Complain about a product or service

Carico Healthy Lifestyles

Elizabeth of Paterson NJ (07/09/08)
On 5/20/08 a young lady by the name of Nathalie Jean-Louis contacted me saying that my water filter needed to be service. This is a filter that i had bought from this company in 2005. On this night she talk me into signing a form for a juicer at the price of 599.00 with a 20.00 deposit. She said that the cartidge for the filter would be free which was said to be 150.00. I received the box on 05/28/08. I was told that i had three day to cancel at that time

on 6/03/08 Miss Nathalie came to show me how to use it she brought the fruits. At that time i told her that i didn't like the product so i mail it back to Carico International Inc, Fort Lauderdale Fl. This was on 6/16/08, the box was returned to me. I informed Miss Lardieri that i will not pay for this juicer she said that i could get something for Thank you Mrs Elizabeth Dix

I am retired and can't afford to buy something that i can't use. I don't drink juice with pulp in it and this juice was nasty. I know this is going to make my credit bad. This is my damage.

Miyo of Clarksville TN (03/17/08)
I received a telephone call from a man inviting me to a complimentary dinner with my husband at a place the caller described as the Luau. He also offered a complimentary trip to a Gatlinberg for coming to the dinner, saying that he was making the offer because I probably knew a lot of people who would be interested in coming to eat at his business, and he wanted my referrals. When we arrived at the business, we found it was not at a restaurant, but a kitchen and dining/ living area in the basement of a residence, set up with rows of tables. A couple and a young woman were seated at a table across the room from us. A man who turned out to be David Foyer invited us to sign the guest book and directed us to sit down at a table farthest from the other couple, but facing them. It turned out that the man's business was not really in cooking meals, but in demonstrating Carico cookware and the marvels of waterless cooking which could be done in the cookware sets and gadgets he was selling in a pyramid- type marketing set up. A long time of sitting at the table and listening to his stories about the health benefits of using his cookware, eating unseasoned cabbage, carrots, and chicken and being asked to provide contact information and list the many pro's of his cookware over conventional cookware, I eventually bought a liquid core skillet .

It is, I think, of fair quality, but I had no idea of the market value of a liquid core skillet and I paid more than twice what it was worth had I known what they sell for elsewhere. At the last minute of the sale, David Foyer hand wrote on the credit slip "all sales final" and although this sounded alarm bells, I was so ready to get out of the place, I went ahead and signed it. I have since checked the price of liquid core skillets, and found that they sell for less than half of what I paid. I called David Foyer to request a refund, but he replied that he could only give merchandise credit. I paid much too much for the skillet, and as all the rest of his merchandise is similarly grossly overpriced, a merchandise credit leaves me in the same situation. Although I cannot prove it, I am pretty sure that the other family there was a plant, They responded very enthusiastically to everything he does, and are very forthcoming in supplying referrals and praise and are there to help him sell his very overpriced products.

I am embarrassed to have been taken in by this, and am reporting him to the Better Business bureau. Look out for the man who calls himself chef for an evening and offers a Luau. No one in their right mind would go back for another evening. His wife, who sometimes answers the phone for him, sounds embarrassed and sad when she answers the phone, but nevertheless plays along . Mr. Foyer says that the referrals are anonymous, that he won't reveal the name of the person who refers people to him. Why would anyone need to make an anonymous referral? If I felt good about this business, I would be happy to put in a referral that I could stand behind and be happy to put my name to. Look out for the Luau man, Mr. David Foyer, who calls himself a Chef for an Evening! He puts a lot of energy into his business but uses very questionable sales tactics. If he would only only put the energy into a more honest business, he could really have something going ! Needless to say, the only referrals I am making to for his business are with consumer affairs and the local Better Business Bureau.

The consequences are economic. I paid twice what I should have for a used kitchen ware item, a liquid core skillet I have requested a refund from David Foyer but have been told that this is not possible. A merchandise credit for similarly drastically overpriced merchandise is the only offer he would make in response to my request. I will contact my credit card company to see what recourse I have.

Bj of Santa Teresa NM (03/06/08)
While attending ASU, I responded to an opportunity to become a Carico sales rep to make money part-time during the summer. The company reps assured me that this was easy money, all I had to do was learn about the products at their training seminar and then demo the same to potential customers. They promised support, additional training, and whatever I needed to ensure my success but that the products are so well made and the Carico name represents quality, so the products practically sell themselves....I just needed to understand their features and benefits and be able to present them to customers. The training was several days at a local hotel, of which I had to pay. Then I had to pay for a distributor fee, then had to buy a sales kit and product brochures...but they assured me that all the upfront costs would be gained back in the first sale. After completing my training, I began to demo the products to friends, neighbors, and referrals.

