Austin Homebrew is the best

[aModestMouse]

my credit card was compromised in this whole ordeal. i received an email from them explaining what had been happening so i decided to check out my bank account.. which sadly to say i haven't done in awhile. damn near $2000 was taken from me! austinhomebrew helped me catch this and i thank them very much for giving me the heads up. i received my coupon and order some perlicks for my new tower! good timing.

 

[brian74]

Wow, I feel fortunate. My card was only hit for $1.57 somewhere in Hawaii. Bank of America quickly caught it and denied any further access to my account via the debit card. Of course, I got the $1.57 back a few days later. I also received the 10% discount. Thanks AHS (and BOA).

 

[Austinhomebrew]

We will be having a lot of sales this year because this is our 20th anniversary. Sign up for our newsletter to recieve all of the latest sale information.

Forrest

 

[edsrockin]

okay i will add a couple things here.

yeah ours was attempted, but luckily the bank was aware and called prior to authorizing. they wanted to bang the card for $2 and change. that raised a red flag and was likely late enough in the cycle of fraudulent charges that other CC companies probably put the crooks on a watch list or something. so ours wasn't "hit" but was attempted.

anyhooo ... kudos to AHS. they noticed a problem and did something to fix it. i have been quite pleased with the selection they offer, how quickly an order is shipped, how it's packed, and, now, their C.S. -- good job guys!

all i can say is buyer beware! if you buy anything online, you are subjecting yourself to identity theft or hackers that can get your number(s). it's not the vendor's fault. you pays yer money you takes yer chances. ;j

best thing to do is, get ONE CC and only order junk online with it. if that gets hit, it doesn't drain your bank account like the poster who had his debit card # taken or make you have to reset all your autopay options, etc. we need to be smarter than that b/c those hackers certainly are.

just sayin' -- not trying to single anyone out or insinuate anything, just trying to promote proactive awareness.

i will continue to do business with AHS and did order something already since the attempt. so far so good. ;j

 

[MistyMountainHops]

I just realized where my CC info was compromised a few weeks ago. Honestly, I do not blame AHS as this has happened to me a few times one in which was at a restaurant. When you purchase stuff online it certainly opens you up to credit predators but it is not limited to the internet. I think AHS handled this with class and I will continue to use them as a supplier of all things HB. They have outstanding prices and service and their ingredients are always super fresh. If you're ever in Austin I suggest you pop in - it's like a homebrewer's toy store.

 

[BryanJ]

I agree. Why did you have late payments? Credit card fraud shouldn't affect you paying the bill.

I use my debit card for buying beer supplies, so my account is now empty even though I thought the bank cancelled the fraudulent purchases. Its hard to pay rent with 23 dollars and my landlord isn't very receptive to the idea of late payments. Its a pain in the ass but the money will be returned at some point so im not really worried about that.

I guess its time to stop being an idiot and get a credit card for online purchases.

I don't see why I should continue to support a company that lost my debit information.

 

[krazydave]

As an IT guy myself, I know that this stuff can happen to any retailer online or not. So I don't blame AHS for it. I think they've handled it quite well considering all that this is costing them as well.
I just hope that they found exactly what the breech was, and have sealed it up so it can't happen again in the same way.

I'll still be ordering from them as I have most of my stuff as of recent. Though I will be using a credit card from now on and not my Visa debit card.

 

[GreenDragon]

hmm.. man this has me paranoid now. I have 5 items in my cart right now.. was about to type in my CC info and figured I search the forums for a coupon code first and stumbled across this thread.

I'm a computer geek, my degree and job both involve networking and security. Through my job I also know of the "bad guys" and their methodology. After a company has been hacked once there is a very good chance they will be hacked again, they become a "target". Most companies just slap a band-aid on the mistake and call it good. Very few actually spend the money needed to secure their infrastructure.

I think I'll hold off for now. The place in St. Louis is closer anyhow. If no one has updated either thread in a few months (with bad news) I'll give them a chance.

 

[1234]

From my understanding AHS has done everything possible to make it right. I believe he even sent out some type of gift certificates for the hassles. I had my card stolen 3 times in 6 months and just chalked it up to how things are in this era.

 

[gregiscool]

I had a fraud on my card too, someone was trying to charge 800$ in Spain, and they had to cancel my card since it was compromised. I had to go in before work to the bank and get a new one, but not before waiting 2 weeks as they investigated the fraud, so i had to keep writing my self checks to get money to spend. It sucks, but i still enjoy austin home brew, but 10% did see a bit of a low ball considering not everyone might not of had good fraud protection(thankfully my bank does) and could of really been broke(i had enough money to cover my mortgage in my account, had the charges went through i was of been screwed). but AH is still a great store, im just gonna slow down my ordering from there.

 

[cg17]

I got the same email.My account was one of the ones compromised. I didn't let that stop me from doing business with them though.

