Berghaus knives scam
September 16th, 2004A guy called Jacob called at my house today. He said he’d been staying with my neighbour Roger and was on his way back to Holland after a catering trade show at RAF Benson, nearby. He didn’t want to take all his stock back on the ferry with him: were we interested in taking any of it off his hands? If we could cover his costs he’d let us have an entire case of knives and a 12-piece cookware set for roughly 10% of the retail price (1425 EURO for the pans, 795 for the knives). Apparently Roger had already bought three sets! He produced lots of fancy documentation, guaranties and certificates when we agreed to purchase one of each.
It didn’t occur to me to google the Berghaus brand, or Polstar Trading, his company’s UK partner, until *after* Jacob left, even though I was sat next to a laptop in the kitchen throughout. When I did, soon afterwards, I found this entire forum and a few other links devoted to stories of the tactics used by the salespeople selling these ‘non-existant’ brands. Obviously we stopped the cheque immediately.
Since this is my personal site and I get to make the rules, please write in English. I also reserve the right to delete comments for whatever other reasons I see fit.
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Technorati tags: knives | kitchenware | scam)
December 9th, 2004 at 7:01 pm
I have the set of knives from Berghaus. I do not know if they are real or fake, but…they are wounderful!!!I paid them 59 euros through e-bay. I use they 4 monthes now. What I know, is that producers of expensives knives wants to increase their sales through internet. Through the network they have they cannot, so they use e-bay and other ways. If you see the quality of the knives, you buy them immediatly. If you are not happy with the knives, you can always use the suitcase, which is more than 59 euros value!!!Cooking is my hobby, I cut the meat, the bread, vegetable…in a second. Robish ? far from that. For 59 Euros? I know someone who has the pan set of berghaus !!!even if it’s fake !!!the quality, the design and the finish are marvelous. To make nice and quality things is not always expensive. Most of the time, you pay the name. With Berghaus, you buy quality, no name and direct…which means, at the cheapest price !!
December 10th, 2004 at 1:18 pm
I’m not saying the knives are completely worthless, clearly if you buy a set for 59 Euros you’re paying a reasonable price. I’m just objecting to the bullshit sales technique and the idea that they’re heavily discounted.
February 1st, 2005 at 6:59 am
Just spoke to my dad this evening, he told me that a chap drove past in a mercedes,stopped and said that he couldent take the knives on the ferry so make him a offer for the knives, £50 he paid,itold him that many years ago on thats life they warned of scams like that, but for the money the set looks worth every penny.
February 1st, 2005 at 8:45 am
Surely that’s the point? They’re worth every penny of £50, not the £500 he was presumably told was the original price.
February 8th, 2005 at 1:07 pm
My partner was approached at work by a dutch salesman with the same story he had 5 sets left and there were five guys at his work at the time. he first wanted 400 for each set but they told him they would pay no more than 25 per set so they all bought a set. one of them sold their set for 180 pounds later the same day. They look great and they are really good quality for 25 pounds, it is wrong that they sell them under false claims that they retail for more, but if you can get a set for 25 or 50 pounds they are wll worth the money.
March 1st, 2005 at 5:40 pm
there is a guy on the gutmtree.com offering a set of berghaus for 350 quid. the knives look heavy and crap.
March 30th, 2005 at 5:14 pm
a dutch guy came to the pub where i work and asked the chef for £5,000 for 3 sets of pans and 7 cases of knives. being a businessman the chef haggled him down to 500 for the lots .i bought a set of knives off the chef for £35 and theyre worh every penny of it
April 12th, 2005 at 5:53 pm
Same story as everyone above. To be honest I don’t really care that they are an unknown brand. I think that the products are of a excellent quality having paid £70 each for some knives and cutlery. In a retail environment I would expect to pay at least double this. However, I would have preferred it if the guy who was selling the stuff hadn’t pulled the whole story of needing to offload stock before returning to Holland. No need!!!
April 17th, 2005 at 1:43 pm
I bought the set from the dad of a friend of mine :)
i really needed a good knife set and this beauty is it man :)
paid 125.05 euro and im a happy man :D
the handles are hollow wich makes em very light, but i`ll get used to that :)
nice suitcase, guys, its brilliant :)
April 18th, 2005 at 10:34 pm
Same story as above as all the rest.
A dutch guy came into our office in Havant today selling the pan set …. very good sales man, nice BMW (But then again so would I be if I was selling moody gear at a knocked up price)he claimed they sold for £800 but was under instruction by his boss just to get the VAT back - tee hee - which was £120 so I thought my misses might like a new pan or two and bought a set , as did my Son and my secretary . Kinda agree with both sides of the story, on one hand why claim there real if there not -( well .. reason being it makes them more desirable and people think they are getting more of a bargin - hense more sales)but on the other if it makes people happy to buy these goods believing they are real then why not. At the end of the day we ALL pay more for products with a label which doesn’t always make them better quality … used the pans tonight and they are of good ISH quality … but if the same happened to me again I would pass the bargin onto someone else.
May 2nd, 2005 at 5:26 pm
Just bought pans cutlery and knives off a dutch guy claiming to be deliverying from a home exhibition in the area. He said he didn’t want to take back through customs I feel so stupid now. I paid £280 for the lot. He told me cutlery should have been £791, pans £914 and knives £534. Does anybody know if it would be leagal to cancel my cheque?
May 5th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
same story as above - just nearly been conned by very charming dutch man in Andover Hants driving a beautiful black BMW. luckily couldn’t write a cheque as have a broken hand at moment! he obviosly is doing very well as pulled out huge wad of notes to impress me. phew!!
May 9th, 2005 at 12:59 pm
UK RESIDENTS - COMPLAINTS REGARDING POLSTAR TRADING LTD
The UK Office of Fair Trading has received written Undertakings from Polstar Trading Ltd and Mr Wouter van de Pol (Dutch citizen and sole director of Polstar) that they will comply with doorstep selling legislation by providing the required information to consumers, particularly regarding the right to cancel their contract.
Under the Doorstep Selling Regulations (see note 1 of the press release below) consumers buying goods and services at home have the automatic right to a seven day cooling-off period in which they may cancel their contract.
The full press release can be found on the Office of Fair Trading website at http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press+releases/2005/31-05.htm
If you are a UK resident, were approached by representatives of Polstar Trading or Mr van de Pol at your home, and wish to make a formal complaint about Polstar’s practices, please contact yonnie.fung@oft.gsi.gov.uk or jonathan.taylor@oft.gsi.gov.uk.