I did eight demos, primarily of their water filtration system because the water quality is so bad in the greater Phoenix area, but could not convince a single person to purchase. I could not even get people to give me referrals primarily because they all said the products cost too much, and they would rather lug bottled water from the grocery store. After several weeks, I no longer heard from my area sales manager, but continued to receive mailers from the corporate office talking about all the trips and conventions that were coming up and listing all their top sales people from across the USA.

Bottomline: after paying about $400 and spending a weekend in training, then spending about 20 hours developing leads and doing demos of the products, I ended up with $400 less in my bank account instead of having a part-time summer job with tons of potential with $200-400 per week pay. NOTonly do their customers get ripped-off, their distributors do, too. Their sales programs is a lot like AMWAY--a lot of hype and promises but little to no results.

Instead of making money at a summer part-time job, I spent $400 trying to make money selling Carico's overpriced products. After the initial couple weeks of trying to sell their products, I stopped hearing from my area sales managers (David Quiroz and Pat Lawson) and never heard from them again.

Alejandra of San Diego CA (09/28/07)
We were called about a bridal preview for Carico Cookware, and they said for attending they would give us a free vacation. We attended hoping to have the vacation, and at the last minute they got my husband and me to purchase the cookware by saying how much healthier we'd be if we used these pots and pans. My husband and I were sold on that. We qualified for a loan immediately through them so we got them.

Everything sticks to these pans.  They are actually now rusted, and that is not supposed to happen.  We are still paying them for them, and I would like for them just to take the pans back and the loan be revoked.  I spoke to many representatives that say that they have a lifetime warranty, and these problems should not be happening, and they are going to do their best to get me a new set.  Still no call backs and no new set.

Maria of Kissimmee FL (12/18/06)
Ms. Piedrahita came to my friends house to do a presentation of the carico products. I needed a water filter and she stated that the had the best in the market. Her presentation was only through a catalogue and she showed me several filters that were really expensive. I picked a filter that looked like it was worth the money I was going to invest in it..It was offered on credit and I used my credit card for the down payment of 59.00. My monthly payments were to be 26.40 per mo. Eventhough the contract I signed stated that I had 2 days to cancel same if i was not happy, and she was supposed to bring my filter within that period of time, I received the filter 2 weeks after through the mail. To my disappointment this filter looked like a small carafe, with a aaa battery, no spout to run the water, and a small hose that has to be hook to my only faucet in the sink.

I immediately called the salesperson, who in turn told me I had to deal directly with Carico not her. I called them and was told that I had signed a contract and they were not going to take the filter back. The next day I returned the filter to Carico and last thursday I RECEIVED THE BOX AGAIN.UPS indicxated that Carico refused to accept the box.

I am a retired old lady who needs to drink good water for my health. This incident has caused lots of stress in my life..If they want to keep my deposit, fine, but I refuse to pay 578.00 for a carafe that is not going to clean my drinking water.

Doug of Angola IN (11/14/06)
Evidently the wedding scam is getting too well known for Carico International. I live near an Amish community. Three of my Amish neighbors have been SCAMMED by a Carico salesman from Fort Wayne Ind. He collects a down payment, then returns and says the company will not ship merchandise untill paid in full. My Amish neighbors trust, and pay, and receive nothing. I have written emails and called on there behalf and received NO RESPONCS. Merchandise was paid for in Feburary of 2006. As of November of 2006 no returned emails or merchandise.

Stealing from the AMISH. A new low even for Carico.

Bridgette of Billings MT (02/14/06)
My boyfriend and I went to a wedding fair and entered for a vacation. We got a call saying that we had won a three day vation to the destination of our choice, but that we were obligated to attend a presentation put on by a company called Selected Brides, in order to claim our prize. A slick salesman convinced us to purchase a set of pans which cost about $1500.00. He said that the company would run our credit to see if we were able to obtain in-house financing. We later got a call from them saying that we didn't qualify and therefore would not recieve our shipment until at least half the balance was paid, but that we had signed a contract and were obligated to pay the full amount or it would be turned over to a collection agency.

