit cards, credit cards and cheques. All bank charges are to be paid in full by the sender. We do not accept AMEX

3.3 To ensure that your credit, debit or charge card is not being used without your consent, the name, address and other personal information supplied by you during the order process may be validated against appropriate third party databases. By accepting these terms and conditions you consent to these and similar checks being made. All information provided by you will be treated securely and strictly in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and any other relevant data protection law.

4. Retention of Goods Pending Payment

4.1 We will retain title in all wines sold by us until all sums due to us from you in respect of your order have been paid in full. This includes wines held on your behalf in our storage facility duty paid or in bond and we reserve the right to take possession and sell wines held with us in storage in order to settle any debt you have with us. Please see our storage terms for more details.

4.2 You will obtain title in the wines in the event that you have paid us in full and such wines are in your personal physical possession.

4.3 In the event of overdue payment, we reserve the right to withhold any wines you have ordered. All wines will remain our property until all sums due from you are paid in full.

4.4 Where any invoice is outstanding for more than 30 days, we may send written notice to the invoice address of our intention (at our discretion):

  • to treat the order as cancelled
  • to purchase the wines which are covered by the invoice and are in our possession in accordance with clause 4; and/or
  • to purchase any other wines of yours which are held by us in storage in accordance with clause 5

5. Default

5.1 In the event that any amount is owing from you to us (whether that amount arises under these terms of sale, our storage terms or otherwise) then you agree that we will have the right to purchase any of your wines which are held by us at a price governed by these terms in satisfaction of your liabilities. We will then be free to sell or otherwise deal with the wines.

5.2 In order to exercise our right to purchase wines we hold for you to satisfy your liabilities to us we will send written notice of our intention to purchase the wines to your last known invoice address and any email address we hold for you. Fifteen days after sending such notice we will be entitled to take ownership and possession and (at our discretion) dispose of some or all of your wines which are held by us.

5.3 Upon purchasing the wines, we will credit you with 80% of the market value of the relevant wines (“the credit amount”). Market value will be assessed based on our list prices or by making reasonable enquiries and will be assessed on the date which falls fifteen days after the notice referred to in clause 4.2 is sent by us.

5.4 We will set the credit amount off against any sums you owe to us (including any interest owed). If the credit amount exceeds the sums you owe to us we will account to you upon request for any excess but we will not be obliged to pay interest on such excess. After we have credited you with the credit amount we will hold title to the relevant wines and we will be free to dispose of those wines at our discretion and we will not be required to account to you for any further sums received by us for those wines.

5.5 If any balance remains outstanding owing to us after we have purchased the wines and credited the credit amount to you then the balance shall remain payable by you.

5.6 After we have purchased wines in accordance with this clause you will remain liable for any amount that remains outstanding

6. Quality control

6.1 We make every effort and pay a lot of attention to provenance and storage conditions to ensure that all goods are of impeccable quality and in a condition appropriate for the age of the wine it is the duty of our supplier to make sure wine supplied is from reliable sources.

6.2 We do not purchase US strip-labelled stock or stock that has been shipped back into Europe from the US or Asia unless otherwise specified or specifically requested

6.3 In the event that wines are corked, out of condition for consumption, tainted or fatigued in any way, we will be under no obligation to offer replacements or offer other compensation of any kind and such replacements or compensation will be made entirely at our discretion.

6.4 We can not guarantee that wines will always show at their best. All wines can age and mature in different ways and we will not bear any liability for subjective judgments such as quality or drinkability.

6.5 We will not be responsible or accept responsibility for minor defects or imperfections or any condition resulting from nature or age of the wine.

6.6 We will inform you prior to your order with us if the wine is not in our opinion in perfect condition (damaged labels, lower level than expected for the age of the wine) by supplying a condition report together with photographs and such other information as may be available to us and it will be your decision whether or not to proceed with the purchase based on this information. We may provide provenance information to you which has been given to us by our supplier however we are not able to research, test or verify this information. We cannot and do not warrant any such statements.

6.7 Where you have purchased wines from us then you accept that these wines may be subject to defects, imperfections, damage and normal wear and tear. You accept that wines will be in the condition to be expected having regard to their age, provenance and nature or where we have notified you of any such condition or defect.

6.8 You accept that given the nature of wines these terms are reasonable in all the circumstances.

7. Storage, Delivery & Collection

7.1 When purchasing wines from us you will have the options to store the wines with us, take delivery, or arrange collection

7.2 Any indication on availability date of the wines for collection or delivery should be regarded as an estimate date only and is not intended to be binding. We will notify you once wines are available for collection or ready to be delivered. We ask our customers to collect the wines within one month of being available.

7.3 Where you opt for us to store the wines on your behalf then our storage fees will apply. Please note that when we store wine on your behalf we will assign the wine you have purchased to your name with a unique identifier your Appellations storage account code but the wines will remain in our custody.

7.4 Where you opt to collect the wines from our storage facility, we require at least 72 hours notice of collection.

7.5 We may, at your request and as your agent, arrange for delivery of the wines to you but where you are dealing with us in the course of a business we will not be liable for any failure on the part of the carriers selected.

