Deliveries.
If wine is damaged while in transit to the customer, The Other Australia will re-send the customer’s order with new bottles of the exact same wines, wherever possible, at no expense to the customer. Australia Post has a standing protocol to return to the seller (The Other Australia) any damaged goods and NOT to deliver them to the customer and this arrangement is almost always followed by them. In the rare event that the AP delivery driver was not aware that one or more bottles had been broken or otherwise damaged in transit and the whole parcel, including the damaged bottles, is delivered to the customer, then The Other Australia can arrange to have the whole parcel collected and a fresh box of the same wines, wherever possible, sent to the customer. If the wines the customer ordered are no longer available, because they have sold out in the time since the customer’s original order was dispatched, The Other Australia will speak with the customer by email to arrange substitutes or a refund, whichever the customer prefers.
If correct delivery procedures have not been followed and wine has not been delivered according to the customer’s instructions then The Other Australia will offer to send a replacement consignment using, wherever possible, the exact same wines as were in the original consignment. If the wines the customer ordered are no longer available, because they have sold out in the time since the customer’s original order was dispatched, The Other Australia will speak with the customer by email to arrange substitutes or a refund, whichever the customer prefers.
If wine is delivered according to a customer’s instructions but the receiver claims not to have received the wine, The Other Australia reserves the right not to offer to send a replacement consignment to the customer. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that the correct delivery address and instructions are given to The Other Australia at the time the order was placed on the website. If any error is noted, customers are requested to inform The Other Australia of any changes that need to be made as soon as possible.
The wine.
If the wine has deteriorated as a result of the inherent vice of the packaging materials chosen by the winery – such as the cork or other closure – then The Other Australia may ask to organise the collection and return of the wine that has been questioned. If all parties are in agreement, the customer may request a replacement bottle of the same wine to be sent to them or for a refund equal to the value paid for that wine. If the wine was part of the a mixed 6-pack, regardless of which wine has been questioned or what its ordinary individual retail value may be, then the value of every wine in that mixed 6-pack will be considered to be one sixth of the total value of that mixed 6-pack. If the cork or closure has deteriorated resulting in oxidation or other associated spoilage of the wine then the same policy and protocol applies.
The Other Australia is under no obligation to replace or offer a refund for any wine found not to be to the buyer’s own personal taste. While every effort is made to describe every product truly, according to the personal experience of the people involved in the selection and purchase of wines for The Other Australia for on-sale to its customers, it cannot be assumed that the tasting notes and descriptions of any given wine used in the promotion of that wine are going to necessarily and directly correspond with the buyer’s own assessment of the same product. It is assumed that for any given wine a variety of opinions of that wine will exist equal to the number of different people who taste it. Refunds or exchanges will only be considered for situations in which the wine has altered due to factors resulting from the wine producer’s choice of packaging materials and not for any other reason.
Unintended purchases.
The Other Australia will not collect or offer any kind of refund for goods that were ordered and delivered as directed by the customer, even if the customer forgets that they ordered the goods or placed duplicate orders for the same goods. It is recommended to set up and always use an account when checking out from this website so that a permanent purchase history is created and maintained. If an account is not set up then it is strongly advised to print out the order confirmation email that is sent out at the time of ordering. The onus is on the customer to know and record what they have ordered, while the onus is on The Other Australia to deliver the goods as quickly and efficiently as possible as per the stated delivery timeframes and the instructions of the customer at the time of ordering. The Other Australia runs a semi-automated delivery system and if an order is placed then the goods will be delivered unless advice is received from the customer to the contrary BEFORE the goods are dispatched.
Cellaring.
Customers cellar wine at their own risk. While all cellaring predictions are made by The Other Australia in good faith, based on its own tasting, experience, and evaluation, the way in which any given bottle of wine will develop is individual and ultimately unpredictable and dependent on its own chemical composition and physical treatment, which is necessarily beyond the complete knowledge of any person. If it is believed that a product is faulty this must be flagged in the first 30 days following delivery as after that period of time has elapsed it is assumed that the fault may have developed as a result of the way the wine was treated following delivery, except in the case of problems related to faulty closures, as described above.
Duration.
The Other Australia’s refund policy lasts 30 days from the date of delivery, except in the case of wines that have deteriorated due to the winemaker’s choice of closure (see above). If 30 days have passed since delivery, unless any perceived deterioration can be proven to have occurred due to the inherent vice of the winemaker’s chosen bottle closure, cork or other, then The Other Australia reserves the right not offer the customer any kind of refund as it cannot be known if the deterioration has occurred as a result of the way the wine has been stored by the receiver.