Terms & Conditions
DATA PROTECTION / PRIVACY POLICY
The Whisky Vault conforms to the UK Data Protection Act (1998) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018.
When placing an order, we need to obtain a number of your personal details i.e. your name (and delivery name, if different), email address, billing address (and delivery address, if different), contact phone number. This information enables us to accurately process and complete your order. We will then confirm the order by e-mail.
If you register on our site, we will ask for your name and email address so we can inform you of any special offers or products that may be of interest to you.
We are committed to protecting your important information. We use the information we collect about you to process orders and to provide a more personalised shopping experience. We may also use it to tell you about changes in our services or about special offers we think you'll find valuable. If at any stage you wish to stop receiving e-mails from us, send an e-mail to us with the word 'unsubscribe' as the subject matter and we will remove you from our mailing list within 24 hours.
The Whisky Vault can guarantee we will not share or disclose your details to any other parties. We understand how frustrating this can be, we want to minimise any potential threats to your personal details, this is the reason we have gone to great depths to ensure the safety of your information.
To view our full Privacy Policy, click here. If you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, please do not hesitate to contact us.
COOKIES
Sometimes when using the internet, in order to use services to their full extent, we may store small files, known as cookies, on your computer to ensure the smooth running of your session. The cookies do not contain any of your personal information and we cannot use them to find out who you are.
An example of cookies being used to your advantage are your device recognising your username so that you don't have to type it in again for every web page. If you follow this link here, you will be able to get further information on cookies and learn how to control and delete them from your device.
Another way in which we adopt the use of cookies is via an analytics tool, thus helping us to monitor our site and make improvements and adjustments where we see fit, which will help us further develop our site and services for our customers.
SECURITY
There is no reason to be nervous about shopping online with The Whisky Vault. All of our transactions take in a secure environment and we follow strict security procedures in the storage and disclosure of information that you have given us, to prevent unauthorised access. We use SSL (Secure Server Layer) technology, to ensure your details are sent to us securely.
Payments are made through the secure Clear Accept gateway, for a secure payment experience. Clear Accept uses 128-bit SSL certificates, meaning that nobody sees your card details, including us! 128-bit encryption ensures the safe transfer of sensitive date, including credit card information, for the purpose of e-commerce transactions.
The site registers each individual with their e-mail address and a password - both of which you provide. You are solely responsible if you do not maintain the confidentiality of your ID and password and for all activities that occur under your user ID and password. If there has been any unauthorised use of your user ID or any breach of security known to you, you must inform us immediately.
PAYMENTS
All payments are made on-line by credit or debit card, using the secure Clear Accept server, where we accept Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Apple Pay. We can also take payment via Bank Transfer (note: all bank charges must be paid by the customer). If you wish to pay via bank transfer you will need to contact us with your order request so we can send the transfer details to you.
AGE POLICY
It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 years to purchase alcohol in the UK. The Whisky Vault requires that customers agree to supply proof of age on request and we further undertake that we shall not sell or deliver alcohol to anyone who is, or appears to be, under the age of 18.
The Whisky Vault is a fully licensed business and by placing an order you are confirming that you are at least 18 years old. If you are buying an alcoholic gift, the recipient must also be at least 18 years old. Local Laws apply to all other countries.
DELIVERY
Orders of any size incur a flat standard delivery charge of £5 (free with purchase over £75) to anywhere in mainland UK. All orders will be endeavored to be despatched within 24 hours of receipt of payment. If, for any reason, this is not possible, you will be informed directly.
For a full list of countries that we currently ship to, please click here. Please note, if a country is not listed, we will not ship there. Unfortunately, due to local restrictions, we cannot ship to a few destinations at present; such as Brazil, Canada, India and Russia. If you have any International shipping queries, please e-mail us stating the country of delivery and quantity required for a more detailed analysis or pricing structure.
All products will be securely packaged and dealt with professionally to ensure your package arrives with you as stated on our web site. We use a certified and credited overnight despatch service company, DHL, whose aim is to always deliver on time, if not before! Orders placed will be despatched as soon as payment is authorised. You can expect UK deliveries within 2-3 business days and international from 2-10 days.
