Help request for Aussies

[bart70]

I think it is worth mentioning that I have made many, many purchases from the vendor here in WA, and a couple of purchases from the vendor in NSW. I have never entered my CC details via the internet for my WA purchases but instead had my card hand-swiped at their business. And I have not (so far) had any false charges show up on my statements yet.

My theory is that if you call the WA vendor and relay your CC details over the phone for future purchases, you shouldn't be as exposed. Just a theory based on my experience.

Calling with CC details would still leave you vulnerable - the only was of being safe from this type of attack is to direct debit INTO the vendors account, or actually swipe electronically from a terminal in the store (which is what you did) as Eftpos terminals connect directly to the bank and do not use vendors PC which can be vunerable to attack. Also worth noting that the new types of debit cards (Visa Debit, Mastercard Debit) are just as much at risk as a CC unless they have transaction limits on them. As far as a hacker is concerned they are still Visa/Mastercard numbers attached to accounts - the only difference is the money comes from an account in credit rather than in debit. Any available funds can still be drawn.

We live in a scary world at times.......The easier we try to make it for ourselves the more complicated we end up making it!....I still remember when a 'keycard' was the latest thing to have and there was only one ATM in the town! (and no such thing as EFTPOS!)

Bart

Edited August 23, 2011 by bart70

[bart70]

I just rang them and spoke to the same lady that I spoke to this afternoon, She said that Visa and Mastercard dont tell them the name of the company involved since it could jeopodise the investigation. They have to find out who is involved in the fraud and they dont want to ruin reputations needlessly {or tip off the culprit if they are working within that company I suspect} She said that I should use direct deposit with the company that I suspect is the one involved. We had an interesting chat about cc fraud. Its a huge problem costing the bank millions.

Thanks....I thought that may be the case. I suspect their have been enough people with large amounts taken that if it is candle supply related they would be well onto it by now. It is promising that they contacted you prior to any activity on your account - this tells me that they have a very good idea of where it did come from and are being proactive in eliminating the risks by canceling accounts before they are hit.

The silly thing with mine was that the transaction was still 'pending' and they could not officially do anything about it until the transaction had been completed (ie - the crooks get the $$ transferred to them) then they would start the investigation and halt my account. I have to wait 45 days for it to be credited back!...LOL

Bart

[bart70]

Just a little more to add to the credit card scamming issue.....

We notified our bank who (apparently) canceled our cards and issued us with a new one last week. New cars arrived safely and to date have not been used.

This morning, we have noticed another scammers transaction on our account that was debited 2 days after we canceled the account (and before new cards were issued).

Just want to let others know that just because the bank has told you the account is cancelled, they will still let transactions through on it! (A bit dumb in my opinion....especially since they had been notified prior that the account had been compromised).

Keep an eye on your accounts, even after they have been cancelled and re-issued as the banks do not appear to be watching them at all!

Bart

[RichardLOZ]

Will have to check that as well. I got a call from the bank today saying that they have my new card in. Have to also fill in the paperwork for the fraud team so I can get my funds returned. A total PITA.....

[bart70]

Fyi....I did not need to fill in any fraud paperwork with my bank - they were not really interested in the fraud component at all, moreso in canceling cards etc.....Even on my second call they had no interest in wanting to know anything about the transactions possible fraudulent backgrounds. Funny how different banks seem to take it more seriously than others..:rolleyes2

Apparently the first transaction I detected and reported was rejected by the other merchants bank, so that transaction never went through and disappeared.

The second transaction occurred after my account was canceled was not forwarded to the other bank as the account was canceled prior to it being requested. This transaction will 'drop off' my statement in the next few days - apparently for accounting purposes it is left showing as a pending transaction on my account until the merchant's back confirms that they got the rejected transaction details.

We are now doing direct debit transactions only with our suppliers. So far so good! :smiley2:

Bart

[RichardLOZ]

I will start to use paypal with ACS I think. As far as I am aware NCS is secure, so should be ok. I also noticed that NCS has the 225g Metro's in stock at the moment as well, so if anyone wants some, now may be a good time. No one has any bloody apothecary jars of course, so I will have to get from Gala, who usually has those in stock.

[curlycoat2]

I was done with my mastercard overnight. 5,500+ by a company in England that converted the money into pounds and then out of pounds into USD. I was hit with currency conversion fees as well LOL All of it was done in 3 transactions of the exact same amount of $1483.17. There was no little transaction amount to test the account their testing amount was 983.24.

