The Energon Pub

[Burn]

Seriously, for the kind of money these guys make,

You're privy to their financials?

[KnightStrike]

I have to say I am glad I didn't sign up for TFCC now. I never joined before because I was never that interested in their exclusives, but classics versions of Runabout and Runamuck made me want to sign up. I debated it for a good while and was ready to sign up a few days ago, but then the news of the TF community getting hit with card fraud stopped me in my tracks, especially as it came to look like it is likely TFCC that was the source of the problem. I won't be signing up with TFCC at all now. As it stands, it looks like paying inflated eBay prices for the figures will be still be cheaper than running the risk of unauthorized card charges.

[gavinfuzzy]

Seriously, for the kind of money these guys make,

You're privy to their financials?

Ok, fine. Maybe they don't earn loads, but they should at least have a decent site, since they are dealing with our credit card information.

[freetouch]

So... they are deleting comments off of their facebok page now.

They deleted mine where i said: You should really fix this problem before march 16th, because at this point, you are basically holding toys at ransom, for the cost of possible credit card theft.

[F Prime]

So... they are deleting comments off of their facebok page now.

They deleted mine where i said: You should really fix this problem before march 16th, because at this point, you are basically holding toys at ransom, for the cost of possible credit card theft.

Really? That is unfortunate. There are still plenty of negative comments....why do you think yours was singled out?

[Genocide G2.0]

My GF went to use the card today in a store keepin in mind it hasnt been used since paying for TCC and the card was declined

Then went to use the cash machine and the same happened so she poped in the bank to see what was wrong and there was a caution on the acount

At the bottom of the the statement dated 7th feb funpub had been taken out

2 days later on the 9th feb an unknown company name called M*TAKEMORE based in South Korea there had been fraudulant actions

So the bank got on the the fraud squad and things are been takin care of, just a heads up for anybody else as this only happend yesterday.

[Burn]

I spent the first five years subscribing to this club, and every year they had trouble with my card because their provider couldn't handle international cards properly.

After I got my crappy combiner I quit the club, didn't care. But Runabout and Runamuck ... do want. So I have to re-join, and if I do, I think i'm going to use a pre-paid credit card. Just not worth it after all this.

[Genocide G2.0]

I spent the first five years subscribing to this club, and every year they had trouble with my card because their provider couldn't handle international cards properly.

After I got my crappy combiner I quit the club, didn't care. But Runabout and Runamuck ... do want. So I have to re-join, and if I do, I think i'm going to use a pre-paid credit card. Just not worth it after all this.

Mate its not worth the hassel this is my first time joining TCC and the experience has been ****

Sweatin buckets for a couple of days incase i didnt get one then to pay through the roof for the bastard and then me card gets hit

Its a toy for gods sake some times a think av lost the plot in fact i know i have i get to obsessed collecting these transformers sometimes.

[Genocide G2.0]

I spent the first five years subscribing to this club, and every year they had trouble with my card because their provider couldn't handle international cards properly.

After I got my crappy combiner I quit the club, didn't care. But Runabout and Runamuck ... do want. So I have to re-join, and if I do, I think i'm going to use a pre-paid credit card. Just not worth it after all this.

Mate its not worth the hassel this is my first time joining TCC and the experience has been ****

Sweatin buckets for a couple of days incase i didnt get one then to pay through the roof for the bastard and then me card gets hit

Its a toy for gods sake some times a think av lost the plot in fact i know i have just get to obsessed collecting these transformers sometimes.

[F Prime]

It sucks that so many people have had such negative interactions. I joined the club on day 1 and have had no regrets. I love the figures, I love the bi-monthly "magazine", and the club-only figures I have purchased have been top notch with little to no hassle in purchasing.

I realize I am in the minority and I am in no way trying to dismiss peoples' negative experiences, but despite the problems I will still be a member of TFCC for the foreseeable future.

[Genocide G2.0]

It sucks that so many people have had such negative interactions. I joined the club on day 1 and have had no regrets. I love the figures, I love the bi-monthly "magazine", and the club-only figures I have purchased have been top notch with little to no hassle in purchasing.

I realize I am in the minority and I am in no way trying to dismiss peoples' negative experiences, but despite the problems I will still be a member of TFCC for the foreseeable future.

Im over the moon i got the figures but i cant help feel it was a bit of a pain in the arse then to have fraudulant activity, youve got to think for a moment is it worth doing again and at the moment no its not its gonna have to be something out of this world unmissable next year for me to get excited

This **** shouldnt happen over a toy its pathetic.

[Vicalliose]

Just received a call from my CC company. And wouldn't you know it, a few small charges in other states and one $48 charge in some other country.

Here's an error message I'm currently receiving on transformersclub.com's store. On the day I placed my order, I had the secure padlock to the left of the URL. Did some of you not have the secure padlock? I wonder what is prompting the warning message in Chrome? Hopefully the warning message in Chrome is an overstatement and is not related to all of these other supposed issues.

Ah, I see. There for a minute I was worried it may be BBTS at fault. Though their CC processor could still could be at fault in some cases, but this definitely tells me it was TFCC's fault that this happened to me. Forget my membership, I'll be getting Runamuck through ebay or BBTS.

F**k you TFCC. F**k you for keeps.

As for everything else. I've cancelled my old card and am having a new one expressed to me. But I think I'll look into getting a prepaid card set up for any hobby related pre-orders in the future.

[Genocide G2.0]

Just received a call from my CC company. And wouldn't you know it, a few small charges in other states and one $48 charge in some other country.