Please note, we will not ship to PO Boxes, Hotels, Military Bases, Schools or University addresses - populating the forms with these addresses will only delay the despatch, or result in the cancellation, of your order.
For an in-depth look at our shipping and returns information, please click Here.
TAXES, CUSTOMS & IMPORT DUTIES
All alcoholic products sold by The Whisky Vault are sold subject to UK alcohol tax. If we are shipping goods to an address inside the UK then those prices are subject to UK VAT (currently 20%).
BREXIT: The UK has left the European Union. From the 1st January 2021, customers are no longer required to pay UK VAT on sales shipping to the EU. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement means that in most cases Customs duties will not be applied, as a zero tariff has been confirmed for goods sent between GB and the EU - note, this only applies to goods originally produced in the UK/EU. Upon entry to EU member countries, goods will still be subject to VAT at EU-set rates. The recipient will be liable for these. The exact rate at which VAT will be charged is dependent on individual countries, you can check this useful guide here on EU VAT rates. Contact your local authorities for further information.
For all other deliveries outside of the UK, UK VAT will not be charged and will be deducted from your final costings. However, your order could be subject to local sales taxes and duties upon arrival in the destination country. All additional charges are the responsibility of the recipient. As customs policies vary widely from country to country, The Whisky Vault has no control over these charges, so you should contact your local customs office for further information.
If you refuse to pay any import duties and taxes, this could result in the goods being destroyed by customs or being returned back to us - any refund offered would include a deduction of our costs.
If your order is being held by your local customs office, you will be able to determine this from the information viewable through the DHL tracking information we send you upon despatch of your goods. If you have not received a tracking number, please contact us and we will happily provide you with it.
If we are shipping to an address in the U.S. you can read the information provided here by U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding any queries on importation to the United States. Please note, we cannot currently ship to Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina or Utah due to the current restrictions imposed at those destinations.
RETURNS
Although we believe that you will be delighted with your order, it is possible on an occasion where you feel it necessary to return an order. We will accept returns and give refunds where the goods have not been opened or damaged. As per the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you have 14 days from receiving the item(s) to inform us you wish to make a return, you would then have an additional 14 days to get the item(s) back to us. Shipping costs back to us are normally at your expense (except where the goods do not comply with statutory requirements) and we can only credit you upon safe receipt and inspection of the goods at our premises. Any refunds will be paid as soon as possible within 14 days of you contacting us, providing we have the products received back from the courier. Please note, that any card processing fees incurred will be non-refundable.
We specialise in rare and old whisky, therefore quite often the bottles and/or packaging can sometimes be in a non-perfect condition, something that would be expected from bottles as old as 50+ years. We will endeavour to explain any imperfections in our descriptions and/or display them in the original photographs that we use. All photographs used are our originals and never stock photos.
The majority of the items we have for sale have been acquired from the personal collections of private sellers, therefore this can sometimes lead to items having wear and tear to the bottles, labels and or presentation boxes. We will endeavour to highlight any cosmetic discrepancies in our images and descriptions where possible.
Sometimes with older bottlings the cork or closure may have deteriorated, we recommend great care is taken when opening any bottle. We cannot guarantee the condition of a bottle's cork or closure and thus the item is sold as described. Due to the various ages of bottles and their capsules/seals, the condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion and we cannot accept responsibility for failure/leakage in transit.
If bottles are broken or damaged in transit to you, the damaged goods must be returned to us. Shipping costs for the damaged product back to us will be at our expense. Contact us to arrange shipping back to us, if this is the case.
The Whisky Vault can only credit customers for the items that have been damaged upon safe receipt of the products into our hands.
Upon receipt of your order, you should carefully inspect it to make sure that the products are intact and as described. The courier must be informed of breakages or shortages at the time of delivery. We will not accept any claims for breakages or shortages unless they are stated on the couriers documentation.
The Whisky Vault is responsible for all insurance of goods, unless stated otherwise.
The Whisky Vault will provide an exchange or a refund if any products turn out to be faulty or if goods are different from those specified when ordered. To enquire about a refund customers should contact us within 14 days of receipt of the goods, only where the products have not been opened or damaged.
COMPLAINTS
We aim to deal with complaints effectively, in a fair, confidential, and speedy manner. We endeavour to respond to all complaints within five working days.