Interestingly enough I have never purchased from ACS, but, my last transaction was only 5 days prior with the soap company in WA. That was my only transaction on the card for over 3 months, there are no direct debits either.

So Richard I agree with you the paperwork is a PITA. The funniest part was westpac charged me an overdrawn fee as well LOL

jo

typos

Edited August 30, 2011 by curlycoat2

[nadiap]

5,500+ by a company in England that converted the money into pounds and then out of pounds into USD. I was hit with currency conversion fees as well LOL All of it was done in 3 transactions of the exact same amount of $1483.17. There was no little transaction amount to test the account their testing amount was 983.24.

Same, I was hit on my Mastercard Credit Card, not linked to any accounts. They tried a small amount of $24, then tried for $1500 but my card would have been well over the limit so didn't go through. Few days later, another small amount, then they finally managed to get $450 converted to pounds and yes hit with a conversion charge lol The only reason they got that was cause I moved money to the card to pay for some NCS good The bought some airline tickets apparently - Sheesh !! wish I could afford to buy some airplane tickets for myself !! lol

Still waiting for fraud paperwork to come through, but received my new card today.

Interestingly enough I have never purchased from ACS, but, my last transaction was only 5 days prior with the soap company in WA. That was my only transaction on the card for over 3 months, there are no direct debits either

Know another lady who purchased from the soap company - which I believe may be affiliated with the candle company (or some believe anyway and her card was also hit.

The funniest part was westpac charged me an overdrawn fee as well LOL

Hopefully you were told you'd get that back - I was. Well, all fees associated with the fraud would be refunded is what I was told.

Also, be careful using paypal, don't leave to much in your account - there have been reports of that being targetted also - no-one /nothing it appears to be safe.

It does appear though, that it's not just candle companies - it is very wide spread and small / large businesses have been hacked and their customer info has been compromised. Geez, for all we know, it could actually be the banks that have been hacked into - they'd never tell us would they LOL

[nadiap]

Thought I'd ask here under this thread - as it is aimed at the Aussies

does anyone here use the 135 from NCS?

Lots of people - including myself are having horrible problems with this wax lately. Sink holes, wax around wick popping up, terrible wet spots, bad frosting, hairline crack (circle) right around the wick and various other issues?

We are thinking a possible bad batch of wax or they've change the formulation without telling customers. I've been using this wax for a few years now and never ever had these problems before. Anyone else??

Nadia

[RichardLOZ]

Sorry Nadia, cant help with the 135 as I only use the palm waxes from NCS. Unfortunately I like my 464 / palm combo and the only place I can get that is out of Perth, so have to wear the damn shipping of about $20 / box which kills me. If it wasnt for the high shipping I would be tempted to get my 464 out of the States where it is only about $50 / box.

At least NCS have done the right thing by their customers though in dropping their oil prices in line with our strong dollar, which is nice of them. Pity ACS cant bring themselves to so the same thing. Oh well, such is life I guess.

Give them a call and ask them, perhaps they have had some other people call them about the same issue and know about it? If they are not too busy they are happy to chat for a bit anyway. I was speaking with them last week and they have some more glassware on the wharf as well as the 225 metros in stock, so that is something at least

[RichardLOZ]

Ahh the joys of only having 2 suppliers in Australia, of which only one has the wax that I need. No wax stock, none of the few oils I do get locally are in stock, no jar stock, How the freaking hell are we supposed to be able to run a business under these damn circumstances. next week they will suposedly have al of these items in stock, which is no great help when I have orders to fullfil right now. I mean how bloody hard can it be as a suplier to keep suitable amounts of raw material in stock! FFS!!!

[samandkennasmom]

Hi Richard!

Just had to share with ya quick..your posts usually crack me up! You have a great sense of humor! Thanks much!

Hugs

Michele

[KoalaGirl]

Bart: I received a box of NCS Metro's today to see what they were like before ordering a larger batch. I must say that they certainly look better quality and are approx 100gr {not including the lid} heavier than the ones I have from ACS. Even though they are both 'the same size', NCS jars look narrower {because of glass thickness} towards the bottom {on the inside}. Do you {or anyone} find a difference in burn characteristics towards the bottom of the jar, between the 2 jars? I.E does the same wick work for both? I will test of course, but not this weekend, since Im nursing an absessed tooth and just want to die!

Agreed ACS refund policy sucks. Several times they have given me a code number to use to get a credit {after sending them a pic of broken jars} off the next order but I have never been able to get it to work. Maybe its got a use by date! I just gave up.