May 10th, 2005 at 6:03 pm
Have you guys actually checked out their website?
http://www.berghaus-wwc.com
May 10th, 2005 at 6:18 pm
Yes, hilarious isn’t it?
How about this:
Through experience and workmanship, we also strive to contribute to a more comfortable, healthy life-style. Most of the cookware sets allow you to cook without adding water, salt or oil and to save energy.
and this:
The Berghaus company is proud that its cookware, tableware, cutlery and accessories is not only used by many households, but is also the first choice of professional chefs and first-class restaurants.
May 16th, 2005 at 8:11 pm
The sales patter of berghaus sales team from holland may be unethical, but you cant argue with the quality of the product, which is first class, and the prices they are being sold at [after haggling] are a bargain.
May 17th, 2005 at 2:25 pm
You can’t seriously believe you’re getting a bargain can you? They’re clearly making a big profit on every transation, no matter how much ‘haggling’ you think you’re doing… Why not check out (follow the links at the top of the page) what some people who’ve had this stuff for a while think about the ‘quality’ of the product, e.g.: “I bought the knives and they are horrible. They are a very heavy piece of dull steel. I brought them to a professionell service and they explained, they can not resharpen, as the steel is recycled and too soft. I am using them now in the garden ..”
May 20th, 2005 at 10:52 pm
Me too, sucker for a so called bargain. Usual story, dutch man/merc/unable to take knifes onto airline. Yes you all know the story by now. I parted with £150 for knifes and a full set of pots. Office of Fair Trading has a file on them, check OFT website.
May 28th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
Scam has reached Melbourne Australia. Paid AUD$600 for set of pots and the cutlery. Same story here too. Been at trade fair, can’t take the product back, returning to Holland….. Said it was worth $3000….
May 31st, 2005 at 9:35 am
the pricks are pulling off their scam in our area and they say they are from holland.
obviously it is they same story everone else is hearing. just letting people on the peninsula that there here.i paid $100.00
for a set of knives which looked ok, any way next time i’ll be a bit more causious.
they were in a green ford territory.
May 31st, 2005 at 12:23 pm
Yep, they have hit Ballarat Vic, I purchased the cookware set, which I think is pretty good quality, for the price I paid, it’s the big scam that I don’t like, gotta catch a plane tomorrow can’t take them with me and all that crap.
May 31st, 2005 at 1:00 pm
Hes doing the rounds in Southampton today, if you read this when he is at your office phone the police and let them decide if it is a scam, the Office of Fair Trading does have a file on him / them. Pale suite, green 4×4 car.
June 1st, 2005 at 3:42 pm
Just encpountered Merc salesman today in Perth(Scotland).Same story sales show cannot take goods through customs, how he got them here defied me!! Fortunately had no way to buy but products looked great. Tried to check the company website as “Hendrick” gave me a card. Search came up with this site I suppose I count myself lucky, but stuff did look great. Lucky escape!!!
June 3rd, 2005 at 3:34 am
We’re in Melbourne, Australia, and we bought the set of knives and pots and pans for $600, thinking we had done well, but have now just found out about the scam by finding this website. Same story, Dutch man who had been at an exhibition at the Crown Casino, needed to catch a plane, had 3 sets to get rid of. Luckily have cancelled the cheque and saved some money.
June 4th, 2005 at 10:41 am
We’re in Geelong, Australia and got sucked in on the same deal - Dutch salesman catching late flight to Holland and must offload saucepans, knives and cutlery after exhibiting at a trade show in Melbourne. Well, we’re the ultimate bunnies as we paid $1000 Australian in cash after haggling him down from $1500. I stood with the guy as my wife drove to the bank to withdraw the money for him. Anyway, they look like good quality but only time will tell. Too bad we decided to check the internet after purchasing.
June 4th, 2005 at 1:50 pm
Same Dutch guy approached me in the garden a few days ago here on the south coast. I didn’t buy, but took his card. What I want to know is - regardless of his slick but unbelievable sales-pitch - *are* the knives any good? I get about a 50/50 balance from reading buyers comments above….! Certainly I would be happy to pay a realistic price for a good product.
June 7th, 2005 at 12:45 am
dutch guy trying to sell berghaus cookware and knives on the mornington peninsula. luckily i said no but am curious,is the stuff original or replica and how would you be able to tell?
June 7th, 2005 at 12:46 am
checkout ‘chef knives’ on ebay a see if you spot anything similar?
June 7th, 2005 at 4:22 pm
This Dutch bloke gets around. Just bought a set of knives today. AUS$200.00 (80 Pounds). That’s Right, AUS, as in Australia. The story he told me is that he shipped them over for an exhibit and could not take them back in an aeroplane which he was boarding tomorrow. Beleivable story taken the restrictions of what you can take on board nowadays.
Knives certainly look as though they are worth it and maybe I would have bought them without the crap story, or maybe it’s just pride F#%*#&g with me. Any how sounds like from reading some of these comments that they are generally a pretty good product, or pride is f#%*#&g with every one. Time will tell. Don’t buy off the streets again!
June 8th, 2005 at 4:18 am
if anyone spots them in the latrobe valley can you post the details. thanks.
June 8th, 2005 at 6:50 am
(Torquay) Dutch guy sold me a few sets of knives and pots - he approached me last night and said he had to catch the plane that evening. Funny, he was in the bank today trying to cash my cheque. (Thought he was meant to be on a plane?). Anyway, lucky for me I cancelled the cheque last night after looking over product then website,and realised he was a hoax. Anyone want a set? If you Mr Dutchman read this, would you like to come back and pick them up? We’d love to have a chat.
June 8th, 2005 at 7:54 am
(Campbellfield, Melbourne)
Same story, fast talking, Dutch accent, well dressed, father is loaded and sent him here first class on Singapore Airlines. Has to fly out tomorrow and must clear the stock, yada yada yada.
I got suspicious while he was still on premises. Did a quick internet search and found this site while my business partner kept him busy.
He is driving a gold coloured Nissan X-Trail, rego starts with TLR***. We will hand the details over to the fair trading commission.
Buyer beware.
June 10th, 2005 at 2:38 am
He was in Tullamarine on tuesday 7th June with a load of goods in the back of silver station wagon he had rented from thrify rent a car,
He was selling the knives for $au200.00
From what i could see that was value for money after all they are worth a lot anywhere else,
At the end of the day this appears to be value for money, as for warrenty well what do you expect out of the back of a car,
There must be somewhere where these products are made?
If he is caught then i guess the tax man etc would like to have a talk with him.
he would not be hard to find and I take it hes not alone and has others doing the same pitch.
he is getting cash for all his transactions so hes doing alright.
