Read this before you buy from Kegkits.com

[tedantal]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or whether it will even be posted however people needed to be warned to stay away from this company.
I don't want to mention the company's name, just make sure to read their own online forum for customer's comments before ordering.

 

[chumprock]

Yes... I think we know who you may be referring to....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/kegkits-com-take-runner-68340/

Please post your experience. The more testimonials that could warn someone about their business practices, the better..

 

[Beerrific]

This one?
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/kegkits-com-take-runner-68340/
(too slow, here is another thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/lesson-learned-buying-kegkits-113969/)

 

[Arkador]

must be another kegkits complaint.... If I recall he is in Alabama.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/read-before-you-buy-kegkits-com-120110/

 

[chumprock]

I see the option to leave a comment, but where does that comment go?

 

[McKBrew]

I see the option to leave a comment, but where does that comment go?

When I added mine it shows up right underneath the search link when I google it. Not sure if it shows up for other users, but it says it is supposed to be public.

 

[tedantal]

I live in the Huntsville area and have purchased the majority of my brewing equipment from kegkits. Please don't try to ruin his business. Kegkits is the only decent LHBS we have around here! I can understand the frustration over the delays. However, Tom works full-time as a programmer I believe. He is usually only at the store on Friday evenings and part of the day Saturday, and that's assuming he doesn't have other family issues getting in the way. He runs the store completely by himself. While that doesn't excuse slow feedback and poor customer service, it may at least help explain it somewhat. Also, I'm not sure how much of the keg equipment he actually keeps in inventory. I went out there last weekend and he had run out of about half the hop varieties listed on his site. It's possible his filling of the keg orders is dependent on him making a trip out to his suppliers, and as a one-man operation, he can't do that as frequently as you (or he) might like.

That's all understandable however the slow service and the lack of replies to inquiries should be clearly disclosed on the website. Kegkits.com deserves the reputation they've developed.

 

[carnevoodoo]

If the guy can't keep up on his online orders, he needs to take down his site. Maybe he is good to the people around Huntsville, but he is breaking laws and violating trusts of people. I would never do business with this guy. We have too many people here that will sell you products and do it in a timely manner. PedalBiker, Nikobrew, Austinhomebrew, CBC, and the like are all upstanding businesspeople with good reputations.

Some people aren't meant to run businesses.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

READ THESE COMMENTS. LOL!

 

[ChshreCat]

BBB Review of Kegkits dba Tom Hargrave in Huntsville, AL

 

[Big10Seaner]

BBB Review of Kegkits dba Tom Hargrave in Huntsville, AL

That's hilarious, a big fat F.

 

[harrydrez]

Do you guys use web of trust? It's an addon for firefox. You can leave comments about websites, you can score them on safety, reliability, trustworthiness, etc. It will even flash a warning screen before you enter an un-trustworthy site.

It's not perfect as the ratings come from users, there is the potential for shills, etc. Regardless, it's a nice tool.

Internet Security | WOT Web of Trust

 

[GearBeer]

Ooohhh thanks Harry. I've never heard of that, but I'll definitely download it when I get home!

 

[rjrjr]

now i am worried, finally got my girlfriend on board to support a kegging system, she even offered to pay half. wish I read this first... i ordered last week, got an email with my reciept. but since ball locks are out of stock, i wanted to tell tom to send me pin locks. nothing, hasn't responded to emails. I think monday i am calling my CC company to get my money back and to report him to the internet crime complaint center

 

[Cincy_Ron]

now i am worried, finally got my girlfriend on board to support a kegging system, she even offered to pay half. wish I read this first... i ordered last week, got an email with my reciept. but since ball locks are out of stock, i wanted to tell tom to send me pin locks. nothing, hasn't responded to emails. I think monday i am calling my CC company to get my money back and to report him to the internet crime complaint center

I'd cancel your order and get something from Kegconnection or one of the others.

Maybe get some ideas from this thread. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/best-beginner-kegging-system-around-200-a-104099/

 

[Beerrific]

I think monday i am calling my CC company to get my money back and to report him to the internet crime complaint center

Call today, no reason to wait. Refer you CC company to this thread if the have any questions.

 

[rjrjr]

here is my email to him i sent yesterday. thing i don't get is he has time to read his forum because he deleted my post regarding "Tom when will i get my order?" I'll fight this and keep you posted

Tom

As stated in my voice mail, due to your lack of communication as well as complaints on various message boards, including the forum on your own website, if I do not receive an acknowledgement by the end of this week (August 1, 2009) I will be forced to report you as a fraud to the Huntsville Alabama Police Department, The Internet Crime Complaint Center, The Better Business Bureau and will work with my attorney to find a resolve to this matter.

I would prefer it not come to this, if there is an issue with my order, inform me, we can talk about our options.

Thanks xxxx

 

[rjrjr]

I'd cancel your order and get something from Kegconnection or one of the others.

Maybe get some ideas from this thread. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/best-beginner-kegging-system-around-200-a-104099/

yeah, kegconnection seems to be highly recommended, thing is i have never had any trouble buying stuff on the internet before, so i didn't even 2nd guess his site as it looks rather professional. - thanks

 

[chuckger]

Three weeks today and I have not heard a single word about my order. I am getting ready to book a flight...

My order finally did show up, just like a lot of you it took 4 weeks for it to ship. I will not be a return customer for sure!

