Print the value of index0
International Candle Corporation Or Whatever your name is now?? ripoff Nationwide
Paul of Anaheim CA,I live in CA and I too was taken by ICC. I belong to a victims support group of over 100 people going after International Candle and their previous incarnations - Candle Distributors Network, The Candle Brokers, Candles4Money, and several incarnations of their phony (in my opinion) placement company Norwood Group, Divine Marketing and BCT Marketing.
I think this company must be an octopus! We have tangible proof of prior incarnations of ICC. Do you have proof they were also Country Kitchen Candles? The more information we get on these people the more power we have to stop them! Contact me by using rebuttal box below or reply in this forum. Thank God for Ripoffreport so victims can find each other and work together! There is power in numbers!
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
Carol
Stockton, California
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Kim
Massapequa Park,New York,
U.S.A.
Is International Candles Corp. and Indulgence Imports Inc. the same company. How do I find out more info. on Indulgence?
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, April 14, 2005
Is International Candles Corp. and Indulgence Imports Inc. the same company. How do I find out more info. on Indulgence? I went to better business bureau before I invested any money and found nothing on them. Did a search online and found nothing. But now that I gave my money to them and got my candles, I found this site. Can anyone help me find out info. on Indulgence Imports. and how I can or if I can get my money back?
Carol
Stockton,California,
U.S.A.
To Paul & Ross Regarding International Candle
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 17, 2005
I did in fact receive a full refund from ICC. Lots of complaints against ICC have gone to the authorities. It's now in their hands to determine any actions.
You are correct Paul, about moving on. I am doing just that.
Carol
Stockton,California,
U.S.A.
To Paul & Ross Regarding International Candle
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 17, 2005
I did in fact receive a full refund from ICC. Lots of complaints against ICC have gone to the authorities. It's now in their hands to determine any actions.
You are correct Paul, about moving on. I am doing just that.
Carol
Stockton,California,
U.S.A.
To Paul & Ross Regarding International Candle
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 17, 2005
I did in fact receive a full refund from ICC. Lots of complaints against ICC have gone to the authorities. It's now in their hands to determine any actions.
You are correct Paul, about moving on. I am doing just that.
Carol
Stockton,California,
U.S.A.
To Paul & Ross Regarding International Candle
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, March 17, 2005
I did in fact receive a full refund from ICC. Lots of complaints against ICC have gone to the authorities. It's now in their hands to determine any actions.
You are correct Paul, about moving on. I am doing just that.
Ross
Eagan,Minnesota,
U.S.A.
You are correct.
#8Consumer Comment
Mon, February 28, 2005
Carol, I'm new to being ripped off by these guys, but I have corresponded with Paul via this site and I'm interested in joining up with any method of getting a grasp on this Nat/Nathan/ Hill/Hillman character, and ICC or any of their various names.
There are ways to make this business work, and none of them are ICC's, unfortunately for us. My Norwood contact has 'left the firm' but I got hooked up with a local retired route sales guy who knows his stuff from selling bubblegum machines. Lucky, I suppose.
Paul is right, find your own locations if you can't get lucky like me. Alot of my spaces are pretty far from my house, but may be profitable. We'll see.
Also, find someone, anyone who isn't ICC to import and ship to you. They are out there, and sometimes local. Don't be afraid to stock lotions, oils, vinegar bottles, etc. either.
Take Care, Keep your Stick on The Ice, And I'm with you. You can count on me.
Paul
Anaheim,California,
U.S.A.
Here are the options available to you. Only one of them is viable, and makes sense.
#8Consumer Suggestion
Mon, February 28, 2005
First, to answer your question, do I have absolute proof that these frauds are related to country kitchen candles? The answer is no, I have no concrete evidence.
But, look at my reasoning and you'll quickly come to the same conclusion I did. Country is in Providence. International is in Cambridge. That's Boston. Check the map. They're 50 miles apart.
What are the chances of two completely different frauds, both running the same exact candle con, who just happen to locate 50 miles apart? It's easy to see that someone from Providence simply drove up to Boston to find a new location.
The reason they keep changing names is because the con wears out after a while. People do check some things. Usually, the first thing they do is turn to the BBB. Naturally, that is the wrong thing to do. But, regardless, that's the first place many people turn to.
