Does FOC price match?
- Thread starter Magatron
- Start date
emt with them is a thing of the past for a while now ...
mad no doing, business somewhere else yes ...
- Location
- Tillsonburg, Ontario
Failing to conduct penetration tests and failing to immediately notify your clients of a breach is not much different. It is also still happening as per the numerous reports yet silence again from FOC. When you are complacent in such an action, you might as well be taking part.
BlackMetalPanzer
New member
- Location
- edmonton Area
Yeah this actually happened to me this summer when ordering from them.
Ya no I no longer order from them back in 2020 had a thread started an all but I had an issue with them when I ordered and they charged me 3 times same amount and after back and forth phone calls an emails they pretty much were pulling out all the stops trying not to get it refunded by saying no refunds stocking fees and stuff until the post took traction and they turned around and said they could finally help. I’m sure lots of people have had good with them but I never went back.
That’s the biggest problem with them. This thread is in their forum and they decided to not reply or address the issue.
Hard to believe…
This^. I bought something when the freeze was first announced. They wouldn't match prices. I bought with my credit card and was hit with $$$$ of fraudulent charges. Never going back.
they replied at the beginning, did not you see their hilarious post? ...
It is true that many businesses can be subject to their systems being compromised, sometimes no fault of their own. It is true mistakes can and do happen. It is true that a company can be subject to a privacy or information breach.
But as with all things in life that involves mistakes, it is not really the making of the mistake or being a victim of a setback that defines one going forward, it is how one responds.
As others aptly indicated, FOC has really dropped the ball in its assurances of their customers' data being secure going forward. Does the one reply from "Alfredo" do it? I would say no. Look at the pages and pages of concerns from customers. Sure, some of it may be complaining, but here's the thing - regardless, the veracity of FOC's business ethics are in full display in how they handle a situation. They could have likely mitigated a lot of customers mounting an exodus on their business had they kept on top of things - and not just repeated empty apologies, but empathize with their customers and reassure them by directly addressing each and every concern. It may not be to the full satisfaction of everyone (after all, you can't please everyone) but the effort should be there. I just don't see it from FOC, and I am speaking as a long time FOC customer who has advocated for their business right up until the poor way they handled this whole situation.
Whether the breach was directly their fault or not, is to me, a lesser consideration than how they handled it, how they communicated transparently what happened and most importantly what they will do about it. Sure, giving their customers an apology is fine but recognizing the reputational harm and showing their customers that they are willing to sacrifice the bottom line to repair their reputation (even something like a one time discount or a credit towards future purchases on their account) would go a long way to retain customers. As it is so important in various facets of life, it comes down to communication, communication, communication. And unfortunately that was sorely lacking in this whole debacle.
I was there in person this past summer on three occasions (I don't live close but was in the area) and on each occasion a bunch of us customers hoping to shop in store waited in their "mantrap" area for upwards of 20 minutes without any communication from FOC. Phone calls to the counter were not answered, there were no signs posted, and as a bunch of us peeked through the window, we didn't see anyone walking around. There was nothing in their VM or website indicating the store was closed. In the end, someone eventually came to the door and said "sorry, systems are down, no in store shopping". Something as easy as posting a sign saying that would have gone a long way instead of having customers wait without any type of communication. Sadly, some quick steps to inform the customer at little effort would have saved a bunch of people shaking their heads wondering what was going on in there.
As to EMT, I am very surprised any business wouldn't accept it. There is no processing fee, the money comes in ASAP and administratively it is not hard to set up. And given people's reluctance to use credit cards there, it is not an unreasonable request to allow for EMT as a payment method. Tons of other firearms retailers, some much smaller than FOC, has that provision for accepting EMT, so it's not like it's a scale of the business type of thing.
As for price match, many firearms retailers have such a policy. It is just good business. The prices are fairly close and if it means that one can secure a customer (perhaps even long term) with a competitive price match policy, I don't see why from a business perspective why a company wouldn't entertain that option.
Thank you everyone for your replys.
This thread seems to have taken a life of it's own from the original topic, this was not my intent but I do appricated the feed back. I just simply wanted to find out if they price matched. I actually expected someone from FOC to respond, but no one has.
Eitherway, because of the concerns raised and the lack of response I have decided to go through another dealer. Thank you all again for your input.
This thread seems to have taken a life of it's own from the original topic, this was not my intent but I do appricated the feed back. I just simply wanted to find out if they price matched. I actually expected someone from FOC to respond, but no one has.
Eitherway, because of the concerns raised and the lack of response I have decided to go through another dealer. Thank you all again for your input.
Tells you everything you need to know about the company.
The original fraud post was Nov 15th at 2:14 am, FOC responded on post 58 on Nov 15th at 1:31 pm with this
SECURITY UPDATE
In October of 2022, we were informed by VISA that there was a security issue on our website resulting in the fraudulent use of credit cards that affected up to 200 clients spanning a four-month period prior. We recognize the severity of this breach and respect your critical right to privacy and confidence in using our platform. Immediate and urgent actions taken have been successful in rectifying this.
A thorough PCI investigation was outsourced to a security firm who conducted a full audit on our website, the scope of which scrutinized our website’s firewall, coding, and remote access and activity logs. The findings revealed a vulnerability in our payment module that had been exploited to allow malware to record credit card information during Checkout.
We want to assure you that, as of 07 Nov, the vulnerability has been patched, and our online security has been upgraded. We have hired a dedicated company that will provide their firewall services to us ongoing, which includes 24/7 monitoring and alerting of potential malicious web activity, and to continually ensure that we are PCI-compliant.
We have been assured that the focus of the malware attack had been on credit card information specifically, and that no other critical personal data points had been targeted.
During this ordeal, many of you have reached out to us and provided personal experiences and information that have aided greatly in achieving resolution. Your collective willingness to offer support despite the exigent circumstances is humbling. To all those affected by fraudulent uses of your credit card, and all who faced the prospect of its exposure, we are abjectly and sincerely sorry.
Your privacy, security, and trust are of utmost importance to us, and its breach is regretful and something we take very seriously. We have taken the lessons learned from this experience and applied them to continue growing and serving you in the future.
Alfredo Pellegrino
President
I tend to believe him, however there have clearly been problems with cc information after November 2022. So, if he is to be believed, one leak had been plugged while others are still leaking. Walks and talks like an inside (employee) problem?
Either way, I'm steering clear.
Either way, I'm steering clear.
