I was working with a bride just last week and she gave me the skinny on the Royal Prestige Bridal Fairs. Her experience was very much the same as the stuff I found below. Don't fall victim to this scam.....
Cynthia of Syracuse NY (3/6/05):
I attended a bridal show in Syracuse, NY at the OnCenter. I am getting married and thought this would be a great place to get started with my wedding plans. I filled out numerous forms from vendors offering free honeymoon vacations. I was contacted by Royal Prestige informing me I won a all-inclusive package. The stipulation was I had to attend a show with my fiance. I went to the show and was scared to death about how unhealthy I was living and eating and about the diseases and cancer that I could get by using my pots.
Royal Prestige
News
• Hy Cite Settles California Consumer Charges ... Again
• Complaints Resolved, Company Claims
• Hy Cite Settles Calif. Suit
• Texas Settles with Royal Prestige
In-Depth Report: A Royal Rip-Off?
• Promises, Promises (Español)
• Complaints Resolved?
• States Take Action
• Tips From the Chef
Consumer Complaints
• General Complaints
Company Response
• A Message from Hy Cite Corp.
The Pitch
• Bridal Fairs
• Cookware "Party"
• "Free Prizes"
• "Free Trip"
• Longtime Owners
The Deal
• Cancellation Provisions
• Contract Language
• Returns Policy
• Repair Service
• Unauthorized Charges
I purchased the Royal Prestige pots and my fiance didn't want to have anything to do with it and said it was a scam. But, I didn't believe people could sell you a product that seemed to work so well and could in fact help your health. Needless to say, the pots do not work as demonstrated at the show and metal is cheap like my $80.00 pots. They discolor on the bottom indicating the metal is cheap and they burn the food.
I was pressured with the story of what my pots were doing to me and wanted to change my lifestyle. My fiance was billed $1,200.00 for these pots and he didn't sign for them. I did. No one will return our calls so we can send them back and we want to cancel this agreement.
Nadine of New York NY (2/28/05):
In March of 2004 I went along with my husband to be to a bridal show that we were invited to. The sales lady over the phone said that we would have a chance to win either a free trip or dishes. When we went to the hotel that the show was being held at there were about 4 other couples. the sales guy Vince Pinto went on and on about how the pots and dishes were the best that we could ever hope to own. He went on to tell us the list of health problems that other cookware causes. We felt scared to death to even try using any other cookware after hearing all he had to say.
My husband was on disability at the time ,not working and had recently been diagnosed with having Hyperthyroidism so we were very concerned that if we used any other cookware that it would make his health worse. Then the sales man said that he was going to give us a guess as to how much the cookware would sell for in the stores and whoever got the closest to the price would win a free trip. I got the closest and he told me that i had won the free trip. That we would be hearing from them more about that in the next two days. We would be contacted about it. We never were.
We thought then that we should try the cookware. My husband told him that even though we want to try them out that he was not working at the time. Vince said to him, "Oh don't worry about that we'll just put down that you are working and I'll make sure that you get aproved." He never said that we only had 3 days to cancel the order in writing. He even used my husband's bank card and then said that my husband had been aproved for the down payment even though he had no money in the bank at the time.
The next day after thinking about it and feeling that we had been had in so many ways. We tried to call and cancee but were told we could not. My husband at the time lived in New Jersey and I lived in New York. They shipped the dishes and pots to me in New York and I called them and said that I did not want them and if I could send them back. They told me that I could not! My husband called countless times and got nowhere with them.
My husband was admitted to hospital soon after as a result of his illness. He spent 8 days in there and we did not know if he would make it or not. The dishes and pots have not been opened and remain in the sealed box that they came in. We don't and have never wanted them. The price that they now want us to pay is a little over $2,200.
The latest thing that royal Prestige has done is they have put a levy on my husband's bank acount for $500.00. We have called and said that we can pay the $500.00 plus send back the dishes and pots with an extra $200.00; they have refused. We have two young children and a host of doctors bills. We are barely making ends meet as it is. We don't know what else to do. Should we starve our children so we can pay for dishes and pots? We won't have any food to cook or put in them.