I guess the best way to catch them out is have him call back in an hour and have the police waiting for him.
I am sure if they were interested they could find out who hired a sliver 4cyc station wagon from thrify earlier this week.
if you have purchased them and they do work well etc why complain/
June 10th, 2005 at 12:38 pm
He’s now in the UK in West Sussex. About 25 years old, slim, glasses, blond and the Dutch accent. Driving a brand new, black Lexus with all the chrome bits and a dutch number plate
I said no thanks as anything for free is always a dodgy one!
June 14th, 2005 at 5:41 am
Well, it seems this scam has arisin in the small town of Drouin, Australia. My Dad just found an ad for a Bergaus knife set (supposedly worth $1400) for sale for $300, and a Pot Set supposedly worth more than $2000 for $600. Beware anyone in Victoria Australia, the scammers have moved on!
June 16th, 2005 at 3:26 am
The guy does get around, was here in Mt Waverely this morning, Thurs 16.June.05. Same speil, trade show in at Crown Casino Melbourne AUS, ready to sell saucepans for AU $300.00 and knives for AU $200.00.Was going back to Holland and did not want to take on aeroplane Did a search while he was here and declined his offer.
June 16th, 2005 at 2:01 pm
After Mt Waverly he high tailed it out of there and haggled a case to me for $150AU in Footscray. I presumed it was a scam (valued at $1000!) but who cares if your $6 chef’s knife isn’t worth $40?
I realise now I could have got him lower, and should have stood firm on my offer of $100 but his really bad slim-fit pinstriped brown suit was an unfair advantage and I caved in. If you wan’t some cheap knives like I did for the kitchen and tackle box, why not have a go!
June 16th, 2005 at 7:32 pm
the same dutch man has moved to palma de mallorca ,spain p.s they scamed me
June 16th, 2005 at 10:03 pm
nice car, nice sales pitch, knew he was dodgy but the gear looked great. brought some for £50 a set, then talked freinds into it too, even though we now know its hooky we think its not a bad deal. swapped a pair of surf shorts and a t shirt for the cutlery set…nice :)
June 17th, 2005 at 1:40 pm
Yes, he´s here in Mallorca. Around Punta Portals area. Bought a set myself. Am very pleased with it - have been looking in Corte Ingles for quite a time now. No comparison on price - but u have to know how to strike a bargain! If they turn out to be crap, Its´s only money. Personally, I´m happy to see a salesman - rather than say, some down and out drug addict flogging coke. Offer him 10% of his asking price and you´ll come up trumps!!
June 18th, 2005 at 1:25 am
Wow! Upon hearing the story I thought I would try to check out what the stuff is really worth and have been amazed at these stories. Relatives of mine purchased some of this gear after the precisely the same sales pitch, for around the same price as every one else, thinking they’d done really well negotiating the price… this occurred down Lakes Entrance way (Gippsland VIC, Aust) - he does get around!
June 18th, 2005 at 2:56 pm
These con artisits are now in Mallorca, particularly round the marinas.
However, the pans really seem very good quality
although I don’t know if the lids can go in the dishwasher.
June 19th, 2005 at 3:49 pm
I feel foolish. I bought the full set off a Dutch man last week. I fell for the presentation of the product and the smooth sale. I have just discovered this website after a handle on a large pot broke when I took boiled spagetti off the cooker. I have severely burnt my stomache and legs. I went to contact the company, however I have discoverd this website and I am now worrried. I will have to pursue this legally as it is obvious that I have been scamed and left with damages.
June 19th, 2005 at 4:01 pm
Beware
We encountered the Dutch Man selling his bogus wares earlier this month. He was on the way to the airport (as he has been so many times before) and needed to offload his stock left over from a trade fair. He could not take it on the plane and would do a super cheap deal to get rid of the lot. My wife decided to help him and take all his left over pots and knives and potentially sell them onto friends and relatives. As soon as he recieved the cheque he high tailed out of the area barely saying good bye. We were immediately suspicious. We decided to do our research:
Fact: There is no indication of where they are made. They, as we have discovered are made in an asian country, not Belgium as indicated.
Fact: There is no stamp on the quality of the metals. They, as we have discovered, are of low grade and recycled metals.
Fact: The handles on the pots are prone to break. They are riveted on with the heads brushed off.
Fact: The knives are of low grade metal. They will not sharpen and stay sharpe. A friend of ours who is a well known chef, laughed at the quality when playing with the equipement.
Fact: He is selling on false pretenses and is in breach of the trade pratices act under misleading information and deceptive conduct. He is violating trust and is to be reported to the Department of Fair Trading and Police if you encounter him. This is a Scam!!!
Needless to say, we cancelled our cheque and had the dutch man try to cash it the next day. Funny being that he was ment to be on a plane the night before.
We have since been contacted by Berhoff Australia(distributor of Berhaus) accusing us of Fraud on the cancelled cheque. I explained that we were advised by the police to cancell the cheque and a formal complaint was made. I am meeting the Dutch man tomorrow when he comes to pick up his his pots and knives. What he doesn’t know is that his pots are with the police and the Depatment Of Fair Trading. Good Luck to him. The Fine from Fair Trading will be more than he bargained for!!
June 20th, 2005 at 7:20 am
Leon Hendriks has just left our business today and like anything that is too good to be true, it is. We immediately jumped onto the internet to investigate. He had the same story about being unable to take the goods back after the Good Food & Wine festival. I shall warn the new pot owners about the dangerous handles.
June 26th, 2005 at 7:43 pm
We’ve just bought some knives, and I have to say that I don’t listen to any sales pitch, I make my own judgement on value - we paid £40 and thats what I believe they are worth.
Anyone thinking they are gettin a very expensive set for a knockdown price… well it’s the old saying, “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is”
Dan
June 27th, 2005 at 3:06 pm
yes the duth man is in palma de mallorca driven a porche cayana black with belgium numberplates i bought a set for 80 and he even give his mobile phone number 616820389 i was near the market of olivar palma de mallorca i only hope the knives will cut well and i thought it was a bargain
June 28th, 2005 at 6:27 pm
Yep he’s here in Torquay UK today I bought a knife set and a saucepan set I’m too embarrassed to say how much I paid. ….. but I’m cancelling the cheque tomorrow!!
The guys name is W Dewus … the sales manager!! Hope he catches his plane!