Here's an error message I'm currently receiving on transformersclub.com's store. On the day I placed my order, I had the secure padlock to the left of the URL. Did some of you not have the secure padlock? I wonder what is prompting the warning message in Chrome? Hopefully the warning message in Chrome is an overstatement and is not related to all of these other supposed issues.

Ah, I see. There for a minute I was worried it may be BBTS at fault. Though their CC processor could still could be at fault in some cases, but this definitely tells me it was TFCC's fault that this happened to me. Forget my membership, I'll be getting Runamuck through ebay or BBTS.

F**k you TFCC. F**k you for keeps.

As for everything else. I've cancelled my old card and am having a new one expressed to me. But I think I'll look into getting a prepaid card set up for any hobby related pre-orders in the future.

I know how ya feel am in the same boat we had to cancel our card to, so no cash for a couple of days. TCC should be ashamed and you know what the worst thing is they dont give a f*ck!

[Diem]

You can add me to the list, some joker tried to shop from Best Buy on the other side of the country with my card.

[xRotorstormx]

I just logged into my bank account and had 4 charges from England and Canada for almost $300

[Maldroth]

I also have some fraudulent charges and had to open a police report. It looks like TFCC is collecting information on the issue if you contact them.

Looks like I'm going to have to create temporary CC numbers from my bank when working with TFCC, they don't know how or what was comprimised. That does not leave me confident in giving them more of my money.

[xRotorstormx]

I just contacted the TFCC. As annoyed as I am about this whole situation, I'd like to help them fix this.

[faustx]

Hey all,

We really need to be doing more to raise an outcry at how this situation is being handled by the TFCC. I've spent more than 10 years in web development and this whole thing reeks of irresponsible web site management.

Let's review the facts:

1) For more than 2 weeks the TFCC has been aware that their system is compromised.

2) As early as today members continue to have their cards stolen.

3) Just to be sure I personally used a card I never use and sure enough this morning I got the call from the fraud department at my bank outlining the multiple charges the thieves tried to bill to my card the day after Fun Publications processed my order.

There is only one solution when you know your site is not secure:

TAKE IT OFFLINE! THIS SITE SHOULD NOT BE LIVE RIGHT NOW!

Seriously, I cannot begin to express how irresponsible it is to keep taking orders when there is so obviously a clear and present problem. This is especially annoying to me because at least three times over the years I have offered to redesign/fix the site for them and bring it into the 21st century. There are plenty of us on these boards that could do so at reasonable cost and do it right.

The bottom line is that until they fix this NONE of us should be placing orders. If you do, be prepared, your card is almost certain to be stolen.

Note to the editor: This topic should be bumped to the top of the news page IMHO, this is not a coincidence anymore, it is a certainty.

[KnightStrike]

More I read about this the more I feel like I dodged a bullet by waiting to join TFCC. Once this started happening I decided not to even risk it. I just feel bad for all the people on here who are having to go through this.

[F Prime]

Beyond this being a pain in the ass, has anyone really been screwed over (meaning, has anyone had charges put on that the credit card would not remove or fought about removing)? When this happens to me I usually get a phone call and they just remove the charges. Maybe I am lucky, though.

And to be clear, even if it is easy to remove the charges no one should have to worry about that when purchasing online from TFCC.

[chuckdawg1999]

My membership expires March 4th and I'm trying to figure out how to renew without getting screwed on the card end.

[faustx]

No way of knowing since they still haven't figured out what is wrong or even admitted that anything is. I would call the office, complain, refuse to provide your card info and ask to be put on a list to be processed once the situation details come to light.

[F Prime]

No way of knowing since they still haven't figured out what is wrong or even admitted that anything is. I would call the office, complain, refuse to provide your card info and ask to be put on a list to be processed once the situation details come to light.

Your credit card has not admitted anything is wrong? Best of luck....it is super tricky when your card is not on your side.

[faustx]

No, you misunderstood, I was responding to the guy above about how to renew. It's TFCC I said won't admit anything is wrong.

[F Prime]

No, you misunderstood, I was responding to the guy above about how to renew. It's TFCC I said won't admit anything is wrong.

Gotcha. They know something is wrong but they are being obtuse about it saying "While we have nothing to suggest that there was or is an issue with the TCC, we look into every concern that is sent to us"....which is not very helpful.

They are a little more open about it on their Facebook page (trusting that the Transformers Collector's Club (Official) is actually them). Essentially, they say they are confused about what is happening, that they are trying to figure out how to proceed, and that they welcome comments.

The most they said about the delayed contacting of members was this on February 10: " Brian Savage has been out of office for the past two days dealing with the estate of his late parents, both of whom passed away in 2011. Brian is the person who sends the mass emails from the Club. We are addressing this today now that he is back in the office. This situation has only existed for a few days and we have been trying to address it without making too many missteps due to a lack of information. This is a difficult time and we appreciate your patience. We highly value our members and hope that over the years we have built up enough trust, that when there is a potential problem, you will stand with us while we weather the storm."

And as for "taking the blame" they had this to say: "Yes, at the heart of this, someone out there is stealing from good people and casting aspersions on the Club. The members are not to blame and the Club is not to blame. There is a culprit SOMEWHERE who is making all our lives difficult. We REALLY appreciate your help as we try to help this situation come to a conclusion as soon as possible. The reason we are asking for fraud details is to look for anything common that might indicate or dismiss a possible problem. So far, we have found nothing that shows where any card information could have been compromised, but we are still investigating. This is a process and we take this situation VERY seriously. Together, we can beat this. Thank you."

*Again, this is assuming that this FB page is really from the TFCC......