Cult Wines Avis 

I have been with this company for a couple of years now. I've never been in regular contact with my relationship manager or any other members. There is a low level of service.
I requested a liquidation for all my investment back in July 2023.
Received an option for instant sell at a reduced price or a better price if we went to market and sold but this would take longer.
I opted for the instant sale as I needed the funds for a personal medical expense and home improvements for my dad whose quality of life is deteriorating rapidly.
I would have thought that the funds would be with me over the next few days or week in July, even August to cover the cost of changing a few things around the house to make my dad comfortable.
Nothing materialised.
I chased and chased and was told it'll be paid back to me in a finance run on a Friday in some week in September or October......waited and nothing, I completed many online forms for the payments to be made, followed all the information and steps given to me.
My relationship manager Edward would tell me it'll be paid.
It's now mid December and I've still not got any money from this company.... The last chaser I made...had an absolutely ridiculous response from Edward asking me to confirm my bank details so he can chase it up.....why on earth would you tell me it's being paid a few months ago and then ask me to remind the company of my bank details when I've completed it on your portal many times.
I've now raised this as a formal complaint with the company.
Beware.....if you need access to the money either instantly or even within a month or two it's highly unlikely given my experience to date. I'm still waiting 5 months later.

I decided to sell my entire portfolio in May this year. By July the sales totalled £10,600, with about half of my portfolio sold. The total management fee for those sold lots was £1375.11 so I was expecting £9224.89 to be paid to me. It is now December and I haven't received a penny from Cult wines. The remaining wines in my portfolio are unsold and my manager is asking me if I want to lower the price or hold on to them. What I want is the money due to me to be paid. Legal action looks to be on the cards.

Since early 2023, I have invested with Cult Wines. I must, regrettably, advise caution in dealing with them until they resolve several critical issues.

Pros: The team's expertise in wine investment is commendable. They demonstrate a genuine enthusiasm and a deep understanding of the intricacies involved.

Cons:
* Customer Experience and Ethics: There are significant concerns here. My experience with fund misallocation due to human error, while rectified, was unsettling. Such incidents raise questions about internal processes and the safeguarding of client funds.
* Communication Gaps: Messages to support sent through their website often remain unanswered. This lack of responsiveness is a critical area needing improvement.
* Technical Issues: The introduction of the account portal is a positive step. However, its functionality is marred by bugs and incorrect balance displays, taking considerable time to resolve.
* Staff Changes and Continuity: The redundancy of my relationship manager in August led to several overlooked matters. Although most issues have since been addressed, this highlights the need for better transition and handover processes.
* Billing Practices: I signed up for annual in-arrears management fees. Even before the recently announced shift to monthly management fees (or annual in advance), Cult was deducting fees monthly from my balance without explicit consent or a way to verify. This approach does not align with transparent and client-focused practices.

It currently appears that Cult is either under-resourced or poorly managed. This situation has led to a series of operational challenges that significantly affect the client experience. I strongly recommend prospective clients to exercise caution and perhaps wait for the company to achieve a higher degree of operational stability before engaging in business with them.

I recently had the need for some money so asked to sell some of my assets, which I know would take some time to be liquidated which as I needed the money in July, asking in April I thought would give plenty of time.

July came and went and not all the quantity was sold but there was some funds on account, so by October I duly asked for this to be refunded while the remaing was waiting to be sold and was promised this would be actioned. There is no ability to get the funds back youeself!

After frequent emails and promises, as of today, I have still not had any returned funds and have now spoken to a solicitor with a view to pursuing the debt through legal channels.

This is a very sorry state of affairs and one that has soured my experience and in my opinion appalling.

I have had a great experience with the group. I made a significant investment 6 years ago, which performed very well - notably during the Covid crisis. I partially exited my portfolio a few years back - it did take some time for them to sell the wines but this was explained to me prior and I was happy to wait to ensure that I extracted maximum profits on the exit. An interesting asset class, and just as well they store it otherwise it would be a daily sip-sip!

I started investing with Cult Wines in 2020. Really pleased so far, the return has been great and i have been learning a lot since i started.

They recently released an app and a new portal - and this makes keeping track of my investment very straightforward.

i have sold some of the wines i originally bought for a profit and reinvested into new areas. These new purchases are yet to get going properly but i think the market is a bit quieter this year

they produce a lot of reports and blog pieces that are useful for beginners which is very important for a complicated market like wine

I would definitely recommend Cult Wines to a friend.