Jennifer of Parkville MD (2/28/05):
I received a phone call after attending the Baltimore Bridal Show. The woman on the phone told me I "won" a free trip, a $500 gift certificate, and a 40% discount on Royal Prestige products. All I had to do was sit through a "hour and ten minutes" presentation at the Days Inn hotel in Timonium. She told me I was not obligated to buy anything and that I was a "lucky winner." My fiance and I are just starting our new life together and jumped at the opportunity to get some free gifts.
So we went to the presentation which lasted 2 hours. The salesman used scare tactics and told us that every pot and pan we owned was killing us and we HAD to buy these new pots for $1,300. I was very irate to begine with because the presentation was so long and frightning and it caused me to be late for dinner plans. The entire presentation was creepy, bizare, and a waste of time. After it FINALLY eneded, my finace and I went to collect our "free gifts" and chose not to buy the expensive pots. There was a couple before us who chose not to buy the pots as well, and the sales person began being very very rude towards them.
He told the couple "Oh, so you don't care about your health?" He was very loud and extremly rude to the point where my fiance and I went over to the other sales person (who looked equally as creepy.) We got our "gifts" and ran out of there. Come to find out, the $500 gift certificate was a complete scam. If you use the whole thing, you still have to pay $165. And who knows if the trip is good or a scam. I feel taken and furious. I have never seen anyone talk to that poor couple like this horrible man did.
Tom of Omaha NE (1/30/05):
My fiance and I went to a wedding fair a few weeks ago, and then were notified that we'd won a "free trip," and just needed to come to a short (about an hour and a half) informational seminar to claim it. We thought it sounded suspicious, and it certainly was. They tried to sell us Royal Prestige tableware and cookware. It looks like decent stuff, but is ridiculously overpriced. They had a pretty bizarre informational video on how other types of pots and pans contaminate what you eat.
When they found out that both my fiance and I are in law school, they cut the presentation short and we left after about 45 minutes. It seemed fishy, and we wondered if they had part of their sales pitch that they were afraid to give us. Once we got home we did a little research and found all of these complaints about this company.
Also, the "free trip" and other prizes we were given ended up being bogus and hokey, it's cheap stuff with enormous Processing and Delivery fees.
T
Christine of Maple Shade NJ writes (12/4/01):
My fiance and I were contacted by Royal Prestige stating that they had recieved our name from a drawing at Davids Bridal. That we won a free vaction and that all we needed to do was show up on Saturday at the Holiday Inn in Cherry Hill and attend a bridal show on the cookware. Also they stated that their was no obligation to buy to receive the free vaction. I inquired if the vacation included airfare they stated that it did not but they offer coupons towards discounted air travel.
When my fiance and I arrived at the showing we were both agreed that we would not be buying anything. Once Vince began showing the cookware he began playing on the young couples' insecurity by stating that other companies cookware leads to Alzheimers and that the cookware is endorsed by the Mayo Clinic.
He also stated that Macy's wanted to sell the cookware for $6500 but Royal Prestige would not allow them the contract because they would not allow their costumers to be charged that much for their superior product and that is why they do the private showings.
They also stated that if we buy today you and your family now and in the future would receive a 35-50% discount. He than stated that for the special time because he was trying to beat his district manager in sales that he would throw in a complete place setting for four of fine china or the set of cutlery.
Well my fiance and I agreed that it might not be that bad of a deal, and at the end of the showing we decieded that we would take the 12 complete set of cookware and receive the free china. What we did not know until contracts were signed that the "free" china was in lieu of the discount and there was an additonal $170 charge for delivery to ensure the products don't just get left at your door (which it did).
In the end we had a bill for $1700 and our heads were whirling. I called to complain about the cookware being left at my door and the sales rep denied that anyone ever told me that they would not leave it at the home. Also the free vacation is in no way free. I work special services for US Airways and when I read the hotel info it was not all inclusive, most of the hotels would not allow you to stay over a Saturday and with having to provide your own airfare if you do not stay over a Saturday you have to pay for two unrestricted tickets which can sometimes amount to about $1000 more than you would normally pay.