To date I have paid $505.00. My boyfriend and I are no longer together, and so there will certainly not be a wedding. I have called and explained the situation to the company, and was told that there are no refunds, only store credit for their online web site. I attempted to shop online, though their are no prices and the website is poorly maintained and laid out. In fact, most of the items for sale have no information about them and no pictures available. They even sell sets of pans which consist of one sauce pan and 5 diffent kinds of lids for various sized pans which are not included in the set, although the picture of the set shows the pans as if they were included (read the fine print).

I had to call the company to obtain a code so that I could see what the prices on the items were. It was so difficult that I almost paid my balance to get the pans. After all, the customer service people for carico and selected brides will tell you that either they or their supervisors own the lifetime warrentied products, and love them. After reading so many negative reports, I don't want anything but my money back. Right now it appears I am forced to take home over $500.00 worth of Carico junk. To make matters worse, the purchase was in my boyfrinds name, and apparently I am now also responsible for the debt. In fact his name no longer even appears on the bill. I don't even remember signing anything at the presentation.

Andrea of Apo (08/28/05)
About 6 years ago I was drawn into Carico cookware demonstration. My fiance and I bought into their demo and bought $1500.00 worth of cookware and the products are horrible. I have had to throw away the cookie sheet and everything sticks to the pan and the food just gets destroyed. I am afraid to use any of the the other pieces and they are still in their box.

Shamika of Killeen TX (05/03/05)
I too purchased the same Carico Cookware from Clarksville, TN. My husband and I were enticed with a free vacation we had won. Too our suprise everyone who put their name in the box won this so called free vacation. I truly think that they went about this the wrong way and that this is total and complete false advertisement. Our cookware is over 1800 dollars and is no better than the regular I purchase from Wal-Mart. By the way I love Wal-Mart products. Carico cookware simply JUST DOESN'T WORK!!

The consequence is paying entirely way too much for cookware that doesn't live up to its claims. We are still paying on this cookware as of today and it was purchased in Feb 2004.

Kyle of Plantation FL (03/02/05)
My fiance and I were sucked in by a free trip and other free prizes for showing up and attending the presentation. After sitting there we decided to purchase the product. The sales guy said that everyone was approved so give your good faith money and you would receive your cookware. I signed the paperwork and after signing he says that if i'm not approved i'd be put on a layaway plan. I had already signed and I told myself if i'm not approved i'll just pay in full for the cookware. We are able to pay for something if we need to.

The problem comes in when after weeks of not hearing from Carico about anything, and expecting the delivery service to show up any day now, I attempt to contact carico regarding the status of my order. I called on day one but was on hold for half an hour. I hung up because i'd be paying for cell phone minutes more than the cookware, so I went to their website to get info on the order. I filled in the online form and a representative was supposed to call me back shortly. I don't know how long shortly is because three days went by. I then went to another area of the website and sent email to support@carico.com to see if anyone would respond there. Nothing. Therefore, my last alternative was to just clear my schedule and be prepared to hold.

I called and finally someone answered after about an hour. I told them I was holding for an hour and they responded by saying do you have an account with us? like what I just said was inaudible to human ears. No apology, no sorry to hear that, no nothing. I told her I paid about three hundred dollars a few weeks ago and didn't receive anything. Cookware, letter, bill, nothing. She then transferred me to credit where a lady said I was declined. I asked her to give my money back and she said ok and hung up. Now I have to wonder does ok mean she's giving me my money back? She didn't ask for my address, she didn't confirm my name, nothing.

The carico company appears to be fully stocked with unprofessional salespeople and representatives. Who knows if I will get my money back. Who knows if I was even the person who they saw in the computer. They asked me nothing in regards to processing my refund. Just ok and hung up while i'm trying to still talk to them. Buy Carico if you Dare. You better have your $2000 cash on you and take it away in your hand and hope you never have to speak with them again.

