Bridal Shower "Contest" Scam Warning - Canada

Firefighter_Barbie

Hey Ladies!

I figured I better let you all know because this just happed to my friend yesterday and to myself tonight. I went to a local bridal shower (not that big) in febuary and I had a friend who is a newly bride herself attend aswell. She called me lastnight explaining that she won this resort package for her and her FH that included a 3 day/2 night stay at some 5 star hotel and she had to pick it up at our local TravelLodge on May 28th. We were both very excited and had a fun time planning her trip of course.

Tonight at 5pm my cell phone rang and this very pleasent lady explained that she was from a company who sold cooking ware (she talked way too fast and quiet so I didn't pick up the name) and I had one a 3 day/2 night stay resort package at a hotel for my FH and I and we had 18 months to use it. She went into a very ellaborite discussion on where all the hotels were located and everything. Then she said that the company is doing a 90 minute seminare at our local TraveLodge on the 28th and all I had to do was show up and watch how to use their stainless-steel cookware and in the end they will present me the package and that would be all. She gave me a contact number to call back tomorrow 1-888-729-4906 with a code and then I can claim my prize. She even knew my fiance's name and told me what booth they were in and everything at the bridal show. I got real excited call my friend and my fiance and my parents and told them. After a few minutes I thought that it was weird that both my firend and I won so I googled the phone number that the lady gave me and I realised that this company who is called "Charm Canada" will call all the brides who left their phone numbers with companies and get them hooked on this deal they can't refuse but it's a scam. They were never at the bridal shows and it's just to get people to buy their product. If you follow through with their offer, they will find some "legal" way to get out of giving you the package by saying they made a terrible mistake and you didn't win it or you have to buy a certain dollar worth of product first but you still get nothin, etc.

Anyways I know that was extremely long winded, but I figured I should warn all the brides here about it. I don't know if it affects anyone in the USA but in Canada it does.

Thanks everyone!!
Kate 

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the info. I had been warned by friends about those bridal shows and sometimes is all they want is your personal info. I myself did not attend any and the planning has been just fine, esp with TK.

maratea

Yep, they definitely do it here too. I heard the same speech before my wedding as well. I didn't listen longer than a minute, but it was annoying and aggravating.

Firefighter_Barbie

It was weird because I can normally pick out the different in scams or real prizes and this phone call sounds extremely legit. and nothing like a telemarketer (which was my first thought when she called). It was also crazy about how much info she had on me like my wedding date, my FH's name, etc. They totally take advantage of brides and the knowlege that when we go to bridal shows that we fill out so much stuff to begin with that they can call us and lie and we will agree to it. I loved the bridal show that I went too and I came out with a lot of free stuff (only reason why I went :P ) but I will admit after about a month I was getting a lot of calls from buisnesses which I completely expected but it got to the point with one lady that I threated to press charges because she called me multiple times after I said no. All things to think about and now scams... 

vsgal

it is not technically a scam. It is very high pressured sales.  Basically, you go to the presentation and they talk for 90 minutes and then they try to sell overpriced, sub-par quality cookware.  The catch is that they have the same sales tactics as timeshares.  They use very skilled sales people to try to bait you.  If you don't fall in line in the first 10 minutes or so, they will bring in the "closers".  These people are touted as management that just happened to be at the presentation and would hate for you to leave without the product.  It is almost like an interrogation.  You can't leave, they get in your personal space, they do some fast talking and they use tactics to make you believe you can't live another day without their cookware. 

Yes, you get the trip. However you have to pay the taxes, fees, and travel (plane or car) for the trip.  The company will not cover those expenses.  Most of the hotels that you will be put up in will be 2-3 star, in a rough area of town.  They will not spring for a luxury hotel room.  They will also use blackout dates for peak times, holidays.  Also remember that they are getting a discounted rate from the hotel.  That being said, there are only so many rooms that the hotel is willing to let go at that price.  You may not get to go at the time you want to.  Along those same lines, you will pay taxes and fees on the full price of the room, not the discounted rate.