[RichardLOZ]

Koala

I have used both ACS / NCS Metro's and have not noticed any significant difference in the burn at all. I think that the NCS are ever so slightly taller and narrower than the ACS, but not enough difference to change wicking.

On a brighter note, for those Aussies who use feather palm / 464 Soy and various glass I have stumbled across another supplier in Sydney. Their wax price is on par, although their glassware is really expensive in comparison, I'm talking 2.5 times the price. In any case I called than and was chatting for about 30 minutes or so in regards to the woes of having just 2 main suppliers, and some interesing discussion points came out of the conversation.

They currently have multiple ton's of wax in stock. Forget their oils, again horrendously expensive. They are however expecting a container of glass in the next 6 weeks or so, and when that arrives should be able to match prices of Gala, which is still slightly more expensive than ACS / NCS, but will hopefully give us continuity of supply.

Don't want to say too much just yet, as don't want to get anyones hope up too high

I have ordered a box od soy (ACS is OOS) and some samples of palm to try. Expecting it to arrive Monday. Once tested I will let you know the results.

I will of course be having further discussions with them, as I did mention that I do know a bunch of people who would definitely welcome with open arms a 3rd major player in the Aussie supply market.

Fingers crossed for now. Further updates next week

[RichardLOZ]

Hi Richard!

Just had to share with ya quick..your posts usually crack me up! You have a great sense of humor! Thanks much!

Hugs

Michele

Oh thanks Michele. You should tell my wife that I have a great sense of humour Then again you would be talking with someone who does not get Monty Python, so what can I say...LOL

[bart70]

Ahh the joys of only having 2 suppliers in Australia, of which only one has the wax that I need. No wax stock, none of the few oils I do get locally are in stock, no jar stock, How the freaking hell are we supposed to be able to run a business under these damn circumstances. next week they will suposedly have al of these items in stock, which is no great help when I have orders to fullfil right now. I mean how bloody hard can it be as a suplier to keep suitable amounts of raw material in stock! FFS!!!

What?......Why don't you just learn how to run your business properly??...:smiley2::smiley2:

That was what ACS told me when I explained my same dilemma to them a while back....:rolleyes2

We are now testing NCS container wax so that we have an alternate supply - That way we can purchase based on best supply/price. When finished we may start the same with pillar wax. In terms of glassware the NCS product is far superior in quality and packaging (no more broken items) and freight insurance. I have had ACS glassware break in my hand while putting lids on/off - they are very thin by comparison. Between NCS and Gala I should be right in terms of supply.

Bart

[bart70]

Bart: I received a box of NCS Metro's today to see what they were like before ordering a larger batch. I must say that they certainly look better quality and are approx 100gr {not including the lid} heavier than the ones I have from ACS. Even though they are both 'the same size', NCS jars look narrower {because of glass thickness} towards the bottom {on the inside}. Do you {or anyone} find a difference in burn characteristics towards the bottom of the jar, between the 2 jars? I.E does the same wick work for both? I will test of course, but not this weekend, since Im nursing an absessed tooth and just want to die!

Agreed ACS refund policy sucks. Several times they have given me a code number to use to get a credit {after sending them a pic of broken jars} off the next order but I have never been able to get it to work. Maybe its got a use by date! I just gave up.

Hi Koala,

I have not experienced no noticeable difference in burn between the 2 lots of glassware. I think the difference in size is so negligible that it wont really matter.

I agree the NCS glassware is of a far superior quality than ACS. The packaging is also suitable for road freight, whereby the packaging of ACS glassware is pallet quality only (They seem to forget that their pallets get broken up and transported as individual boxes by road freight!). ACS refund policy really is laughable - I got credit for the broken items, but because I bought in large quantities it costs me more to replace them than the credit, and still have to pay for them to be freighted again (this is despite their freight company telling ACS that they would re-freight them to me for free). Not again!

I would be confident in wicking the same for both brands of glassware if it were me - but as usual I will give the disclaimer that everybody should do their own testing to confirm, but I am wicking the same without issues.

Cheers,

Bart

Edited September 3, 2011 by bart70

[bart70]

Koala

On a brighter note, for those Aussies who use feather palm / 464 Soy and various glass I have stumbled across another supplier in Sydney. Their wax price is on par, although their glassware is really expensive in comparison, I'm talking 2.5 times the price. In any case I called than and was chatting for about 30 minutes or so in regards to the woes of having just 2 main suppliers, and some interesing discussion points came out of the conversation.

They currently have multiple ton's of wax in stock. Forget their oils, again horrendously expensive. They are however expecting a container of glass in the next 6 weeks or so, and when that arrives should be able to match prices of Gala, which is still slightly more expensive than ACS / NCS, but will hopefully give us continuity of supply.

