Dolceterra Italian Within Reviews 98

Ordered and received a shipping alert from fedex that it was on route, but then another alert said there was a shipping problem and it was being returned to sender

No replies from customer service and not £70 out of pocket. Is it a scam or just awful service? Either way avoid this company!

Update: The owner Andrea responded once I published this review, and asked me to change it. I refused. After much ado, I received a refund on May 11. Original:
I was shopping online for Alkermes (also known as "Alchermes"), the liquor required to make "Zuppa Inglese" Google returned a hit for Dolceterra Italian Within US Store.
Tuscany Alchermes liqueur – Dolceterra Italian Within US Store
"Tuscany Alchermes liqueur, now available on dolceterra US Store! Its bright, ruby red color, which gave it its name, and the warm, spicy taste make Alkermes a ...
$33.50 · ‎In stock".
I puchased 2 bottles of Alkermes and one salame. The order was confirmed for a total of USD 121.10 shipping via FedEx Priority Shipping. My credit card was charged USD 122.31.
April 21, the order was shipped via DHL (not FedEx). April 25 the order was received via DHL, but the box contained 1 Italian cheese pie (Pastiera Napoletana), and the package label listed the contents as "cheese", shipped from Italy. This is when I realized Dolceterra is NOT a US store! I emailed Dolceterra the same day, both in English and Italian: "Gentlemen,
I just received one box containing 1 Pastiera Napoletana, which I do not recall ordering.
I did not receive the 2 bottles of Alkermes or the salame, which I ordered.
Please advise what is going on". On April 26 they replied: "Ciao Rosanna, sorry we had a problem, we will replace your order as soon as possible! thank you!". On April 27 I received a text message, which I never signed up for, stating: Hi Rosanna, it's Dolceterra Italian Within US Store following up with you on the Tuscany Alchermes liqueur you bought. Are you happy with it? Do you have any request? Contact us at customer support at dolceterra.com. This greatly upset me, so I started looking further into this company and found that they are Amazon US vendors, and have "local" websites in Europe as well. I found reviews indicating they frequently have problems with US customs, so I looked into US regulations. Alkermes is banned, cannot be imported and will not pass US customs because it contains red coloring considered to be a cancer-causing agent. It is the shippers' responsibility to ensure what they ship is legal in the destination country. This means they took my money knowing what I purchased would never have made it past customs!
On April 28 I replied to their text message: "Is this some kind of a joke? How am I supposed to enjoy something I never received??
I told you two days ago that I received 1 pastiera napoletana instead of the alkermes and salame I ordered. You apologized for the mistake and promised you'd ship them as soon as possible! Among other things, yesterday I found out that the alkermes would never arrive, because IT'S ILLEGAL IN AMERICA, and yet you are selling it on an American website that fails to mention where the goods are shipped from. Had I known that besides being shipped directly from Italy Alkermes is not legal here, I would not have placed an order!
At this point, I just want my money back. Please issue a refund to my credit card in the amount of $122.31 on or before May 1.
If I don't receive the refund by May 1, I will ask my credit card to process a charge-back, file a complaint with the better business bureau, and all other international business and customs/trade authorities in charge of international trade policies of the fact that you knowingly sell and ship illegal items to America.
Thanks and regards".
No reply, no refund. So on May 4 I did ask my cc to do a charge-back, and today I am reporting them here and will proceed to contact the econsumer protection agency to report their fraudulent business practices. Those who speak Italian may also file a complaint with the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, who is in charge of shady business practices and misleading advertising. I hope whomever got scammed by this company will do the same, and I also hope to protect other innocent consumers from making the same mistake I did in trusting a phony US Shop. To add insult to the injury, when I went on the site today an ad popped up: "Text me a special link for 10% off to buy Tuscany Alchermes liqueur" followed by a US flag icon next to the US phone number 201-555-0123. Unbelievable.

I'm an Italian and been living in the US for almost 20 years. I recently ordered three products from this company. Yesterday I got the package and one item (the most expensive in the order, $57) was missing and also the gift box was missing. I have sent them a message yesterday and I did not get a reply. I called them by phone twice and no one answers the phone. Companies like this one make me feel embarrassed to be Italian. I strongly recommend not to order from them.

After my post Dolceterra replied and refunded the cost of the missing item. I'm grateful for their prompt handling. According to Dolceterra, the item has been seized by the US custom. I would then recommend Dolceterra to warn customers from the US about this issue with some products and also explicitly mention that the products are shipped directly from Italy and not via a US importer cleared to import products such as salami.