I have been with Cult Wines since meeting Sam Mudie at VinX back in 2012 . Moved my bonds from VinX to CW when Sam moved . Had a great relationship with Sam and was well advised . Now it is a different story . Things have changed and I no longer wish to continue placing my capital with this company .
My new account manager, who shall remain anonymous in this review ,has suddenly become uncontactable either by phone or email .
I have given Cult Wine instruction to sell my bonds but no response at all my communications , and no one is returning my calls . Very disappointed with the way this is going .
I think the service is not as it used to be

If you are thinking of investing with Cult Wines, my advice would be “DON’T”. It is the closest thing to a scam I have been involved in. Firstly, be aware of false promises that your wine will grow by so much % as this is total pie in the sky. The old saying “if it is too good to be true” springs to mind.

When purchasing wine, your portfolio will look good on paper with good increases in value showing. The problems start when you try to start selling, my experience is that the wine is not worth what they say and some wines are illiquid and this is then followed with some excuse or another. I have currently been trying to liquidate my portfolio for over 2.5 YEARS and that is with dropping prices but still it cannot seem to sell. I have earned more money on my premium bonds over the years than my returns with Cult Wines. At least your money is safe with premium bonds and is far less hassle.

Customer service is great when you are buying wine, they cannot do enough for you (because they are earning a commission on the sales) but when you are trying to sell, they drop you like a hot potato. Countless emails get and always having to chase them up. The truth of the matter is they are not interested in making you money trying to sell your wines, as long as they get their commission selling illiquid poor preforming wine, when you are purchasing, they seem to not give 2 hoots. If you are lucky enough to be able to sell your wine, you will have a long wait and several e-mails later trying to get the actual funds paid to you. If you take my advice, you can thank me later. I do not wish anyone to experience the headache I have had dealing with Cult Wines whilst trying to sell the wine they highly recommended me to purchase.

I invested with cult wines 5 years ago. A small amount as a sample to see if they were a company i wanted to continue doing business with. The investment has done reasonable well in this time. However what they say your wine is worth and what you get for it can be completely different. I asked them to sell all my portfolio and they only managed to sell around 1/3. They then give your buyers 3 months to settle the purchase. However when I bought it was on immediate payment terms. I have now waited 3.5 months after the sale and I have not seen my money. My account manager is difficult to get hold of. Very disappointing and I will not be buying more wine from them.

Since this review Cult have reached out to me and resolved this matter which i much appreciate.

Cult Wines has proved to be an excellent, knowledgeable and trustworthy asset manager. My investment has appreciated markedly over the last 5 years, making me a very satisfied investor during these uncertain times

I recommend Cult Wines as the best partner for Wine Investment. They are very experienced and knowledgeable in the field, and their Account Managers operate in the best interest of the Customer. So far my experience with Cult Wines has been very positive, the investment has been profitable and, being a wine passionate, it has also been a fun experience.

I started to invest in fine wines 2 years ago and all advice I got was highly professional and well reasoned. I am looking forward to visit the wine cellar in London

The payment of liquidation arrives after 2 days when I express my concern in this review. One hand this platform seems serve a effective communication between client n service provider. The other hand a complement must be given to the Client Manager Stephanie Choi in Cult Wine HK, who has always shown a professional attitude to service the requirement.

Top-shelf wine market insights and account investment allocations. Account administration and performance reporting need further upgrading.

investing in the wine was relatively pain free, it returned a profit which is a bonus, liquidating my holdings took a little longer than i expected.

I had to chase a few times to get a status, so communication could be improved but we got there in the end.

Easy account opening, great track record and good explanation of risks and rewards.

Although the idea of the company is really great there are still many ways to improve customer service, processes and reliability.
1. 2 days after money transfer I got 2 messages: one that they did receive my money and immediately second on that they did not. It took few days but the money finally arrived.
2. I tried to buy additional wine cases, but also got two emails - one apologizing that it's sold out and few hours later confirmation that it can be bought (which never happened)
3. There are wrong currencies displayed on the website, hopefully it is now solved, but transferring pounds and seeing same amount of euros in my account wasn't pleasant nor I got any explanation regarding this from the support.
4. After closing my account money disappeared from the website and after several emails and 5 days I got it in my account back.
4.

So far so good. Yet to sell anything so will see how process is when I come to do that.
Good customer service and especially like the mark to market portfolio although would like to see the full value of the account, cash + portfolio for future reference.

Great company to work with! Very pleased since day one and would never change.