Don't want to say too much just yet, as don't want to get anyones hope up too high

I have ordered a box od soy (ACS is OOS) and some samples of palm to try. Expecting it to arrive Monday. Once tested I will let you know the results.

I will of course be having further discussions with them, as I did mention that I do know a bunch of people who would definitely welcome with open arms a 3rd major player in the Aussie supply market.

Fingers crossed for now. Further updates next week

This is great news!

I will be keeping an eye on this with interest, am keen to know who their Palm is from - If it is from the same manufacturer as the ones that either NCS or ACS source theirs from they already have an audience of buyers who already use the same wax. In terms of the 464, this might turn out to be a real blessing to east coast makers as freight costs should be a lot cheaper.

Keep me in the loop Richard.

Bart

[RichardLOZ]

This is great news!

I will be keeping an eye on this with interest, am keen to know who their Palm is from - If it is from the same manufacturer as the ones that either NCS or ACS source theirs from they already have an audience of buyers who already use the same wax. In terms of the 464, this might turn out to be a real blessing to east coast makers as freight costs should be a lot cheaper.

Keep me in the loop Richard.

Bart

Will do for sure. As said above, I have a box of 464 coming (ACS is out, surprise surprise!) and a sample of 2 types of palm, which I will get Tracy to pout into pillars & melts for testing and comparison purposes. Expecting the delivery Monday and she is pouring next week, so should hopefully have preliminary results next weekend or early the following week. I don't think thay have container palm, but thats ok, its more feather & soy that we go through.

I don't know what it is with the container palm, but I have tried it in 6 different types of glassware and people do not even give it a glance. The few who I have suggested that they try it have however come back to restock with the same scent and jars, saying that it throws way better than the soy. Yeah "I" already know that, I just wish the general public would get it as well. Can't say I am that concerned however as it really can be a bugger to get the wicking right with it. If any wax is going to cause me to lose more hair than I already have it bloosy container palm

[Tribalvixen]

Richard...Is that candlemaking.com.au you are talking about?

Edited September 3, 2011 by Tribalvixen

[EricofAZ]

Wow, I was just looking at the metal moulds. Some that we don't see at the regular haunts in the US.

[jonsie]

Hey Richard, come on... spill! This is great news!

[nadiap]

Hey Richard, come on... spill! This is great news!

I agree ~~ spill !! I seriously need some glassware and everywhere has run out

[bart70]

Has anybody done any testing between NCS & ACS container crystal palms?

ACS are OOS of 25kg container palm and we have just got an order that will leave us short - Was wondering how different the NCS Crystal Container is to the ACS. Naturally I would test for certainty but am interested to know if they wick similar or if a particular trend has been noted between them?

Cheers,

Bart

Ok....A follow up on this one...

As correctly advised by others here I have found that in the greater majority of cases the NCS Lava and ACS Crystal Container palms are extremely close with exception of crystal pattern.

We have almost completed testing on most of our lines and found the hourly consumptions to be within 0.1 - 0.3g /hr of each other, HT not noticeably different. Overall my gut feeling is that that the NCS Lava container palm burns very slightly cooler - I have a couple of FO's that burn cold and were wicked 'on the edge' of being too cool with the ACS and were a little too cool with the NCS Lava.

Overall the difference is negligible - I still recommend to anybody to do their own testing, but the difference between these two waxes is very small and in most cases the same wicking will work for either (given all other criteria are the same). The crystal pattern is quite different however my customers can live with that....It is the lesser of 2 evils when one or the other stockist runs out of wax!

Hope this helps others.:smiley2:

Cheers,

Bart

Hope this helps others

Edited September 4, 2011 by bart70

[RichardLOZ]

Well my 464 arrived coincidentally the same day that my container palm arrived from ACS (who do not have any soy at this moment). Ordered late Thursday afternoon, delivered Monday. Ok it is Sydney to Sydney but still, and shipping was only $9 via Auspost. For you guys out in the sticks shipping would most likely be more but at least they have the wax available. Also received 2 x 1 kg samples of palm, both pillar, but will get poured this week to test and let you know how it goes.

So far very impressed with the service I have received, so will be chatting to them further in regards to incoming glassware. Will report back when I know more. I guess you guys all got the email from ACS in regards to them having their server checked yada yada yada. I can't remember seeing any secure site notification on their cart, but I amy also be wrong in that assumption. In any case I am paying them via paypal for now.