I made an order on March 30th. The company charged my credit card on the same day, and emailed me that they would send me a notification when the order was ready to be shipped. Despite their promise to ship within three business days, I did not hear anything. I emailed their customer care, but there was no response. Now, it is April 6th, still nothing. I am really frustrated, and have no idea what to do or even how to cancel my order to purchase somewhere else. This is the worst online purchase experience I've had. Please beware when you make purchases at this site!

Slight communication delay, but my order has been sorted and DHL has delivered.

Customs had opened the package and removed the salami but left the cheese. Disappointing, but I knew a risk.

I spent close to 90 dollars and never received a single item. They won't respond to my email inquiries. This company is a scam.

After 3 attempts to make contact my order did eventually turn up late, well after it was needed and well after it was promised. Company will not respond to email or telephone. To add insult to injury I have now received a penalty duties bill relating to non-payment of a FedEx bill, that I never received nor was made aware would be due! The cheese was fine, but the experience, the late delivery and hidden costs made the entire experience entirely unpleasant. Do not use this company they have no business operating if this is how they treat their customers.

This is the best gift to give someone or to treat yourself. Packaged perfect and beautiful glasses. Excellent customer service and wonderful company to deal with.

Great craftsmanship and tremendous service. We have purchased beautiful “Mugs” and delicious cheeses. Really prompt service — continue the good work.

So far I'm very happy with the service. I can't comment on all the products because they were gifts in those orders. But I haven't heard that anyone is unhappy.
NRL

I truly have enjoyed all the products that I have tried so far! I am so grateful for this place!

I’m very pleased with the amaro and wild fennel liqueurs. So delicious! I was happy to order directly and had no difficulty in receiving my order.

I'm an Italian living in the USA, it has been difficult to get cheese and especially cold cuts with the same quality as in Italy. Dolceterra is the best source for authentic Italian cheese and cold cuts I have been able to find. Products are shipped quickly from Italy, they are well packaged, and the quality is exceptional. Note that prices for larger amounts are substantially lower than for small amounts. I just received a shipment of cheese and cold cuts and I am very happy.

If you are reading this review please stop buying meat products that need proper importation channels (like prosciutto crudo) because this company doesn't have any. I got my package sent just to be destroyed at the custom. I tried to contact them and I got no answer in any of their channels (whatsapp, email). Customer care simply does not exist. The custom personnel told me that the company knows but, in order to make money at any cost, they ship the restricted products anyway. Waste of money and time. If you buy not perishable products maybe you won't have the same problem but I surely won't try anymore.
Anyway after making noise here on TrustPilot they finally replied and rufunded me.

After the review was posted Dolceterra reached out with an apology to me and finally took some responsibility for their part in the situation. They did process a refund then sent me another Mortadella along with a cake and some biscotti. I am pleased with the final outcome to the point that I will order from them again as they have products I am unable to find elsewhere and they proved they stand behind their commitment of customer satisfaction even if it took a little cajoling.

After reading the reply from Dolceterra I can only add that while customs may have removed a meat item, they did not change my sour cherry chocolate to something I did not order.

Horrible experience. I placed an order on the 19th of December for three items. Immediate relief received a confirmation email which said they would advise when package was shipped. Since the name of this company is Dolcetrra within the US I assumed my items would be shipped from their u.s. office. After waiting 3 weeks I emailed customer service a total of 5 times without ever receiving a response. I opened a complaint with PayPal and finally received a tracking number. The package was shipped on the 19th of January, 31 days after being placed and received an email from customer service saying it was outrageous that my package was still in customs in the US. The package actually cleared customs in four hours on the 21st of January. When I finally received the package one of the items was missing another one was incorrect. I once again tried contacting their customer service with no response. I got PayPal involved and after one week of waiting for a response from the company PayPal authorized a refund. I then received an email from customer service saying it was shameful the way u.s. Customs open packages and steals items. This was a result of trump being president and hopefully things would be better under Biden. I am not a trump fan but it is ridiculous that they managed to make this a political problem. They never addressed the fact that they sent an incorrect item, they never apologized for the 30-day delay in shipping they never offered to replace the order. This is the worst experience I have ever had with any company doing online shopping.

The bottle of Limoncello is delicious as always. I always recommend your company when relatives and friends ask where I get my Limoncello from.

Excellent service. Very professional.

Wonderful basket of cheeses and wine!
Our daughter and son-in-law loved it!.

Can’t go to Italy just yet... then bring a bit of Italy to you! These Italian products are very tasty and will transport you back to your amazing holiday in Italy.

Grazie Mille! Dotti