Also when I receive the china it was in no way a complete setting, it was missing bread plates and worse than that the silverware did not include a soup spoon or salad fork. That does not sound like a complete setting to me and the way it was presented at the front of the room Vince said you can have everything you see here. Well I didn't get everything.
Damage Resulting:
Well the first and largest consequence is the $1700 debt which could not come at a worse time with a wedding in four months and trying to save for a house. It would not be that bad if the products were half of what we were told they were. I'm laid off from my job at the airlines and this huge bill does not help me wuch while I am on unemployment.
When we had heard of the free vacation it got my hopes up. I thought, wow maybe we will be able to afford a honeymoon even with me being laid off. It is very wrong what has happened. I explained to the sales reps that I had just been laid off of my job and that times were tough, he assured me that it was worth it and even told me to put down my former job info on the application for the loan because I had only been laid off a couple days.
Tarcisio of Shaumberg IL writes (11/25/01):
My fiance received a phone call from a company called Royal Prestige, offering us a free trip in exchange for watching a presentation on their products. At the time of the phone call, we were told we would watch a presentation about cookware, and the demonstrator would cook for us. There was no obligation to buy any of the products and, in case we decided to do so, there would be a 40% discount on any item we decided to purchase.
We decided to attend the presentation on Sunday, November 25th of 2001. The sales person made the presentation and went on saying the the products they were selling were going to give us good health, etc. We decided to purchase the product at the time, understanding that there were three days to cancel the order if we decided to do so.
The presentation and the sale were made in a hotel. After arriving home a series of things called my attention. Firstly, I was charged a sales tax that was supposedly to be that of the city I live (Schaumburg). There were two different tax for Schaumburg, since it's located in two different counties. I mentioned to the lady that I lived in Cook County, but she wrote it as if I lived in Du Page county. This was particularly strange since the sale happened in a hotel in Chicago. My understanding is that the place of sale determines the sales tax to be applied, not the place of my residence.
Now I want to cancel the order and I'm concerned with some reports on the web site that say that I cannot return the product. There's a stamp on the front of the sales order, as well on the credit card slip that says "in-store credit only". I was asked to put my initials close to it and when I asked what it meant they told me it was only company bureaucracy. I'm concerned that this may limit my rights to return the product.
The three-day right to return the product applies only to in-home sales. Since Tarcisio signed the agreement in a public place, she is likely to encounter great resistance.
Jim of Fallbrook CA (8/25/01):
My wife and I were called and told we won a free trip to Cancun, all we had to do was attend a "Bridal Shower presentation." Little did we know that we would be sitting through a 2 hour long presentation at a hotel conference room in Anahiem, CA.
They told us how the pans were healthier and showed us a bottle of Gerber baby food and said how using their merchandise was better because of the rodent waste found in the baby food. At first we said we weren't intersted but they offered along with the "free" Cancun trip two more additional trips for free. All we had to do was purchase the pans and the trips were ours plus we were told that we could return the pans at anytime or exchange them if the became damaged.
Not true! They were the rduest people I have ever talked to on the phone. Not only did they refuse to exchange them but we never got our trips either.
We were stuck with a monthly payment of almost one hundred dollars a month and we were getting married in a month and were going to us the trip to Cancun as our honeymoon. We never got to take a honeymoon and I have had to take out two loans to pay for this.
Michael of El Paso TX (8/15/01):
My fiance and I were contacted by Royal Prestige stating that we had won a "3 night, 4 day" trip to the Bahamas, Mexico, or Hawaii. (We were selected from a bridal show) All we needed to do was participate in a product demonstration.
So we went to a local hotel and saw a "Royal Prestige Cookware" demonstration. During the cookware demonstration, Bruce claimed that NIH and Mayo Clinic fully supported the cookware and this cookware would save our lives. We were told other pots and pans cause certain diseases and many deaths throughout the US because of certain materials used to make cooking products.
He also went back and forth stating that there was no obligation to buy. But if we chose to buy, that we would never need cookware again due to the 50-year (100% free replacement) warranty on all Royal Prestige products (Pots and Pans, Crystal, China, and Flatware).