June 30th, 2005 at 11:33 am
this chap is now doing the rounds in Mallorca. same story as all above
June 30th, 2005 at 11:33 am
I bought a set of pots and knives a month ago. I did a test of emailing berghaus to say that i had a handle fall off, which I sent twice. There was no response, I was not supprised though, I just confirms that the guarantee is not anywhere near the value of the glossy card it is written on.
June 30th, 2005 at 2:33 pm
Well he was at the Gold Coast, Australia on the 30th of June 2005 and scammed both myself and my partner by the looks of things. The knives do look like good quality thou we paid $120 each, if they last a year ill be happy plus i liked the case they came in.
He said hes on his way to brisbane so look out guys LOL
July 8th, 2005 at 4:54 am
He’s just been at Ashmore on the Gold Coast. Watch out! Thanks for the website, saved me some money! 8th June 2005
July 10th, 2005 at 4:26 pm
Well, we met the dutch man, in his brand new BMW, same story, was in Surrey yesterday, we paid cash and I am now feeling very foolish, realised as soon as I looked on ebay that I had been done. I reckon that one of the emails on here is from him, the one going on about good quality in very bad English
July 12th, 2005 at 7:12 pm
12 July 2005
A nice young Dutchman complete with young son is doing the rounds in Angus and S Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The show was supposed to be at Abn Exhibition and Conference Centre. Have open mind on value - I suppose we will find out when the handles fall off!
July 15th, 2005 at 12:42 pm
now in belgium
same story as all above.dutch guy have to leave country and cannot take stock with him.
bought one set of pots and two sets of knives.
hope they will last a while so i wont be regratting buying stuff from such marketing people.
guess i’ll find out in future
July 19th, 2005 at 4:31 pm
i met a “mercedes” man today (19-7-05).i bought a few sets for not a lot of money,i think i paid about 25 to 3o quid each set.they are what they are,a cheap set of knives.they probably wouldnt be much good to a chef,but then again im not a chef so what the hell.i had no problem selling them on and no complaints.what is everyone expecting for a set of cheap knives out of a blokes car boot ? he is in the sevenoaks area of kent,england.
July 24th, 2005 at 12:34 pm
So this Dutchman drove onto my property about six months ago, all in a hurry to get rid of his pots and pans and knives as he had to catch the plain. I told him that I did not need any of his gear, but eventually bought a box full of pots and pans from him and had a case full of knifes and forks thrown in. The lot for £60. His story of the true value of around £1400 for the lot was quite entertaining, but of course a load of bullshit. I do not mind. I had a pleasant hour of bargaining with him and some silly jokes. We have used the gear now for over half a year. It looks good, works well and has not broken up yet. Worth every penny of the £60 I paid for it. My wife was thrilled when I gave it to her and threw all her existing stuff out of the house. She still jokes to her friends what a romantic I am. Not every guy gives his wife a set of pots and pans for Valentine’s day, which it was on the day of purchase!
July 25th, 2005 at 2:31 pm
The Dutch Guy called himself Jan.Called atb our Club in Bromley on 16th July 2005. Same patter as all above. Knives & saucepans for £150. look great, The Wife is happy. Just hope they last.
July 25th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
I’ve been using the pans and they’re fine - haven’t tried the knives yet. One thing that occurred to me though is that this guy could be financial data gathering also. Those who paid by cheque should speak to their bank and also to a credit file checker like Experian and make them aware just incase your information is sold on. ps: if anyone has the knife block I’ll buy it!
July 25th, 2005 at 11:35 pm
I have indeed bought the package of knives and pans and I also got the guys business card so if any of you want to contact the company direct here it is… hope this will be some help to someone
www.berghaus-www.com
Good Luck
July 26th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
My wife just bought a set of sausepans £50, does anyone know how to stack them? Got to laugh, this guy must have racked up the airmiles.
July 30th, 2005 at 10:16 pm
A Dutch man in a new black BMW four wheel drive (left hand drive) with D on number plate came to our work yesterday- so is now in the Kent/East Sussex area. He had an A-Z of the area and his son in the car. He said he was returning to Holland and that customs would confiscate his products. He had three sets of pans, six sets of knives and three sets of cutlery- which we all bought from him! However, he did give a set of pans and knives away free as he was leaving. His cheque was cashed in that day. He also gave us each his card.
August 2nd, 2005 at 12:22 pm
A Dutch guy in a Kia 4 wheel drive has just been here (Epsom in Surrey). Same sales pitch, just been to the Ideal Homes exhibition in London and couldn’t take the knives back. I nearly bought cutlery and a pan set but to ask him to wait outside on the pretence of answering a phone call and checked online and saw this site. I didn’t buy anything.
I’m still quite confused, they seemed good quality heavy pans but I guess appearances can be deceiving?!?
In case those of you who have bought and are now unhappy need contact numbers I have these from his business card.
UK: 07792 954 238
IRL: 087 6955272
Netherlands: +31 346 353 655
August 4th, 2005 at 12:17 pm
ha ha..just bought a set of knives in Sussex, then came a searching, we know these are scams, but i’ve parted with £8 for 7 knives so thats ok with me, will use them for that money!!
August 9th, 2005 at 12:57 pm
My wife was justed conned by these people today she brought a set of knifes for 50 quid and they are crap.he was also selling saucepans but she did’nt have enough money.
But the worm has turned he left a buisness card and i phoned him saying i wanted to purchase 2 sets of saucepans at 150 quid each and the mug come back.
I trapped him in my garden he grabbed the knifes and gave us the money back after i shown him the web-site and called the police
he is driving a KIA 4×4 registration no 68-PT-HZ and his name is albert and his working in the kent area.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:31 pm
Target has been spotted in Belgium (belgian coast area). In an expensive BMW, with a kid on the back seat. To bad it’s illegal to use the knifes to slash his …
August 11th, 2005 at 5:40 pm
I have also met the dutch man driving a BMW four by four. He called at my place of work in Sandwich, Kent.
I was also fooled by the bull **** and bought a set however I feel they were well worth the £20 I paid for them. But agree with others about the selling technique.
August 11th, 2005 at 5:47 pm
dutch man/ mercedes - same story - bought 2 sets of knives / cutlery / pans for £500 - totally taken in - farnborough kent. 9.30am this morning! Just found this site !
August 12th, 2005 at 11:39 am
Dutch man, Black X5 BMW. Story: returning to Holland after a business trip - would we like samples at knock down prices.
I didn’t even entertain the idea of looking at them - seen a lot of this type of thing - rolex’s in service area car parks, generators and TV’S from gypsie’s.
If the price was that good why couldn’t he sell them to his ‘ Trade’ customers.
