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Royal Prestige cookware, water filters and other household goods are manufactured by the Hi Cite Corporation and sold through a nationwide network of distributors, who use the "party plan" and "person-to-person" methods -- meaning bridal fairs, "seminars" and so forth.
The company says it has instituted new policies to prevent unsavory practices by its distributors and has submitted a statement explaining its policies and practices (full text of the company's statement).
It's up to consumers to make the right decision. The company says it has improved its practices, but some consumers are still unhappy. Here are a few of the more recent complaints (and compliments) we've received:
Cory of Shrewsbury, MA March 16, 2008
Cory of Shrewsbury MA (03/16/08)
I purchased a set of their pots and pans and have not had a problem with them. It does take a while to get used to using them. They are not like your mom's pots. They are very expensive, and I don't believe that regular cookware is as bad as they say it is. The gift certificate is junk; and the trip isn't much better, but I do like the pots and pans.
Rob of Mchenry, IL March 9, 2008
Rob of Mchenry IL (03/09/08)
I understand the complaints about the high pressure sales tactics and the financing issues. My wife and I bought ours ten years ago and went through that stuff (I just used my own financing). However anyone who is having problems using these pots and pans does not know how to read. There are ways of making sure things don't burn like preheating the pots and keeping the flame/temp down. I have had this stuff for ten years and they still look good and work great. Anyone who believes in this day and age that a salesman is telling you the truth and that you will get something for free is deluding themselves. The tactics they use are bad and the prices are high, but there is nothing wrong with my cookware.
Stacey of Westmont, IL March 6, 2008
Stacey of Westmont IL (03/06/08)
My fiance and I received a call saying we'd won a free trip and 500 gift certificate. They said all we had to do was sit through a presentation about cookware--no pressure to buy. Well, I was stupid enough to believe it wasn't a scam, and we went. The presentation was all about how normal cookware is dangerous to your health and that this Royal Prestige stuff was not going to harm you. We were impressed and decided to sign up for one of their packages. BIG MISTAKE. When we got home later that night, I Googled these people and found out that their presentation was all a lie and that the cookware is terrible. The trips are not really free, and the gift certificate for 500 is to some awful site that only offers a limited selection of plain JUNK. You have to pay astronomical shipping fees just to get something with your certificate. I immediately began to panic and was frantic to find a way to get out of the contract for the bad cookware. Luckily I read the contract thoroughly and saw that since we bought the stuff off site, we had three days to submit something in writing that we did NOT want the stuff.
I read through everything several times to make sure I knew what we needed to do: fill out the form on the back of the contract and send them something in writing that you no longer wish to purchase the cookware. We filled it out that night, and I rushed to the copy place to make copies of everything we had to send to them. In addition to the form, I wrote my own letter stating very specifically and clearly that we did not want their stuff, EVER. Copies of the contract and our finance form accompanied everything. The next day I went to the post office and mailed it all out next-day mail with tracking numbers and everything. The 20 fee at the post office was worth getting out of that contract.
Do not let this happen to you. 21st Century Todays Bride and ROYAL PRESTIGE are a huge scam. Do NOT go to their presentations or believe anything they say. Read the contract completely because they will probably lie to you. I regret ever going to that presentation, but am so grateful that we were able to get out of the mess. We were able to get out of the contract, so the only damage was considerable worry and stress over the whole situation. I just wish that there was some way those people could be stopped forever. No one deserves the hardship they cause. Nikeda of Hartford, CT March 4, 2008
Nikeda of Hartford CT (03/04/08)
I was called and told I was a prize winner and was never called back about what it was exactly that I won. The information was something about a wedding package.
Genoveva of Hereford, TX February 27, 2008
Genoveva of Hereford TX (02/27/08)
In early January of 08 I received a phone call from a lady claiming that my husband was a finalist in a contest called Casa de su suenos (House of your dreams) that supposedly had been advertised about on Telemundo and that all we needed to do was to go to the Holiday Inn here in town and that there was nothing to buy. Well come to find out it was a presentation for this cookware. My husband and I are both Hispanic but are not very fluent with Spanish and this meeting was all Spanish.
They claimed that we were killing ourselves with the cookware we were using and kept asking us that didn't we want our children to be healthy...well of course we said yes and were scared and feeling guilty about all of the chemicals that we were supposedly feeding our kids so we signed up for the 10 pc cookware after being persuaded. We had explained to Mr. Alvarado that we didn't have the money for the down payment and that maybe we would try again once we were more financially stable BUT he kept on pushing for us to borrow money or a credit card from a friend or family member all while filling out the application for us, we signed it and he told us that he would call us in a few days to see if we had gotten the money, he gave us some envelopes just in case we got it and we were on our way.
I never heard from him after that. He did tell me that I had until the 24th of January to send the yellow cancellation slip with our signatures and I did just that. Now just yesterday (February 25th) he came to my home asking what had happened. I told him that I had cancelled and he said that I couldn't. He began to talk about my husband and I being people of our word and that our credit was going to be ruined. For one, I never gave him any down payment and second we sent in the cancellation slip on the 24th as he had said. We never got any merchandise or billing statments. So, are we still bound to this application/contract? He is supposed to call me back tomorrow.
I feel that this man is going to keep on harassing me until I give him the money, he kept asking me do you have at least 50.00. I had to explain to him that my husband is a truck driver and that he takes the money with him, which I don't think was any of his business but didn't want to cause any trouble as I had small children in my home.
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