336395 Mon Oct 23 13:54:03 -0700 2006 18 29 Not About Food 0 1965547 I received an invitation in the mail to join the Cooking Club of America. For $12 a month I get to test different products, techniques and sometimes keep the appliance. Also comes with a monthly magazine filled with recipes, cooking secrets, etc. Has anyone tried this club or heard anything about it? I'm tempted to join but it sounds too good to be true and I don't want to be hassled. Any feedback is much appreciated! Mon Oct 23 13:54:03 -0700 2006 40297 basil4me 1 1965951 Put the invitation into the trash. CCA is exceptionally aggressive in their marketing techniques and the items that you are sent for "testing" or as premiums are cheap. On occasion, the magazine has had some decent recipes, but once you subscribe, it is nearly impossible to get rid of them, even after you unsubscribe. Trust me. In about six months after you join, you will get a notice claiming that you have been selected for life-time membership into CCA, all for a small fee of around $300 or so. It simply isn't worth it. On top of that, I consider their marketing predatory as they will send you invoices for subscriptions, even though you haven't agreed to them. Three years after not renewing my membership, I still get the fake invoices stating that I need to send in X dollars to reactivate my membership. Never. Mon Oct 23 16:26:22 -0700 2006 1965547 10633 Seth Chadwick 2 1975523 Yeah.....everything HE said!! And more..... They are the WORST! I joined unawares and now cannot get them off my back and haven't sent them money in ages and I keep getting their mag, their notices and their letters. I started stuffing everything back into the postage paid envelopes and sending them back to them- i think they may have finally gotten the hint!! The recipes are loaded with fat and calories and the few I have tried never tasted very good. Thu Oct 26 21:37:35 -0700 2006 1965951 14083 cooknKate 3 1983896 Call their Member Services line and be forceful. My husband once worked for the parent company of this magazine, and believe me, predatory is the name of the game. Member Services might not deal with you right away, but keep it up. If nothing else, contact the USPS about fraudulent demands for membership dues after you have cancelled. I wish you luck. Mon Oct 30 22:05:36 -0800 2006 1975523 49525 cayjohan 3 1985685 Hi, I actually signed up and then I got my first thing to test. It was a poorly designed measuring device, Supposedly to replace measuring spoons. I concluded after seeing a small return form (for my testing opinion)that THAT was just an inducement to get one to pay for their book. I think it is an insult to ones intelligence to let us think they are evaluating our 'evaluations.' How patronizing! I quess I was reading too much work related material and thought this would be a fun respite!! Even a memebership card! Please!! Now I'll have to go through the tired routine of getting them off my back!! HA!! I quess I deserve it! Sandi Tue Oct 31 16:37:05 -0800 2006 1975523 50179 britzbeads 2 1987829 I agree! Wed Nov 01 05:34:07 -0800 2006 1965951 11408 melly 2 2279821 Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!! I just received an "invitation to join" too and I'm glad I looked it up here first. The dues that they ask for is $12/yr, not $12/mo. as the original writer of this subject wrote. I must say that the low price was very tempting at first. But alas, thanks to all who put their 2 cents in. Sat Feb 10 14:17:26 -0800 2007 1965951 34193 pinkylechat 1 1965985 Here's my post on it a while back... http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/303164?user_name=&query=cooking+club+of+america In a nutshell, don't do it! Mon Oct 23 16:34:57 -0700 2006 1965547 12813 Katie Nell 1 1966971 Thank you for responding so quickly. I'm sooooo glad I decided to ask about this, I guess my suspicions were right on. Mon Oct 23 21:21:55 -0700 2006 1965547 40297 basil4me 1 1967069 Save your money for some really good kitchen equipment that you will use! Mon Oct 23 21:53:01 -0700 2006 1965547 13201 Seattle Rose 1 3471700 Get rid of it quick!!!!!!! You'll be pestered forever! Fri Mar 07 20:31:46 -0800 2008 1965547 110475 charlottecooks 1 3649580 Thank you all for this information. i just ran out to my mailbox to retrieve the registration form, tore it up and trashed it. Glad i decided to get more info before the mailman came! Fri May 02 07:18:20 -0700 2008 1965547 170509 Espie 1 3655790 Nah, don't waste your money. I just got the invite, too. I kept the combination bowl scraper/pasta measurer, and the magnet (because I thought it might be a nice frame for a photo on the refrigerator) and recycled the rest. I have enough to do without having to deal with that. Sun May 04 15:23:56 -0700 2008 1965547 32586 revsharkie 1 3655817 It's good and bad. I keep getting told I'll get this and that sent, but haven't received anything really. They keep sending me the magazine for which I am never billed. I get an invoice saying I can become a lifetime member,but it was not anywhere near $300 dollars. I believe it was $25 or $35 dollars. I declined, but I still receive the magazine. If receiving a free magazine once a month is a burden, bring it on Sun May 04 15:39:31 -0700 2008 1965547 165800 jhopp217 1 3868342 Well, after countless snail-mail posts to these clowns, I finally smartened up, thanks to one of you. I called the customer service 888 number. My guess was to be on hold for a while. Why put more than one person on the cancel extension as the member may just get tired of holding and hang up. I hung in there for a TWENTY-TWO MINUTE HOLD!! Then after getting all of my information, the lovely voice said it would take 23 days to have this finalized as it has to "go through the system!!" Ha! I told them in this day and age of high-tech goodies that that was unacceptable and from this point forward all items received would gladly be accepted as gifts from their marvelous organization. What a bunch of scammers. Mon Jul 14 15:17:23 -0700 2008 1965547 209771 rakasome 1 3883089 I got my invitation and held on to it for a week while I procrastinated on making a decision. THANK YOU to all who posted to this as I know I just saved myself a ton of headaches by not applying. As the old addage goes: If it sounds to good to be true, it usually is!! Sat Jul 19 07:57:21 -0700 2008 1965547 211207 TiaRanita 1 4886398 Hello -- Thanks so much for posting this question. I just got my CCA "Invitation" and almost fell for it but after reading the responses I am putting everyth9ing in the trash. I guess we all need to be reminded that if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. I read the endless letter that comes with the package -- interestingly, none of the posts here mention the $100 in grocery coupons of your choice that supposedly come with the membership. Did anyone get those? BTW, the good thing about this whole experience is that my research led me to this site. THAT is a plus. Cooke in Maine Fri Jul 24 04:58:36 -0700 2009 1965547 1096311 Cooke in Maine 1 5031151 I too rec'd an "invitation" in the mail from this place...my "invitation" was in the form of, as they called it, a 'DUES INVOICE"! What I found even more frustrating than their fake billing was the fact that they gave me NO means of contacting them...no website, no phone number or anything! Has anyone found a way of contacting them (other than the address on their greedy little return envelope for payment)? Any information on this topic would be very helpful. Thanks! Tue Sep 15 08:10:50 -0700 2009 1965547 1109488 lorifishercash 2 5031552 Even if it's NOT a postage-paid envelope, write on their lengthy "invitation" DECLINED - NEVER ORDERED and send it back to them. As it has their address on it, and if you don't put your address on it, they'll have to pay to receive it, thinking they're scamming someone into paying for it). They'll discover they did scam you when they open the envelope. Or it will just get tossed by the USPS. Either way - you didn't order anything from them; you're under no obligation to pay. But if you really want to attempt to get off their mailing list, here's their contact info (you can usually go to a website and go to their Site Map to find an actual contact page vs. their online contact page where you send them an EMail): http://www.cookingclub.com/FAQ/FAQDetail.aspx?id=127654 Tue Sep 15 10:13:06 -0700 2009 5031151 10532 LindaWhit