Folkestone - 12.00 12th Aug 2005.
August 12th, 2005 at 11:56 am
Chigwell, Essex. 11 Aug 2005. Big fat Dutch Man - Cornelis…..same story about not wanting to take knives on ferry back to Germany. Bought variety of goods with cheque. Fortunately, saw this website today and immediately cancelled cheques which had not yet been cashed. Phoned contact number on website www.berghaus-wwc.com and spoke to man who quite clearly was part of scam. People already trying to sell these products on ebay.. Beware!!
August 14th, 2005 at 7:33 pm
I bought a set of 12 sharp knives from the guy in the Black X5 BMW. I paid £40 for them and they have cut everything I have wanted to cut. I am quite happy with the set for 40 quid and scam or not, I think they are a bargain.
August 18th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
Why do these sites only come up after you have bought something? Story not that different here(Bruges, Belgium): Black BMW drove up to work of my girlfriends father. Telling him he had to catch a plane and it was not possible for him to take all the stuff with him. As my girlfriend and I are soon moving the possibility was there to do a bargain. He asked 200 euro for the pots & pans and 80 euro’s for the knives. Eventually we got them at 25 (!!) euro for the pots & pans and 20 euro for the knives…
I can’t say that I have been scammed.. the pots seem to be great quality and I don’t think that pots for 25 euro’s can harm my wallet… even if they only last for 2 years…
August 18th, 2005 at 2:30 pm
little correction… my girlfriend reminded me: the price was 60 euro. Anyhow… let’s find out soon if the quality meets the price or not…
August 19th, 2005 at 11:46 am
Same story but driving light grey Chrysler Voyager Dutch plate - 08 RB TJ in Dover area on 17.8. Claims to have been with nephew aged a dubious 15 years. Reported to Trading Standards and police now.
August 23rd, 2005 at 2:05 pm
Oh dear. Much the same story - Dutch man in the Weybridge Surrey area (yesterday). I paid £80 for the pan set and £40 for the knives. I was suspicious, but I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and so I sometimes get caught out. The set seemed pretty good quality, and I know what I paid for a pan set from a department store in the sale, so I’m not too disappointed. Only sad that my trust has been betrayed (again!) - probably wont be the last time. :(
August 24th, 2005 at 9:18 am
Been done by a guy named Fritz or Firietz in Basildon, Essex on Monday 22nd August.
Black BMW X5.. convincing story.. sold 6 lots of knives at £30 and 4 sets of pans for £65 to people at our depot.
One person has already had an accident caused by a faulty handle on one of the pots.. also beware that if you are thinking of selling on, suddenly the price isn’t so appealing and dont sell to friends because this stuff WILL cause accidents. The knives.. well they are low grade rubbish. Nearly blunt as new.. and just try using the sharpener, fine if you like little bits of flaked metal in your food.
Probably best to try and sell them at a bootsale as seconds or at an online auction.. but beware again for comebacks on fake/damaged/dangerous stuff, it makes sense that YOU could get caught out for selling faulty goods and not the conman.
Remember this same problem a few years ago with HI-FI EQUIPMENT for germany, AV systems top line brand you have never heard of.. really just cheap crap with fancy panneling and lights.
i defy anyone not to get caught out by this - but PLEASE BEWARE.
August 25th, 2005 at 6:23 pm
Latest attack in Germany con-man driving grey VW passat NL license plate number XT-LJ-32. Will be going to police for further action
August 25th, 2005 at 9:09 pm
haha! I was caught out in Holland, from what I read here, same story: he’s going away, can’t take them with him, has his son next to him etc. Didn’t catch the plate, but they were driving a new, dark gray, Hyundai or Kia juppy-tractor. Their website seems quite kosher, which makes me confused. But as an amateur, I can’t imagine the knives being worth €850,- He tried the pot’s and pans etc. on me too but *luckily* I didn’t go for that. I was genuinely looking to buy some good knives, but what am I going to do with this 24 piece box? I paid €100,- for them, what could I sell them for, what can do with them? Obviously I don’t want to rip anyone off. I guess I’ve learnt my lesson now anyway, so this is a warning that these people are now in The Netherlands. I’d like to leave my knives with him; I know a place where the sharpener will fit fine. Carefull people!
August 30th, 2005 at 3:07 pm
Leatherhead, Surrey - Silver 5-series BMW pulls up at a charity with the same story. Smart-dressed european guy claiming that we only had to pay him the ‘VAT’ on his pans and knives (around £70 for knife or pan sets) and that otherwise he would be more than happy to give them to the charity only his boss would get in trouble if they did not pay the tax.
We fell for it too!
August 31st, 2005 at 10:50 am
Guess what, the dutch guy is now running around Germany, northern Bavaria….Im not to upset because the price I paid wasnt to bad…but wish I had known it was a scam LOL…
Live and learn….
August 31st, 2005 at 4:56 pm
He guys. I am a guy of 13 years old, Dutch. We were on vacation last summer when some Dutch ‘’salesman'’(read: bandit) Came to us on a parking near the higway and asked us or we wanted to buy some of his knives or cookery stuff. He showed us the knives. My father thaught they were real. But he wasn’t sure to buy them. So my mother said: ‘’Well, if you want to buy them, that’s all right, it’s your money and after that you won’t buy sutch a things any more.'’
We were sitting in the back of the car, and the man tried to be very gentilly and asked us things like: ‘’how was the vacation kids?'’ He was riding a Volkswagen, silver, a van model. I looked IN his car and saw expensive looking navigations systems and a mobile phone. He wanted to give us his card (Adress, phone…) But my father said he didn’t needed it. But he did buy the knives. The man said he had been to some knive-expo in Strasbourg, and that his boss had told him to sell all of the knives he had left. The box said that the knives costed 300€, but the man sold them for 25€. And now, my father had been to a cook, and he sais it’s BAAAD qualitiy!!!!! maxipower28692@hotmail.com
http://maxipower28692.write2me.nl
But remember:
Not ALL Dutch people act like this!!!
September 1st, 2005 at 8:53 pm
I just paid £36 for a set of these knives
on ebay. Seller said a couple of the knives had been used once or twice, but I think they all look decidedly dodgy. They all seem to have blotches(like water-marks) on the blades, and there seems to be patches of white on some of the handles where the black covering
has rubbed off. These knives are of inferior quality and I would rather have my money back. So watch this space.
September 2nd, 2005 at 2:26 pm
very happy with knive i have buy them a high price 2300 euro for 1 potset and 3 knives. he was from germany on the car he waas a dutch man and had sl 55 amg i feld scammed and boss calls is self donny
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:37 pm
my other half just brought a set of the knifes for 20 quid. A woman is always right i knew it was a scam ho well.