It took them long enough though. In fact, they still havent taken complete responsibility, for they keep trying to separate their business from the merchant processor. As consumers, we do not separate the two.

 

[gunner65]

I placed an order after reading all the bitching and moaning of credit card fraud. Fraud happened to me at Target I got no apologies from that big box store and I still shop there too. If we are not intelligent enough to verify our charges and account balances daily then maybe we should consider alternative methods of purchasing online. I for one use Paypal everywhere it is accepted and AHS accepts Paypal. I give them a big thumbs up for the 10 percet discount they did not have to apologize at all but they have several times and in several ways.

 

[h22lude]

My card was used and luckily my card company caught it so nothing was charged. They called me saying a charge in kansas was made on my card and wanted to know if that was me.

I don't know if it was because of AHS or not but I did order within that timeframe. I didn't get an email from them.

 

[mrduna01]

I was not involved with this. I was in fact contemplating my first purchase with AHS and am glad I saw this thread first. Even though this did not effect me I work for a company that ranked 6th in the country for customer service experience as well as won number sixth in the country on the fortune best places to work list. I work there in management and thus know quite a bit about what customer service is about and quite frankly I think the 10% coupon is another slap in the face when someones financial well being has been compromised. I totally salute the effort but I could think of far better gestures that would have amounted to a greater apology than a 10 percent discount. But.. Maybe I'm too harsh.

AHS: I have heard good things about you until now... What measures have you taken to prevent this in the future? I would like to still consider a purchase with you.

 

[chays99]

I made purchases during the trouble time. Upon returning from vacation, I found that my card had been used fraudulently and the credit card company closed the card since they couldn't reach me (we were out of the country).

It was quite a pain in the butt to get everything straightened out, but at the end of the day, things happen. I never received an email from Austin, but will keep buying from them. In fact, I plan to make a short road trip to the store on Thursday.

 

[mrduna01]

Let me add more to my comment. I think of the 10% as a slap in the face if AHS is directly to blame but I may have jumped to that assumption rather quickly. It's true it can happen anywhere and if AHS did not drop the ball in server security and so forth and did everything reasonable to protect customers then I think the gesture of a 10 percent discount was a good thing. Otherwise i am torn. I do respect the presence of AHS on this forum and think they genuinely care about their customers and have their hearts in the right place.

 

[Balue]

I purchased with in that time frame and received the warning from AHS. Very nice heads up from them. I reviewed my account and did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Last week I took the family to Disneyland for the day and first thing we did was grab breakfast. When I went to pay the waiter kindly told me that he was having problems getting my card to go through. So we paid with debit and went on our way. My bank let me know that my card had potentially been compromised, so they canceled it and sent me a new one. Sure enough get home and there is the card in the mail. So good on AHS and my bank. But contacting and switching over all my auto bill pays has been a pain. I also now need to review my account in detail just to make sure.

Seeing the 10% offer was a nice gesture especially since I will be ordering a few batches in the next couple weeks.

 

[KurtB]

I use my debit card for buying beer supplies, so my account is now empty even though I thought the bank cancelled the fraudulent purchases. Its hard to pay rent with 23 dollars and my landlord isn't very receptive to the idea of late payments. Its a pain in the ass but the money will be returned at some point so im not really worried about that.

I guess its time to stop being an idiot and get a credit card for online purchases.

I don't see why I should continue to support a company that lost my debit information.

Once your bank clears everything up, I suggest you find a new bank. The 3 times that I have ever had a problem, the money was refunded to me while the investagation was taking place. I would imagine that is a standard operating procedure for most banks. It appears that your bank does not do this, therefore I would find a new bank.

As for AHS loosing your debit information, where did you get your information from that AHS actually lost it? I don't think it was "lost", but rather it was stolen. And more importantly, it was not necessarily stolen from AHS, but more likely from the credit card processor (which is where quite a bit of "unresolved" fraud happens). I say "unresolved" because to the consumer, it is the merchants fault and there is nothing the merchant can really do to change that perception. To the merchant, they did everything that they were supposed to do. A company that was paid my the merchant to be secure with the processing of the charges screwed up. I understand, as stated earlier in this thread, the consumer does not seperate the 2 services (merchant & processor) so it is impossible to really "resolve" the feelings in regards to who is responsible for what happened.

I believe Forrest when he says that he has done the investigating, and still went ahead and made changes to the website security, internal store procedures and switched merchant providers. His investagation did not reveal that the breach happed at the store level, but more likely at the processor level. What more can he do?

The order that I placed with him, which ultimately led to my account being compromised, arrived complete & quickly. More than I can say for other online vendors that I have used in the past.

 

[Dinklefwat]

(Note: I just posted this in another thread, but subsequently found this thread, where it seems more appropriate.)

