The Secret Cellar – Terms & Conditions of Sale
Last updated: 1 December 2025
These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) apply to all orders you place with The Secret Cellar Limited (“we,” “us,” “our”), whether through our website, by telephone, or in person.
By using our website or placing an order, you agree to these Terms.
If you do not agree, please do not use our website.
Our separate Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice explain how we handle your data.
Please read them alongside these Terms.
1. Company Information
The Secret Cellar Limited
Registered in England & Wales
Company No: 05712472
Registered office: The Old Chalk Mine, Warren Row Road, Reading, RG10 8QS
VAT No: GB812213970
AWRS URN: XGAW 000 0010 1137
Website: www.thesecretcellar.co.uk
Email: sales@thesecretcellar.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1892 782 826
2. Eligibility to Purchase Alcohol
It is illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.
By placing an order:
You confirm you are at least 18 years old
You confirm any person receiving delivery is at least 18
We reserve the right to request identification and to refuse delivery where appropriate ID cannot be provided.
3. Product Availability & Vintage Changes
All goods are offered subject to availability.
We make every effort to ensure all products shown have stock available, but availability may change.
Vintage Information:
Product images may show old labels or previous vintages.
Wines are agricultural products and vintages can change quickly. We reserve the right to supply the next available vintage if the advertised or listed vintage has sold out.
Where a vintage change materially alters the character or quality of the wine, we will notify you before dispatch.
We do not substitute a different wine (i.e., a different producer or cuvée) unless:
- it is a mixed case clearly labelled as “may include substitutions”, or
- you have opted in to allow substitutions during checkout, or
- we contact you and you agree to the substitution.
If you are ever unhappy with a substituted or vintage-changed bottle, we will offer a refund or replacement in accordance with your statutory rights.
4. Prices & Obvious Errors
All prices are shown in UK pounds sterling and include VAT unless otherwise stated.
We take care to ensure all pricing and product information is accurate; however, errors and omissions may occur (E&OE). If we discover an obvious pricing or listing error:
we will inform you before dispatch, and
you may choose to proceed at the correct price or cancel the order
We are not obliged to supply goods at an incorrect price where the error is obvious.
Prices may change without notice, but changes will not affect orders already accepted.
5. Payment & Order Acceptance
You may pay using Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, or other payment options offered at checkout.
An order acknowledgement email does not constitute acceptance.
Your order is accepted only when the goods are dispatched or made available for collection.
We reserve the right to decline an order for any reason.
Goods remain our property until paid for in full.
6. Delivery
We use reputable UK couriers.
We offer standard delivery for your order via courier APC to UK Mainland addresses for £9.00. Please be advised we do NOT deliver to Northern Ireland, the Republic Of Ireland, Scottish Highlands & Islands, the Isle Of Man or the Isle of Wight.
If you spend £250.00 or more on your order, we offer FREE delivery via APC to UK Mainland addresses ONLY.
We offer free local delivery if you live within a 5-mile radius of our stores located in Tunbridge Wells, Wadhurst & Oxted. To qualify for free delivery, the minimum spend required is £100.00 and do please check with your local store to ensure you are within the catchment area for free qualifying local delivery.
If you request goods to be left in a safe place, this is at your own risk.
Where no safeplace instructions are given, a signature may be required.
You can also collect your order from your local store.
Risk passes to you once the goods are delivered to the address or safe place you specify.
If the courier delivers to an incorrect address due to our error, we will replace or refund the items.
If the incorrect address was provided by you, re-delivery charges may apply.
7. Breakages, Shortages & Inspection on Delivery
Please inspect all deliveries promptly.
Any breakages or shortages must be reported to us within 24 hours
Please retain packaging so we can investigate with the courier
We will replace or refund damaged items promptly
Failure to notify us within 24 hours may affect our ability to claim from the courier.
8. Returns & Refunds
Your statutory rights are fully protected.
8.1 Faulty or Damaged Goods
If a wine is faulty or damaged, we will replace it or refund you.
We may request return of the bottle for investigation; if so, we will arrange collection.
8.2 Unwanted Goods – Consumer Rights Act & CCR 2013
For online and telephone orders, you have a 14-day right to cancel beginning the day after you receive the goods.
To cancel, you must notify us clearly (email is fine).
Returned goods must be:
unopened
in their original condition
packaged securely
You are responsible for return delivery costs unless the goods were faulty.
We will issue a refund within 14 days of receiving the returned goods.
8.3 In-Store Purchases
For in-store purchases, refunds are offered for faulty goods only.
9. Taste Guarantee (Goodwill Policy)
Wine enjoyment is subjective.
If a wine is sound but not to your taste, our team will happily recommend alternatives and, at our discretion, may offer a credit or exchange.
This goodwill policy does not affect your statutory rights.
10. Click & Collect
Where offered, Click & Collect orders will be held for 7 days.
After this, we will attempt to contact you; uncollected orders may be returned to stock and refunded.
11. Customer Accounts
If you create an account:
you are responsible for maintaining confidentiality of your login
you must notify us immediately of any unauthorised access
We reserve the right to suspend or close accounts where necessary.
12. Promotions & Discount Codes
Promotional codes:
must be used within stated timeframes
cannot be applied retrospectively
are not transferable or redeemable for cash
cannot be combined unless explicitly permitted
We may withdraw promotions at any time.
13. Privacy & Data Protection
We process your personal data in accordance with our:
Privacy Policy, and
Cookie Notice
Both are available on our website.
These documents explain:
what data we collect
how we use it
your rights under UK GDPR
how to contact us about data protection
By using our website, you acknowledge you have read and understood these policies.
14. Age Verification Technology
We may use age-verification software, request ID at delivery, or require proof of age before dispatching goods.
If valid ID cannot be produced, the courier will not deliver the goods.
Redelivery fees may apply.
15. Limitation of Liability
Nothing in these Terms limits our liability for:
death or personal injury caused by negligence
fraud
any rights you have under UK consumer law
Subject to the above, we are not liable for:
indirect or consequential losses
losses arising from events outside our reasonable control
business losses (our products are sold for personal use)
16. Force Majeure
We are not responsible for delays or failure to perform our obligations due to events beyond our reasonable control (e.g., strikes, weather, courier failures, emergencies).
17. Governing Law & Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by English law.
Any disputes will be resolved exclusively by the courts of England and Wales.
18. Contact & Customer Support
For all queries:
sales@thesecretcellar.co.uk
We aim to reply within 24 hours.