September 3rd, 2005 at 9:49 pm
Today me and my friends paid £230 each for some worthless pots and pans ( and knives ) from some Dutch men in a nice silver mercedes.
We are all in sales ourselves and were as we call it in the trade “hands up Cammies” and had our wallets out in a flash.
they were very slick told the customs story as usual and had our pants down !!
So beware they are in the North Yorkshire County Durham area !!
We are very upset and feel really stupid as we paid in full in cash there and then.
September 5th, 2005 at 3:35 pm
A guy turned up in lingfield Surrey today 05/09/2005 as we bought knives and sauce pans sets. They seem ok quality. The problem is after reading these messages they are the same issue - A dutch men speaking little english cannot take knives on ferry etc etc. Anyway we cancelled the chq. If he comes back report them to the Police and contact Trading standards. He is also trading under Lublin Trading Ltd. The business card states Polstar Trading Ltd. the contact was a G. Wieser tel 00447816956340. address of Amersfoortsestraat 68c 3769 Soesterberg Nederland. He was driving a New Silver Merc under a German plate.
September 8th, 2005 at 10:01 pm
Hey guys we have been had to …I am really mad at myself the story spun to us was just the same as all the above , ferry to catch cant take knifes back etc..etc…
I almost walked away as well I could kick myself…..I wish when i went into the house I had called the police instead of parting with our money..
Oh well …our knifes we ahve now are next to useless so if these only last a year or so..its not so bad..
I am grateful that people took the time to send out warning about the handles on the pans..
Gosh wed were so stupid sorry if you got caught too..
September 12th, 2005 at 12:54 pm
My sister bought a set of pots and knives for £150 from one of these Berghaus salesmen in Surrey. She then decided she didn’t actually need them and offered them to me. I phoned the company to find out more about their product and sales process. I can’t vouch for the quality of the product because i haven’t used it but the company’s website does give a good overview and they told me that all their sales are done by freelance salesmen.
Has anyone got anything good to say about the quality of Berghaus’ product?
September 12th, 2005 at 2:51 pm
Shoudln’t some1 contact cops or something?
September 21st, 2005 at 4:32 pm
York, North Yorkshire.
Same story, exhibition & ferry etc. Dutch plates on blue picasso. Charming, young, well dressed dutchman with ‘poor’ English (actually it was quite good).
Bought 2 sets of pans & got 2 sets of knives ‘free’ for £358. Came to the house at lunchtime. We Googled it this afternoon and have just stopped the cheque after reading all the comments. We looked more closely at the knives, which were bendy and dull. They had very cheap looking plastic wrapping and came in a business briefcase! Didn’t even bother to look at the pans after reading the sites. Receipt said Polstar Trading & he asked for the cheque to made payable to Lublin Trading Ltd.
We also feel very prattish, as we did not read all the signs even though we felt more than a little suspicious. Thankfully we paid by cheque.
Do these guys dare to come back for their goods?
Hope this helps to warn others and thanks to everyone who posted & saved us this money.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:07 pm
Same story… My Husband bought 1 set of knives… for my birthday… my kind-hearted husband wanted to surprise me. And he did! He bought the set for 135,- euro….. It is sad that these things happen. We will not be the first and we will not be the last. I am happy with the knives but only because my husband bought them for me…
(he bought them close by the Diemerzeedijk, Amsterdam)
Be carefull….
September 26th, 2005 at 1:36 pm
same story….
November 1st, 2005 at 11:35 am
Had guy here today. very charming. as soon as he said he would come to cash point with us i knew it was a scam. Narrow escape I feel.
November 2nd, 2005 at 5:27 pm
Had guy here today! Anna Maria Island Florida!! Same story! Selling Berghaus Cookware, told it was worth $1750.00 U.S. Dollars. I apparently was suckered I bought it for $100 U.S. Dollars. I guess with all your comments, it must be a knockoff. At least only suckered for $100 for a 12 piece cookware set.
November 22nd, 2005 at 11:29 am
My girlfriend bought me a present. I’m a chief and she did a nice thing without knowing she had been done over. It took 2 seconds for me to know the knives wouldn’t sharpen properly and the pots make this wiered crackle sound on the gas top…The boys at work have had a laugh. We use the knives for throwing and the pots feed the dogs
November 23rd, 2005 at 7:24 pm
The guys are stil going strong in SE England - Surrey. A certain Hendrik in a BMW X5 3.0 diesel on German plates WES-HD-703. Same story. Called police. Advise was stop the cheque & contact Office of Fair Trading (OFT). We’ll see what’s next & how to return goods…
November 30th, 2005 at 5:26 pm
Bought a set of these pans paid £80 found them to be of excellant value and cooking with them is great food tastes wonderful. Left one of these pans on and it did not catch fire but the sides of the kitchen unit warped had it been any other manufacture and don’t think we would be alive
February 9th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
These guys are right now in Tenerife … South
Beware !!!
February 17th, 2006 at 9:57 am
A guy, with the name of Gerrit is operating this scam in the Dorset area at the moment, selling the pans be very aware.
February 17th, 2006 at 10:09 am
Unfortunately, my Husband and I was taken in by this smooth talker, he was driving a Silver Mercedes in a smart suit , said he could not speak English very well and that his boss had given him permission to sell the last few boxes of pans,( bergaus 12 in the set ) before he was to return home,he seemed quite genuine, we asked to see his passport and b.card and got him down to £100, the pans looked quite expensive and I have used them, but they do not clean up very well ( show water marks ) he told us the handles were baker light and could be used in the oven so we tested them over heat and the handle stated to melt. Found this web site and feel really taken in.
Still hopefully we learn by our mistakes.
February 20th, 2006 at 4:49 am
Hi i was wondering if thier is any way that you could tell how these knive sets are fake cause my boss is trying to sell me the set of 14 and they look real but i am not sure, so if thier is anyway that i can tell will you please reaspond back i would highly appreciate it.