7.6 Deliveries within the UK are charged at the following rates

  • All orders above GBP 1,000 (excl VAT) are free of delivery charge.
  • All UK mainland addresses (excluding Scotland) : GBP 20 & VAT

7.7 We do not charge delivery for transfers to most UK bonded warehouses

7.8 Export customers will need to arrange collection of the wines they purchased. All wines for Export orders are sold ex-Octavan. We can recommend suitable shipping shipping companies to our export customers. Customers must notify us at least 48 hours before collection.

7.9 If wines purchased are not collected or delivered and you have not opted for us to store the wines on your behalf within three months of the date on which we issued an invoice for the wines to you then we will assume that storage is required and our storage fees will apply in relation to the wines.

7.10 Please note that if you fail to pay our storage and administration charges then our right to sell the wines as set out in our storage terms and above will apply.

8. Duty & VAT

8.1 Goods are offered for sale under bond, unless otherwise stated.

8.2 For Goods purchased and held in bond for UK home use: the customer will be liable to pay duty and VAT based on the rates in force when the Goods are taken out of bond and not those prevailing at the time of purchase. Current rates can be found here on our website.

8.3 Duty paid Goods for export must be exported from the UK within 30 days of invoice if collected by your shipper or else UK VAT will be payable by you.

9. Inspection & Acceptance of goods

9.1 We strongly recommend that you inspect the wines upon delivery or collection to you and notify the shipping company and us of any damage or shortage immediately after delivery.

9.2 Where you are a trade or business customer you will be deemed to have accepted the wines as satisfying your order 14 days following collection, delivery or release to you.

9.3 Private customers / consumers agree to notify us of any defects in the wines within 30 days from the date on which the wines are collected, released or delivered to you and after 30 days you will be deemed to have accepted the wines.

9.4 If you have asked us to store the wines in our warehouse the 30 day period in which you may notify us of defects will start 21 days after we have accepted your order (when the wines will be available for inspection or collection from our warehouse). Where you have opted for us to store the wines on your behalf, you agree that you are entitled to attend the storage facility in person.

9.5 Where you are a trade or business customer you will be deemed to have accepted the wines as satisfying your order 14 days following collection, delivery or release to you.

10. Liability

10.1 Our liability in any circumstance under or in connection with any sale of wines will be limited to the purchase price on our invoice. Our liability will also be limited as set out in clause 6.

10.2 We will not be liable for any indirect or consequential losses or damages including lost bargain, lost profit, lost reputation, loss of anticipated savings.

10.3 We will not be liable to you or to any other party following the onward sale of wines by you.

10.4 Our liability for death or personal injury arising due to our negligence is not limited.

10.5 This clause 8 shall survive termination of these terms and conditions.

11. Cancellation of Orders

11.1 11.1 If you are a trade customer, once an order has been accepted under section 2 of these terms, you will not be able to cancel.

11.2 11.2 As a consumer you have a right to cancel your contract with us under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 ("Consumer Regulations") and the following terms explain how to cancel and the effect of cancellation

11.3 11.3 You will have a right to cancel your contract for the purchase of wines within 14 days without giving any reason unless you have purchased "En Primeur" wine or any other pre- ordered wines which we are unable to release within 30 days.

11.4 The cancellation period will expire after 14 days after the day on which the wines are made available to you. The wines are made available to you:

  • On delivery to your address or nominated storage facility, or, in all other cases
  • 21 days following acceptance of your order (when the wines will be available for collection from our storage facility)

11.5 To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us via letter to Appellations Ltd. Unit 1, Atelier Court, Block 1, 6-8 Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2YJ or via email – sales@appellations.co.uk of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement in writing.

11.6 To meet the cancellation deadline it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

11.7 If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including including the costs of delivery (except for supplementary costs arising if you chose an enhanced delivery option.

11.8 We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any wines supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you. We will make the reimbursement without undue delay and not later than

  • 14 days after the day we receive back from you any wines supplied, or
  • (if earlier), 14 days after the day you provide evidence that you have returned the wines, or- If there were no wines supplied, 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel this contract.

11.9 We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement. We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the wines back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the wines, whichever is the earliest.

11.10 You shall send back the wines without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your cancellation from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the wines before the period of 14 days expires.

11.11 You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the wines.

11.12 You are only liable for any diminished value of the wines resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the wines

12. Force Majeure

12.1 We will not be liable for failure to meet agreed obligations due to prevailing circumstances beyond our reasonable control nor any loss and/or damage arising from any such Force Majeure event save to the extent that such loss and/or damage is recoverable under our insurance policy.

12.2 A Force Majeure event may include any failure on the part of our designated warehouse operator or facility which is outside of our control, as well as strikes, lockouts or other industrial action; civil commotion, riot, invasion, war, threat or preparation for war; fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic, pandemic or other natural physical disaster.

13. General and Jurisdiction

13.1 We reserve the right to alter these terms and conditions from time to time without prior notice. Any such changes will take effect when posted on our website. It is your responsibility to read the terms and conditions on each occasion the website is used or products ordered. Your use of the website or your agreement to place wines in storage with us shall signify your acceptance to be bound by these latest terms and conditions.

13.2 If any provision of these terms and conditions is held by a court or other competent authority to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part the validity of the other provisions of these terms and conditions and the remainder of the provision in question shall not be affected.

13.3 We will not be liable for any failure to meet our obligations occasioned by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

13.4 These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales and you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Last updated 05.02.22