"Royal Prestige products will become family heirlooms, which you can pass onto your children", as Bruce put it. When it can time to meet the Bruce face to face, we told him we were not interested in and could not afford the cookware. But Bruce kept coming up with different "Cookware Packages". Still I stated we could not afford it, but Bruce always came back with a different "package". This went on for several minutes and the pressure never stopped, we finally caved in. We ended up purchasing the full package.
Not once did Bruce mention a 3 day cancellation policy. He stated that if we changed our minds before we recieved the cookware, all we had to do was call the number on the contract and cancel. But being the busy people we were, we never got around to canceling within the 3 day period. I only noticed the 3 day cancellation policy when I was looking for the number to call. So needless to say we are stuck with these below average pots and pans. Oh yeah, and the free trip, turns out we never had a chance to use it (if there was one) because you had to claim you certificate within a year.
Well having a family of 5 (one disabled with numerous hospital visits), and only one income, we fell behind in payments (but are caught up now). But if your payments are late by one day, Royal Prestige will not hesitate to tack on a $25.00 late fee. Which doesn't help when you are on a budget. But all I know is that I'm still paying for this below average cookware that I didn't really want (I have Tefal). And I know I could be spending that money on something more useful.
Sean of Vidor, TX, writes (4/23/01):
My ex-fiance and I went to a wedding shower in 1998 to a promotional deal that my ex had supposedly won. The rep suckered us in by telling us about the lifetime warranty and 3 free trips. The main reason why I went with the deal was that the rep told me if for any reason I didn't want the merchandise I could return it at any time with no problem. About a year later me and my ex split up and neither one of us wanted the stuff so I tried to return it -- no chance. The company told me that there was no way that the guy I dealt with would have told me that I could return the cookware, that it is not company policy and no one would help me.
I finally paid them off and still to this day I havent recieved my 3 "free" trip tickets.
The company states that a "resolution was reached."
Angie of Dallas, TX, writes:
Recently engaged, I have been glowing with excitement ... ready to marry the man of my dreams. I was enticed to a Royal Prestige show by a free trip and camera with no obligation to buy. Well, to be completely honest, the stuff impressed me. At least the cookware. The china was dated but ok. We went for the "package deal" where they "threw" the china, crystal, and tableware in for "free". My problem with this place is they misrepresented themselves completely!!
No one, at any time, told me there was no satisfaction gaurentee, no 48-72 hour window I had to make up my mind. It was just, NOW NOW NOW!!! After reading my contract, they say you can cancel your contract by writing the branch within 3 business days. No one told me that I could only cancel if I bought the merchandise off-site. Apparently, if you by the merchandise on-site (meaning their business) then you can't cancel. How convinent for them to get you to come to their site with a "free" vacation.
Not only was I screwed, contractually, I was mistreated when I went to the office to inquire. Yes, tempers rose but no customer service representative needs to shout at you. She wouldn't even give me her name ... she expected an appointment. She actually said to me "I'll rip up your telephone messages and you can start from there if you'd like". Nice, huh?
Now my fiancee and I are out $2500. I refuse to send out bridal registry cards to my friends, family because I am embarressed that this horrible company took my hard-earned money. The sad thing is I have to look at this cookware for the rest of my life and it breaks my heart.
Dawn of Doylestown, OH, writes:
I was a wide-eyed bride at the Bridal/Honeymoon package demonstation of Royal Prestige Cookware and was stupid enough to purchase the entire product for $2100. I charged it to my Discover and it is already going to go through. It has only been one day since the demonstration, and I wondered if any of the other naive couples had any luck with getting a refund if they called to cancel the order before the product was sent to them. Is there anything I can do without going to court?
Victoria of Frederick, MD, writes:
My fiance and I were contacted by 21st Century Concepts stating that we had one a "3 night, 4 day" trip to Orlando, Mexico, Las Vegas or Hawaii. (We were selected from a bridal show) All we needed to do was participate in a product demonstration. On 3/4/00 at 12:30pm, we went to a local hotel and saw a "Royal Prestige Cookware" demonstration.