I realize I'm late to this thread, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents. I was one of the ones victimized, and it was a giant PITA to get everything straight. I had all of my recurring monthly bills charged to that credit card, so in addition to having to spend hours on the phone with my bank, I also had to coordinate with a dozen other companies to change my auto-billing.

And so as a result I get a 10% coupon... that expires in a month! Are you kidding me? Wow, I can afford an extra 1.5 oz of cascades! (As an aside, I really wish there was a sarcastic dancing banana that I could insert here.) I get these kinds of offers in my email from MW, NB, etc. all the time and they DON'T get my credit card info stolen when I order from them.

I've always thought that AHS was hands down the BEST to order from (their kits are second-to-none IMHO), but this is absurd. I don't even know if I'll have the occasion to order anything this month and 10% is hardly worth bothering with anyway. I'd settle for free shipping on my next order.

 

[BryanJ]

As for AHS loosing your debit information, where did you get your information from that AHS actually lost it? I don't think it was "lost", but rather it was stolen. And more importantly, it was not necessarily stolen from AHS, but more likely from the credit card processor (which is where quite a bit of "unresolved" fraud happens). I say "unresolved" because to the consumer, it is the merchants fault and there is nothing the merchant can really do to change that perception. To the merchant, they did everything that they were supposed to do. A company that was paid my the merchant to be secure with the processing of the charges screwed up. I understand, as stated earlier in this thread, the consumer does not seperate the 2 services (merchant & processor) so it is impossible to really "resolve" the feelings in regards to who is responsible for what happened.

I believe Forrest when he says that he has done the investigating, and still went ahead and made changes to the website security, internal store procedures and switched merchant providers. His investagation did not reveal that the breach happed at the store level, but more likely at the processor level. What more can he do?

Well after seeing multiple threads of AHS about a breach in their security plus their I'm sorry coupon its a pretty safe bet that the reason for the fraudulent charges are resulted from their website. I don't know the process in which online vendors receive payments from their customers. I don't really care who is responsible because I don't plan on ordering from AHS any time soon because of the lack of security with my personal information. Forrest can not get his customers information stolen, that would be a nice gesture.

I have to agree with Dinkle. A 10% coupon in no way makes me feel any better about this situation, especially with an expiration date. It sucks because I actually liked using AHS over the other online vendors.

 

[KurtB]

Well after seeing multiple threads of AHS about a breach in their security plus their I'm sorry coupon its a pretty safe bet that the reason for the fraudulent charges are resulted from their website.

There is no question that AHS was involved in some way. Unfortunately, I don't think we will ever really know to what extent. I did not take the coupon as one of admiting guilt as you apparently did. My first thought was one of "maybe this will get people to order from us again".

I agree that a 10% off coupon has done nothing to change my mind about ordering from them.

 

[brandonhagen1]

10% is good if it did not expire

 

[brandonhagen1]

10% is good if it did not expire

 

[cincybrewer]

10% is good if it did not expire

Agree, the 10% might persuade me to use AHS again but with it expiring I may just go elsewhere.

 

[coryforsenate]

AHB said their billing processor got hacked and they've since switched to a better processor.

 

[mrduna01]

Maybe I missed the comment but this is the only AHS related thread that Forrest has not chimed in on...

 

[coryforsenate]

I can understand that for the level of inconvenience some people experienced, a 10% off coupon will seem like a slap in the face.

I have Wells Fargo and they immediately called and canceled my card the minute it was used 5 states away. I had my money back and a new card within a week, so it was no hassle for me. I actually was planning to request a new card anyways since the mag strip didn't always swipe.

 

[Turk10mm]

I can understand that for the level of inconvenience some people experienced, a 10% off coupon will seem like a slap in the face.

I have Wells Fargo and they immediately called and canceled my card the minute it was used 5 states away. I had my money back and a new card within a week, so it was no hassle for me. I actually was planning to request a new card anyways since the mag strip didn't always swipe.

Ditto for me. Wells Fargo prevented a transaction to Compusa for $750. They didn't even allow the charge to go through, calling me to approve the purchase. Card cancelled instantly, new card in the mail 5 days later, all is well. I have to change some autodrafts, but that's no real biggey.

I too wish the coupon didn't expire. I've spent over a thousand bucks with them in the last 6 months and have no need for significant purchases this month.

 

[coryforsenate]

On a practical note, you really shouldn't use your debit card to buy stuff unless you really need to. It's a lot easier to get "pretend" money replaced as opposed to real money in your checking account. And the repercussions of having your checking account drained are far more serious because you can't pay rent and any bills that don't allow a credit card.

And make sure there's a reasonable daily limit on all your cards.

 

[Turk10mm]

I wanted to clarify something on my post. When I said ditto for me, i was saying ditto about how quickly and efficiently our cc company handled the situation and we were not negatively impacted.

While it may be an inconvenience, I'm certain it wasn't AHS' fault. Not many companies would give you a discount for something that wasn't their fault.

Thanks AHS