Thank You,
Jesse Frary
February 20th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Just don’t buy anything that labelled with one of these bogus brands: “GI Solingen, Maybach by Imhoff, Berghaus, Rosenbaum, Palas Solingen, Schulzhof, Solingen Professionel, Devonport, Ginsu, “Classic Exclusive” Solingen, Müller Kochtopfhaus, Hoffmann, BERMAN & BENZ, B&B Solingen, Kronenberg S.G., Breitenbach Solingen, Prima Solingen, SBS Bestecke Solingen, Profiline, Bergmann International Solingen, Titanium 2, P.O.K. Typ Exklusiv Line, Golden King 18/10, Schäfer S.G., Fischer, Gourmet Royal Kochmesser, SOL knife (knives), Carl Weill Solingen, W.S.M. München, Pearl of Kitchen, HoffBerg, Hoffman/Solingen, Offenbach, BTS Bischofs Solingen, Bachmayr, GI Design, Fischer, Röslein, Profiline Solingen, K.B. S.G. International, Genuine Bravo, Rozenberg, Solinger Metallwaren AG and many other more.”
Check out this site for more details.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:21 pm
These corrupt germans came into my place of employment and attempted to steal from us. Luckily, a german translator was in the store and with his assistance along with a clever manager looked up this scheme and confronted those deceiptful germans. Watch out .. they give germans a bad rap! Look out Fort Myers/Cape Coral Florda residents. We’re not taking your deutsch crap!
March 2nd, 2006 at 5:44 pm
hi
well i bought 2 of the 24 knife sets today for 50€ each. And I live in the south of France. Same story as all of you, he named himself as “Hendrick” and gave me the Berghaus company card and documentation. I was at work and he was in his car,4×4 jeep style, poor english, definetly dutch. and he asked if i spoke english and then gave me the whole story. My son is in cooking school so I offered 50€ for 2sets thinking this is great. then my collegues at work said that maybe it was a scam. so I went searching on internet. and am quite upset that I fell for it. But then I can’t believe he accepted my personal check either.
March 8th, 2006 at 9:45 am
Hi
Just had the guy here in Alicante Spain, same story, did not buy, now happy I don’t have broken handles and blunt knives to look forward to.
March 15th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
Hi, Same story, Dutch guy and his son (Accomplice) caught me in the car park at work in Munich, Germany. All the usual Knife expo bullsh*t, can’t take on plane etc. Paid 55 Euros for them, came back to the office and checked on web. I feel violated.
March 27th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
My father told me the same story yesterday. He was washing his car, 2 guys stopped and wanted to sell the box with knives for 600€, but when my father told them he wasn’t interested, and that he only had 50€ in his wallet, they said it was OK for 50 €! My father realised it was fake, but the price he paid wasn’t to bad, we’ll see about the quality within a few weeks….
March 29th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
I want to inform you that yesterday (March 28th, 2006), I have been also
stopped by one of the representatives or a supposed representative of
Burghaus Nederland.
We were in Gstaad (Switzerland).
I just parked my car in Gstaad when a guy from the Burghaus company,
driving a dark Chrysler “Grand voyager” or “voyager” from Germany (I
suppose that is a rental car) spokes to me saying more or less the below
text:
“Hi! Can you help me? I am a representative of Berghaus in Nederland. With
some colleagues, we spent a journey around here to sell 1200 set of
casseroles and knives for kitchen; unfortunately 4 people cancelled their
request and I have to go back to Holland tonight at 7.00 pm from the
airport of Geneva; I cannot take back these remaining sets, it is too
heavy. I give you 1 case of set of knives for 400 chf, the normal value is
about 865 euros (1300 chf).”
Then after 5 or 10 minutes, because I was looking at the knives, saying
that I already have every thing, He showed me a carton of a set of pans
saying more or less the following text:
“The value of this set of pans is 1500 euros (about 2400 chf), I give it to
you at a very good price… (I do not remember if he mentioned it)”.
Because I refused again, he proposed me both of the set at 650 chf then
scale down until 350 chf.
At the end, because the guy was looking nice as a good seller, also because
it is quiet clever to sale it at a large discount instead of taking back to
Holland these heavy packets what is costly when it is done by plane as a
passenger, I took the 2 sets at 350 chf.
There was a sticker on every documentation showing the original price.
Definitely, it was looking as a good opportunity for me.
I paid cash.
Then he puts the cases of knives and the carton of pans into my booth
saying that he had filled the guarantee when I went to pick up some cash
from the bank.
It was about 12.00 o’clock.
Back home, I checked your site through “Google” and saw that you are
selling the same at a better price:
149 euros, the set of pans and 55 euros the case of knives making a total
of about 200 euros or 320 chf.
(I purchased every thing at 350).
At the end the difference is not big.
But the way, the guy was selling me every thing is of course just trickery.
What do you think about this smatter?
At the end the “Berghaus” is supplying these robbers!
They do not pay any taxes, selling into the street!
They issue some bad quality? dangerous kitchen parts ? made in China?
End of message.
April 1st, 2006 at 9:26 pm
Same story again. Now he is around in Antwerp Belgium. He sold a knife set
for 50€ to a family member of mine. He left a business card with german phone number and the berghaus-wwc website. Something should happen before he makes more victims.
April 1st, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Someone did a whois on that website. This came out.
http://berghaus-berghoff.over-blog.com/categorie-112832.html
BergHOFF Worldwide
Boterbosstraat 6/1
Heusden-Zolder, 3550
BE
Domain name: BERGHAUS-WWC.COM
Administrative Contact:
Vanthoor, Raf info@berghoff.be
Boterbosstraat 6/1
Heusden-Zolder, 3550
BE
+32 13 35 86 00
April 2nd, 2006 at 1:19 pm
Recently the administrative contact changed to some address in the Netherlands.
Administrative Contact:
Kabalt, Donna info@berghaus-wwc.com
Amerfoortsestraat 68C
Soesterberg, 3769
NL
+31 346353655
April 10th, 2006 at 11:15 am
10th April 2006 Cheltenham Glos.
Just stopped in the street by charming dutch man. Usual story about not being able to go back on ferry with knives etc. I knew this was not true however he finally offered 12 piece cutlery set, looks nice!, plus carving knife set also “nice” both in smart cases for £100. Looks good bargain but will wait and see. Turned over? not sure.
April 10th, 2006 at 8:59 pm
are you all idiots.
not being funny guys but that scam is the oldest in the book. since when was it ever reliable to buy something off a guy from the back of his car haha.
haha sorry but you really are all a bunch of mugs.
April 11th, 2006 at 12:26 am
Same story as everyone else 10.April 2006 Bought a set of pans and knives paid £240 for them time will tell if they are any good, I am usually on the ball with scams but was caught out bigtime with this one. I was given a card with a telephone number and fax number but the telephone just rings and is not answered
April 14th, 2006 at 9:02 am
This is not te same story
April 21st, 2006 at 3:11 pm
Funnily enough I was looking for the BergHAUS website as one of the lids on a saucepan I bought has just broken off, coincidently exactly 53 weeks after I purchased them .. from a man returning to Holland after an exhibition in the UK!
