Is this a scam?

I received a phone call at work today from 21st Century Concepts saying that they picked my entry from some contest they were holding at the Bridal Expo a couple of weeks back .... is this a scam???

I think I once heard that it was but just wanted to verify..thank you

I think so - I've get the same call every six months

Yes it is a scam.

They are going to tell you that you have to come to a demonstration for pots and pans.

Thanks girls

I went.


Got the free thing and a free honeymoon, but we didnt want to use it.

Liked the products they sold and bought a pot cause Jim wanted it and so did I. It's in our basement.

Odd is they still call me like i've never seen them. So I finally said 'I won!! REALLY WOW that makes six.. ' Six what? 'Six times I've won.. if I get to 10 do I get a free set?'

She was so embarassed.. I told her 'Look I bought a pot, back off!' (I actually like the pot) She hasnt called since.

just picked up my cell phone messages... they left three messages...

to the girls who went.. were their pots expensive? what was the gift?

i doubt id go..

ok just found this on it...

Team 4 Investigates Cookware Company
WTAE-TV's Jim Parsons Reports

POSTED: 4:07 p.m. EST February 26, 2002
UPDATED: 6:05 p.m. EST February 27, 2002

PITTSBURGH -- A Team 4 investigation uncovers the high-pressure sales tactics of a cookware company that promises free vacations. Local engaged couples say the company ruined the happiest time of their lives.

The company and its regional subsidiary go by a couple of different names -- Designer Concepts, 21st Century Concepts, Royal Prestige.

Whatever the name, investigative reporter Jim Parsons says attorneys general in Texas, Arizona and California have filed suits alleging deceptive sales practices. And in western Pennsylvania, more and more engaged couples are complaining that they're getting royally cooked by Royal Prestige.

The following investigative report by Parsons first aired Feb. 26 during WTAE Action News at 6 p.m.


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Cookware salesman Bill Lupetti: 'I go above and beyond the call of duty. I would fight with the company, God forbid I hear one customer is not taken care of properly.'

Video


Feb. 26, 2002: Team 4 Investigation





If you think this salesman is unhappy, wait until you hear from some of his customers.

Brian and Michele McAdoo's wedding day last year was almost perfect. Almost.

Michele McAdoo: 'You start to feel sick to your stomach, you think, 'Boy how stupid am I? How did I get drawn into this?' We're smarter than this. We're adults. We're professional people. We should know better.'

Brian and Michele spent $1,600 for pots and pans at a high-pressure sales pitch at a Green Tree motel. Six months later, Amanda Caito and Mike Ruane went to the same motel, listened to the same salesmen and agreed to spend more than $2,000 for their cookware set.

A price check by Team 4 shows both couples spent more than twice what they would have for top-of-the-line cookware at Lazarus.

Caito: 'I felt like I was in a whirlwind. I just felt like it was so fast, everything was so fast and so crazy. It did sound good but I just felt very pressured.'

Both couples were dealing with Royal Prestige Cookware, a Wisconsin company that has been sued in three states for deceptive sales practices.

Royal Prestige attracts couples to its local cookware demonstrations by raffling a free vacation at bridal shows. To get their prize, couples have to agree to sit through a 90-minute presentation.

Caito: 'So we figured, okay, what do we have to lose?'

That's what Team 4 wanted to know, so we attended a Royal Prestige presentation with a hidden camera.

The free vacation, it turns out, is 3 nights lodging in a hotel. And the pots and pans? The salesman claims that because they're not made with aluminum, they prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Salesman at presentation: 'Aluminum consumption has been linked to things like Alzheimer's disease and certain forms of cancer.'

He also claims cooking with Teflon can cause poisonous fumes harmful to children. So after the presentation, Team 4 asked him about the health claims.

Parsons: 'Can I ask you why you use scare tactics to sell the pots and pans in terms of health conditions for people?'

Salesman Dan McGrath: 'I don't know if scare tactics would be an accurate term.'

Parsons: 'Well, what would be an accurate term for talking to people about Alzheimer's disease and cancer and those kinds of things?'

McGrath: 'I would say that that's information that's out there and it's available to everybody.'

Available to everybody? We asked Sue Smith at The Alzheimer's Association about it.

Smith: 'To date, there is no research suggesting that aluminum causes Alzheimer's disease.'

First the false health claims, then the high-pressure closing pitch that the engaged couples warned about.

Parsons to salesman: 'We would like to be able to talk about it and think about it.'

Salesman: 'While you're here, you're more than welcome. But once you leave, that's it.

Customer with Parsons: 'Oh, so you can't talk about it at home?'

Salesman: 'No, not at this place.'

Parsons: 'We couldn't call you on Monday and say we want to do it?'

Salesman: 'No.'

Michele McAdoo: 'They present it in such a way that it is a now-or-never thing -- this is such a great deal, if you walk out now, you won't get it.'

Michelle and Brian had to file a lawsuit to get their money back from Royal Prestige -- even though, by law, the couple is allowed three days to cancel the contract.

Amanda and Mike also had trouble canceling their contract the day after.

Amanda Caito: 'To the point where he made me cry -- and I am not one to cry very often.'

We asked the Royal Prestige salesmen why their company gives customers such a hard time on refunds.

Lupetti: 'The customer is lying. You want me to prove it you? I'll show you how people are dirtbags.'

Parsons: 'Who is a dirtbag?'

Lupetti: 'Customers.'

Parsons: 'Customers are dirtbags?'

Lupetti: 'In general, yes.'

Parsons to McGrath: 'Dan, do you share that feeling about your customers?'

McGrath: 'No, I do not.'

Neither does Royal Prestige vice president Jim Martin, who says he guarantees a full refund for any unhappy customer regardless of the circumstances.

While he says that, we know there are numerous couples in western Pennsylvania who have had a lot of trouble getting that refund.