In the end, for a price, you get to stay in a sub-par hotel that you have paid a pretty penny for.  You lose two hours of your life that you can't get back.  You end up spending $1000 on cookware.

Not a scam, just not worth it.

sea2525pooh

wow I can't beleive this company has been doing this for over 2 years as I just received a call from them today. Thank you so much for the info

melanie2600

Wow April 2013 and the scam is still going!! And I found posts from 2009! So going on at least 4 years! How can we stop this!?
I live in QC City and just got this message that I won from the company Dinner for 2. She spoke in french but with a foreign accent. And gave me the number 1-888-729-4906.
I'm glad I checked on the internet before callng. Timeshare or not, it still is a scam since they seem to use different companies (Table Charm, Dinner for two and others if you do a google search) That is a scam in my opinion!! Very Sketchy
I don't know where they got the number... could be from a bridal fair...
Or Do we give our numbers on Knot... that could be it too! :S
I guess we gotta be careful where we leave our phone numbers.

shannonbourgeois87

So Love this thread! I got a call two nights ago from Kitchen Charm saying the EXACT same thing. I have had this before, where they go through an entire speal tell me i wont a huge trip and last time at the end said i needed to give them 500 bucks to put a deposit down/book. I hung up lol. Yeah you won but here let me charge you 500 just to make sure u get it. Anyways so when I got the call on kitchen charm i was skeptical, thought whats the worst that could happen? if it turns out to be a scam then we leave, my fiance was not as open to the idea, said too good to be true, so we said we would go to one of their appointments, but in the meantime i googled the company. Saw lots of information about Table Charm being a scam and went to table charm's website. Turns out it is identical to the kitchen charm website http://www.kitchencharm.ca/ and offers the exact same prizes!

Glad I googled. We wouldn't have bought anything, my fiance is quite the skeptic and would have been a complete jerk to them, but glad we didn't waste our time.

thanks guys! Just wanted to warn other ladies they are using a different name now! In Ontario anyways. (you'd think they would at least try to change up the site to make it less obvious....)

ShawnaLynnLittle

Got the call tonight from Kitchen Charm. I immediately thought scam and told them I'd have to call them back.  I don't understand how they got my information as I haven't attended any bridal fairs...

[Deleted User]

Same caller got a hold of me. Had the phone number 1(905)761-8847 on my phone but left 1(888)729-4906 in the voicemail.  The company name that the woman on the phone gave was "Kitchen Charm". Once again they gave me a code to claim my prize but knew my name and my fiancé's name.  I want to know how they are getting all my information. Not a fan.

RebeccaB88

When I went to a wedding show, I gave them a dummy email address and changed my phone number just slightly, and refused to provide my address (they didn't argue with me about that). If there was a vendor I was honestly interested in, I gave them my real info directly.

meganroberge

Very thankful for this forum post! I received a call last night from 'Kitchen Charm' saying that my fiance and I had been chosen to win a few gifts. They said i had to call back by 9 pm that night (they called and left a message at 730) or by 2 pm the next day. The call didn't even come up on my phone, just the voicemail!
I didn't remember providing my number to a vendor by that name, so I googled them and their website does not seem legit. Needless to say, I will NOT be callng back.

Thanks ladies!!

goldchocobo.defunct635829490514903826

I just wanted to report that my cell had a missed call from 905-761-8847.  Since I don't have voicemail, I google searched it and it lead me here.  I wonder who sold my number to these trolls.  Thanks for the heads up!

ETA: I know this thread is old but I want people to know this scam is still alive and kicking.

smkim24

Wow I'm so glad I stumbled onto this thread! I just received a call from Kitchen Charms and I do remember giving my real name and number at the recent bridal show in Toronto, thinking what's the harm. My fiance wants to go since he wants to see how "hard" they sell, haha. I can't believe this "scam" has been going on for so many years. 

emmaaa

This thread was started in May 2010.

I'm going to close this @lyndausvi.