As soon as complaints start coming in, they need to ditch the name if they intend to keep the con working. That's why the series of names. It's all part of the cost of doing fraud business.
The feds just completed project biz opp flop.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/02/bizoppflop.htm
It targeted scams just like this one, which prey on naive people who want to start their own business. The major criteria were promises made and results produced. All of the targeted businesses did exactly what the candle frauds do. Big promises and zero returns.
Obviously, the candle frauds didn't make this round of complaints. So, put them on the list for next time. This is an ongoing investigation. Let the feds deal with them.
The two big problems with the federal complaints are this. First, they never target the people running the scams. All they get are the worker bees. Those idiots are expendable. The main frauds already have a new sales force lined up to replace the ones who are busted. So, the fraud goes on without missing a beat.
Second, the money is never found and returned. The people behind the scam are careful to cut all ties to the income from the scam. All the feds are able to seize is the current bank balance. Twenty, thirty thousand dollars. A few days income. Try dividing that up between 500 victims who each lost $10,000. Pennies on the dollar.
I'm nothing but results. That's why I advocate going over there and cleaning up the mess yourself. My yahoo home page had a story a day or two ago. A Texas man killed his ex-wife over a court judgment. Either alimony or child support. That's not important. What does matter is that this man was obviously fed up. He came prepared. He was wearing a flak jacket and a bullet proof vest. He knew he was going to be fired at. He used an assault rifle. He went right up and killed the woman. Innocent people were killed too.
Now, obviously, that's not the way to handle things. But, it illustrates my point. When somebody goes over there to international candle fraud, the problem stops once and for all. I would make a god d**n mess that's guaranteed to make the evening news. Probably for several days in a row!
That way, other frauds hear about it. I'd put the video on the internet. They'd all get scared. Who the hell wants to be the next person tortured for weeks and then dismembered? That scares everyone, even frauds. A handful of those incidents, and the crooks suddenly decide the risk isn't worth it anymore. That's results!
Unfortunately, this fraud nonsense never happens to me. The closest I came to getting cheated was losing a quarter in a payphone. Thank god the phone company sent me a refund. It saved me cutting the phone open with a torch.
The real solution is to spot fraud and avoid it before it gets your money. Did you ever step in dog s**t? Then you know how hard it is to clean it off your shoes. The smartest thing to do is keep your eyes open and watch where you walk.
No matter who you complain to, or who you try to sue, I'd say you have little or no chance of getting a dime back. So, what are you really working for? Revenge? If that's what you want, go to Boston. Grab the candles up, and then tie them down to a table. Get out the drill. That's revenge!
If it's the money you want, the only sure way to get that is by making a profitable business. You wanted a candle business, right? So, why let this stop you? Go out and accomplish what you set out to do.
The reason people are attracted to these frauds is because they can't do anything for themselves. The frauds promise to set the whole business up, and then step back and let you collect all the money. Obviously, no real person would ever do that.
But, once you dissect the situation, you'll see that it's not really as hard as it may seem. I figure things like this out all the time. And, I dropped out after 9th grade. So, I'm sure the majority of the candle buyers are better educated than I am.
If there's something you aren't sure about, or something you don't understand, check the local library. They have plenty of books on starting small businesses. Anytime I need more information on a particular subject, that's where I turn.
The real candles are out there. So are good display racks. So are customers who would buy quality items. There is a profit available to be made. In fact, since so many idiots bought the fraud candles, you might find that you are the only one around for miles.
That's the best solution I can come up with. Sell the trash you have. Find a source of quality products. Don't call any more locators. Walk in, introduce yourself, and explain your business. Don't pay someone else to do that for you.
What other choices do you have? You certainly don't want to end up like that lunatic lady who curses everyone she meets, do you? Crying about the problem with 99 other people doesn't do much that I can see. In fact, it just reminds you day after day of the mistake you made.
You don't need a support group. You don't have cancer. What you need is to go out and earn your money back. The sooner you start doing that, the better. That's why the names don't matter. Joe Candle. Mike Candle. Big Candle. Little Candle. Jim Fraud, and his twin sister Mary Fraud. How does any of this make you one dime?
It doesn't. So, move on. Make a real business. And, chalk this up to a learning experience. And, in the future, watch where you walk. The world's full of crap. Don't step in any of it.