Allan of Los Angeles CA (02/04/05)
My finace recieved a phone call shortly after attending a bridal expo. It was a Carico representative telling her that we'd won a free honeymoon! She came home excited & bubbly, but I immediately smelled a scam. The catch to the free honeymoon, is you have to attend a 2 hour seminar about Carico products. I agreed to go as kind of a social experiment but had told my fiance not to really expect a vacation out of it. So we go to the seminar where only 1 other young couple attends and we listen for the 2 hours. Some of it was informative (like the science behind the creation of different pots & pans), and some of it was downright insulting (like the sales rep giving us a contrived family history about how his father was a Carico sales rep for 30 years and met his mother while selling Carico cookware. Of course 30 years later, his mom is still using the same cookware *queue sales pitch*)

Their products looked all well & good, and I would actually consider purchasing them if not for the forceful & sheisty sales delivery they gave us. Basically what Carico does is lure in young, unsuspecting couples with the promise of a free honeymoon, then they (con)vince them to spend $2000 on cookware by making it sound cheap (only $25 a week!) When I told the sales rep that I was interested in the cookware, but i'd rather put it on my wedding registry for family members to purchase, he told me the only way to do that was to agree to a loan right now, and they would set up a registry where the family would pay off that loan.

I told him that wasn't feasible as we didn't want the debt falling on us if all of the registry wasn't covered, so i asked politely if there was a way to order their products at a later date. The answer of course, was NO. He kept refusing my genuine attempts to purchase their products because i was trying to purchase it by alternate means rather than instantly putting myself in $2000 debt. You have to buy it all now or you can't buy it at all. If this isn't a scam, I don't know what is. We did get our coupon for the 'free' vacation, but it'll take a bit more research to figure out how legit that one is.... I would just like to warn future newlyweds attending a Carico seminar to keep this in mind before you let them put you into debt.

Ella of Forestville MD (10/26/04)
I wanted to finance cookware. I wanted to cancel the order and they never returned my phone calls. Carico shipped the cookware without my knowledge and I want to return the cookware. I do not like the way they conduct their business and I want nothing to do with the organiztion. I will try to speak with someone, because I want to return these items ASAP.

Brian of North Kingstown RI (08/26/04)
My wife and I had attended a carico show in providence RI, enticed by a free vacation. After completion of the show we sat with the representative and filled out paperwork to buy $1800 worth of cookware on credit. The representative said that they approved almost everyone and assured me that without a bankruptcy financing would not be a problem. We paid shipping in cash at the show.

A week or so later we received a monthly statement which stated the following: Thank you for establishing an Extended Cash Plan with our company. You will receive monthly statements like this one to facilitate making your payments. ONCE YOU HAVB PAID YOUR FULL BALANCE YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE YOUR MERCHANDISE.

I did not see any reason to make payments for years in hopes of receiving cookware years from now. (Min payment per month was $25) The statement also says on it that any payments not received in a timely manner will had adverse credit consequences. I called Carico to tell them that I was not interested in an Extended Cash Plan. That since I HAD NEVER RECEIVED ANY PRODUCT from them did not matter. They claimed that I owed them $1300 and that if I do not pay it they will get a judgement. This company admits that they have sent no product and yet claims that I owe them the debt as if they had.

Their representative insulted me throughout the call saying that if I could have been a gentleman and called before, that I could have been a gentleman and paid my bills. He claimed that I could not cancel the order, that I would owe the debt no matter what, and that they would just ruin my credit, though people like you probably don't care. He also told me not to be so high and mighty because it was due to my credit that I had been put on this plan. Does this company have a right to collect this money, get a judgement, and or make reports to credit agencies even though I have never received even one product from them?

Franya of Clinton MD (01/07/04)
My husband and I purchased some cookware from Carico just before we were married. It was very expensive, and promised to last forever and continue to be non stick. These products are horrible. Everything sticks to it and after just over a year it's starting to fall apart. We could have gone to Wal-Mart and purchased a much less expensive product that does what it says. We are very unsatisfied!

Sarah of Elizabethton TN (02/17/03)
A Carico rep came to my school back in May of 2002. She provided lunch for all of the students who attended the presentation and promised to send us $5 per person. I was sold on the cook ware whe she told us that if we purchased the cookware we would recieve a 4 day 3 night vacation to our choice of a few locations. The package included meals, drinks and entertainment such as free scuba equipment rentals etc. She said that we would receive a package where we would then select the location in about six weeks. Needless to say I nor anyone who purchased the cookware packages received anything about it. When i called Carico they were very rude to me and explained it's not they're problem that i would need to take it up with my rep who sold me the cookware that she was an independant sales rep.

Our class never did receive the $5 we were promised either.