The high pressure scare tactic played upon the fears of health and safety for your family. Worse than that, they claimed that NIH and Mayo Clinic fully supported the cookware! I told them that I wanted to see paperwork--and he said that he could not find the recommendation letter (When spending substantial money we usually research purchases).
We felt obligated to buy as we want safe cookware for our future family. I asked what the cancellation policy was (and reviewed the back of the contract) and was told I could cancel within 3 business days.
We signed up for $907 worth of cookware. When we got home that night, we got on-line and researched the company. We found that there were no endorsements from Mayo or NIH. Moreover, information on the internet (thanks to your site) showed the true value of the products. We tried to contact the e-mail address given us by our representative, and there was no such address. The number he gave us also just rang off the hook.
So, on 3/5/00 at 11:30am, my finance and I went back down to the hotel and asked to cancel the form. Candice said that Ray had already put the charge through. We were able to get the original credit card receipt and original form. I called my credit card company and put a hold on my account, so hopefully we will not see any charges.
Jennifer of Richardson, TX, writes:
I was going to wait until I got home and checked our contract but I'm so mad, I just couldn't wait. My fiance' and I attended a bridal show in Dallas September, 1999 (I believe) and gullibly registered to win a "free" vacation. We were subsequently contacted and told that we would receive free vacation certificates and all we had to do was attend a seminar demonstrating Royal Prestige cookware and that there was NO obligation to us. When we arrived at the seminar, I insisted to my fiance' that we leave our checkbooks in the car because we were NOT going to buy anything.
During the seminar, the group was told that, in addition to the cookware, anyone making a purchase would also receive 4 place settings of china, flatware, and crystal.
The only way to claim your "no obligation" vacation certificates was to talk to one of the reps there. I informed Bruce that we were not interested in buying cookware. He insisted that it was a fantastic deal because of everything else thrown in. I informed him that, not only did we already HAVE a vacation to the Bahamas, but we also already had crystal, weren't interested in flatware, and didn't like their china. He then told us that they only threw that in as an incentive because they knew that customers would ultimately need more than 4 placesettings and would have to come back and buy the rest from Royal Prestige. He then informed us that he would give us a "special" deal on a demo set of the cookware and knock the price down since we didn't want the other "incentives". He also informed us that anyone buying us a gift certificate on our "registry" would receive a 25% discount on the amount.
We insisted that we didn't make hasty decisions and would need to think about it overnight. He pulled out all the stops and let us have it - we eventually signed the contract. Later that weekend, we realized that we had been silly to sign on the line for $1500 worth of cookware and that we wanted to cancel our contract. When we called Bruce (yes, I know that we should have sent this in writing), he was rude and condescending, and informed us that there was no way to cancel the contract, even if we refused delivery. I asked my brother, who is an attorney, to look at the contract and see what we could do. He told me that the contract looked pretty airtight and that he had checked the legal information he could find on the company.
He said that there were numerous lawsuits against the Dallas-based company but that they seemed to always win, so there was probably nothing that we could do, other than to suck it up and pay for the cookware o' gold. We resigned ourselves to just pay for the cookware and never mention the price again, and we asked our family members to buy us the cookware on our registry so that they could get the 25% discount and it would reduce our debt. Today, when my brother called to apply an amount toward our registry he was told by Bruce himself that the 25% only applied to items in ADDITION to the cookware and that we had misunderstood him.
Bull crap.
By the way, the broccoli DOES burn if you only use the recommended amount of water! We are filing (as per my brother's recommendation) with the state attorney general and with the BBB, in hopes that this will stop! Young couples about to get married are in a fragile position to be taken advantage of and companies like this need to be stopped!
We have already sent them approximately $400 toward this #@@#^&* cookware and still owe $1100 on the contract. We didn't take the china, the crystal, etc so we didn't even get as much as some of the other people. My fiance and I have been totally traumAtized by this whole situation and, every time I think about how stupid this was, my chest feels hollow and I just want to cry. I am determined to do what I can to make sure this doesn't happen to any more people!