 

[Fickle Beast]

chuckger, what did you order from them? I'm still waiting on the ball lock cornys I ordered in April. I filed a BBB complaint and received no response. Maybe I should start calling them again, and leaving messages that don't get returned...

Fickle

 

[chumprock]

You need to dispute it with your credit card company.
If they need information on how bad this vendor is, show them this thread or the vendor's own message boards.

 

[masonsjax]

Just an update on my case. My state AG office told me that they were unable to get Tom to respond to any correspondence, and will be moving to the next step. They also said that due to it being an interstate, internet transaction that I should also file a claim with the Alabama AG office (already done), and the Internet Crime Complaint Center Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Home, which I just did. I recommend any and all customers of kegkits.com that have not received full orders to their satisfaction, do the same. Please speak out and help put a stop to the abuse.

 

[leavitt87]

I got an e-mail from kegkits today (mailing list) and it looks like Tom is getting out of the ingredient business. Probably too little, too late. Who would be crazy enough to buy from him again after all of the bad past experiences. It took me 2 months to get O-rings and that was only after multiple e-mails and threats to report him to my credit card company.

From the email:

"In late July / early August, we made a fundamental change in our business. We have decided to get out of the homebrew ingredients business except for Northwestern ingredients that we ship by the case and focus on all things related to kegging. This change was driven by the fact that we have been trying to do too much with too little which was causing us to ship late.

We will continue to sell & support kegerator kits, service parts, German growlers and just about everything else we sold in the past except for items like bulk grain, hops, yeast and beer kits. We will also continue selling our line of soda extracts and plan on expanding our flavor selection this year."

 

[Beerrific]

Just an update on my case. My state AG office told me that they were unable to get Tom to respond to any correspondence, and will be moving to the next step.

This guy seems dim. Don't respond to a state's AG office? Really? lolz

 

[EdWort]

From the email:

"In late July / early August, we made a fundamental change in our business. We have decided to get out of the homebrew ingredients business except for Northwestern ingredients that we ship by the case ."

In other words, we'll only sell stuff where we take your money, then order the product and have it dropped shipped direct from distributor.

This is what I have been saying all along. I believe he floats your money to provide his cash flow to buy what your order instead of investing in inventory for customers.

 

[DocBrown]

Tom posted the following on one of the local club forums a couple weeks ago:
I was visited tonight by 2 members of the Huntsville Police Department.

They came by at the request of the ABC and to tell me that I can’t sell Keg Kits because it’s equipment for the manufacture of alcohol. They looked around, I explained what I did sell and they told me that I need to contact the ABC Board. The bottom line is that Pearly Gates may be able to get away with selling the stuff because it’s all “heath food” but considering what else I sell, I think it’s obvious that what I’m selling is for making beer.

So, I am suddenly very interested in getting rid of the rest of my liquid yeast and most of my grain. Any takers need to stop by Saturday.

For clarification, homebrewing is illegal in the state of Alabama. However, I'm not aware of any cases involving the police in the last decade. We had one instance where a local homebrewer got his name in an article about the backwards beer laws in the state. The article was fairly in-your-face, included names, and made it clear that the people involved were fully aware that what they were doing was illegal. The article got published in the Mobile paper, and the alcohol board left a message with the guy telling him they needed to make sure he was aware of the laws on homebrewing in the state. No police or charges filed.

The other bit in Tom's quote: Pearly Gates is a local healthfood store that has some brewing supplies as well.

Anyway, the theory is that the police involvement is based on the fact that he's been screwing customers rather than the fact that he's selling homebrew supplies, though if charges are filed, they may slap that one on him as well.

 

[HillbillyDeluxe]

This guy is more entertaining than watching a train wreck on acid. I say stick it out tom, i need the BS you shovel to help round out my day. BTW, there is nothing like an upset constituency to get a gubmint off its ass. However the unfortunate side effect is if th Po PO involvment goes too far then his client list becomes evidence, and all on it can be charged under the RICO statute for an ongoing criminal enterprise. Not to worry tho, i dont think this guy keeps good records.

 

[chuckger]

chuckger, what did you order from them? I'm still waiting on the ball lock cornys I ordered in April. I filed a BBB complaint and received no response. Maybe I should start calling them again, and leaving messages that don't get returned...

Fickle

All I ordered was a bag of caps, and digital scale, it took a month to box up these three items and send them out. Its just plain rediculous!! Good luck getting your kegs, I hope he finally does right by you.

 

[WC87]

He's awful - I'll never order from him again.

 

[schweaty]

This thread needs to be bumped! Support some of the vendors that are members of this site instead. As many others have said the shipping delays are terrible. I got this email after I ordered. If only they would tell you about these things before you order.

Thank you for your order.

Our goal is to ship most items within 3 business days but we are a small business and are buried with orders. Currently, most orders are shipping in 2 weeks and we are working 7 days / week to catch up.

If you selected UPS Ground then we will send your tracking number to the email you entered into our system. The email will come from Quantum View.

Feel free to email us with any questions concerning your purchase. Questions and feedback are always welcome.

If you're so "burried with orders" why the hell can't you afford to staff more people? Obivously a business that is "burried with orders" is bringing in enough revenue to justify adding more staff.

Please do yourselves a favor and DO NOT order from kegkits.com !!!!

Their customer service is poor as they do not answer the phone EVER or return emails.

I like to try different companies and I WILL NOT be a repeat customer. Even if he was the last damn homebrew supplier on the face of the planet.