Juie of Portland OR (02/04/03)
My daughter and I attended a presentation of Carico products following a Bridal Show in Portland, Oregon. The presentation was entertaining, professional and persuasive. After some discussion my daughter and I decided to order the starter cookware set. I was asked to initial a stamped box at the bottom of the contract verifiying that I understood all sales to be final. After more research on what we had purchased we realized that we had spent more than our budget would allow. In looking at the contract we noticed that we had 3 days to cancel the transaction. The form also stated that these forms were attached to the contract--which they were not.

We went to the hotel the following day to ask for these cancellation forms. The first young man told us that he couldn't get them for us because the salesman had them in his briefcase and was busy giving a presentation. The second young man reminded us that we had initialed a statement that the sale was final. I pointed out to him that it actually says all *processed* sales are final and that the contract also states we have 3 days to cancel. He said this was an in-home contract that they are using and those forms are not available.

I returned later with my husband. We were told the forms did not exist. That this was an in home demonstration contract and to call the 800 number for assistance. We informed him that we were aware that these contracts could not be cancelled by phone. He insisted that if we simply called Michael Vincent at the 800 number all would be taken care of. I did not reach anyone at the 800 number and my message was not returned.

My husband's research confirmed that the company is in violation of the FTC's Cooling Off Rule. (See FTC 16 CFR 429). The company, from our perspective, is in violation in these areas:

1. Failure to provide attached cancellation forms or to alter the final sentance of the Notice to the Purchaser informing him of where to find the cancellation forms.
2. Failure to verbally inform purchaser of the right to cancel within 3 business days.
3. Attempt to persuade the purchaser verbally and in writing (initialed rubber stamp) that the right to cancel has been waived.
4. Refusal to provide the purchaser with cancellation forms on request and leading customer to believe that calling the 800 number would resolve this problem.

We stopped payment on our check and sent a certified letter of cancellation to the company before our 3 days expired. We also have registered a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in Florida.

Thankfully, our loss has been minimal; $20 to stop payment on the check and $2.30 to send a certified letter. The real damage here is in a company skirting the law to finalize their sales and manipulating the customer into believing that they have no recourse.

Sheryl of White Salmon WA writes (9/1/02):
Carico is a company that lures you in with the promise of a "Free Vacation." When you hear their presentation, it is connected to the purchase of very expensive products. My daughter-in-law, of only about 7 months, registered with Carico at a Bridal Show. She and my son attended the vacation presentation and purchased a set of the Carico cookware and china ... about a $1,800 purchase! They paid for it with a credit card ... her card ... he was an authorized user, but the card was not in his name.

She was so excited about the purchase and waited with great anticipation at its arrival. On Father's Day, 6/16/02, we had lunch with them. She was almost giddy because the purchase would be arriving any day. She just couldn't wait, she was so excited.

That night she was tragically killed in a horseback riding accident. They found her body the next morning, and the purchase arrived at the house hours later. It was like a knife through the heart over and over, seeing those boxes sitting there in the kitchen. I called Carico and explained the situation, and I asked if there was any way we could return it. The boxes were unopened.

I was transferred from person to person until finally getting a sweet, young woman named Robin. She told me her supervisor said to send them a letter explaining what had happened, along with a copy of the Death Certificate and they would send us mailing labels to return the boxes. They even told us how sorry they were of the situation. Well, we did that, and waited and waited and waited. After over a month, my son called them and was told that they would not accept the purchase back because it was made in his name, not hers. They never bothered to let him know this, nor did they plan to. They just left him hanging in mid-air.

We turned the whole file over to the Estate Attorney. Carico will not answer the letters. The attorney, my son, nor myself can get them on the phone. There is an address to write them on the shipping invoice, which the attorney has. They have a web site, but you cannot directly contact them in any way. They advertise that "Carico is Forever." Boy, they certainly mean that! My son is a simple country boy who will never be using this expensive cookware and china. This company does not care about this customer or this special situation at all.

The cookware and china continue to sit unopened as a painful reminder of my son's wife's excitement and anticipation. The purchase was for her. My son will never use these products, and it hurts so much to have it sit there. The money isn't the issue here. Yes, if the merchandise is returned a refund would be due, but it is the pain that this is causing him and the added stress of trying to get some satisfaction in getting them to stand behind what they said they'd do.

The attorney who is handling the estate should be able to resolve this. However, if the son husband signed the contract and accepted delivery of the merchandise, the company may be legally justified in arguing that it has fulfilled its part of the contract and should be paid.

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