I do have a receipt for the saucepans - I paid £170.00 and, according to the box they came in, I think they should have been £789.00, something like that anyway.
I must admit that I think they are very good saucepans (except for the fact that one of the lid tops has just broken) and I will be very upset if I am unable to replace it. In case anyone can help I need the lid-top off one of the largest lids. I would be really grateful if somebody could help me with a replacement.
April 22nd, 2006 at 3:31 pm
Worcester - 22nd April 2006
Today a man called Josef in a BMW came up our drive and said he was lost on his way back from the NEC and he was trying to get to Stratford. We showed him where to go on the map and he mentioned that he wanted to get rid of all of his products as he was going back to Holland and he would have to pay to take them into the country. We did end up buying a set of saucepans, 2 sets of knives and a cutlery set. To be honest, he was a excellent salesman and we don’t feel robbed. We think that we would pay the same or more for this sort of thing in the shops and if that’s his way of selling then fine by me. If we had paid full price then we would be gutted. Anyway, it’s a story to tell our friends - we can all have a laugh about being scammed!!
April 30th, 2006 at 11:35 am
We purchased a set of saucepans from Paul driving a black Mercedes in June 2004.
We had the same story as everyone else , couldnt take the knives on the ferry , stock
left over from a trade fair , etc.
Wounderful saucepans , very pleased with them but the knob came of one of the lids , I
telephoned the number Paul gave me in Holland and was told to send the lid back to them.
I sent the lid just before Christmas but have never had it returned , despite several phone
calls . and speaking to Mr I Iohanson , Mr Funk , Mr Berghaus and Nikko .
After reading all these emails I doubt I will ever see my saucepan lid again.
April 30th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
I’ve read the tales from all over the planet, but i’m trying to find a replacement lid which has ‘Rosenbaum’ with thermo control. Is this the same as Berghaus?
My mother-in-law biught these about a 18 months ago, and the thermo conyttrol part has broken.
Help…………
May 1st, 2006 at 8:11 pm
they have been in the Cheltenham, UK area past two weeks, called twice on me but we sent them on their way. Tried to scam a friend in Bromsgrove earlier today. Luckily, they rang to see if we wanted to get a bargain too and we were able to tell them our experiences and put them off. They said they looked like good products and if they come back will drive a harder bargain!
May 2nd, 2006 at 7:25 pm
same story here in Cheltenham. Bought cutlery set and carving/preperation knife set for £100. They lppk great and are well packaged. Scam yes worth the money time will tell. so far so good
May 2nd, 2006 at 7:25 pm
same story here in Cheltenham. Bought cutlery set and carving/preperation knife set for £100. They lppk great and are well packaged. Scam yes worth the money time will tell. so far so good
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Just bought a set off him, £25 for the 24 piece knife set. I seriously dont know how the hell he managed to make any money out of that. Seriously I would have paid £20 for the case alone. Nice case. Will make a decent present.
The business card that Ive got says he works for the company berkendorf.
U.K. telephone number of 0796972159 Martin.
Amersfoortsestraat 68c
3769 AL Soesterberg
Nederalnds
Usual story, cant take on ferry.
I was at work and honestly where I work Ive got no idea how he found us, no one ever finds us. Its like it can take customers 2 hours to find us and he just drive straight up.
Anyway yeah he was in England, Somerset today about 1pm.
May 2nd, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Oh yeah and if he cant take them on the ferry back how the hell did they get here in the first place, this occured to me AFTER I had bought.
May 6th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
Slick Martinus (and wife) in his shiney German plated Range Rover is in Cascais, Portugal …. I believed his story about having to leave and unload cancelled items … quality seems OK but if you like the goods don’t pay anything over €30/article.
May 9th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
‘HE’ was in Thornbury Bristol UK on thursday May 4th 2006
With the foreign reg plated car and told the story that it was just a few left before the ferry back. ‘just pay the V.A.T’ he said which was £120 for the 12 pc pan set and £80 for the 24 pc knife set. I haggled with him down to £40 just for the knives. I walked away and got called back with an offer of just £50. I stuck to my guns and bought them at £40. Ah well, We live and learn !!!
May 10th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Just had someone come by in Edgbaston in Birmingham. I’m here visiting my mother who called me out to see a Dutch guy in a silver BMW who wanted to sell knives and saucepans….. Said he had some left over from a trade show in the NEC that happens once a year.
Told me he’d sold 5 sets to my neighbour down the road, and that he was leaving at 5pm. Apparently he had to get to Four Oaks where the football players live, before picking up his father from the golf club and catching his flight. Said £80 for a saucepan set and £60 for the knives, but said after haggling said if we bought 2 saucepan sets, he’d give us 2 knives sets for free. No thanks.
Took his card and said we’d think about it. And low and behold, I stumble across this website. It obviously pays to be a cynic.
The slightly worrying thing is that he was talking about my father’s car (which wasn’t in the driveway as he’d left for work at 11am) and he came calling at 1pm.
May 13th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Hi! I’m writting from Portugal, so appologise for my english…
The guy now “attacks” here, Lisbon area and the story is the same… good looking, nice car, hé’s going back to Germany and can´t take this home…
Well, a friend of me brought 4 sets of each and offered one to me. I was looking in the net, because the instructions are in spanish, english, dutch… not in portuguese and I’m looking to understand how to work with the pots… and I found this site.
Well, my housband already told me that he didn´t believe on the story, now I Know exactly wath it is but I’m not going to tell it to my friend, she’s so nice that I don’t want that she understand all the story…and I’ll keep my old pots and knifes, just in case… Because I still don’t know how it works!
May 16th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Hi
Guy called Gustav Dutchman Dutch reg plates called same story from NEC exhibition
Bought set of saucepans for £100 they look and fell good quality but i will cancel the chq and contact OFT
May 17th, 2006 at 11:04 am
Just purchased the excellent professional chefs knives. Why be so suspicious - the guy checked out OK and the knives are what they say they are. Sold the entire set to me for £72.20 and this is a very good deal on what is normally in the £600 mark. You may think I am deluded but everything checked out.
May 17th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Checked out how, exactly?
May 19th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
Your Dutch salesman has a German counterpart. He was here in my office in Miami, Florida today (May 19, 2006) with his suitcases of knives and similar story about a trade show in Tampa, Florida. Maybe he’s on vacation? The knives sell for $200 US and I was getting interested until I checked the internet. As soon as he saw me at this website he closed his suitcase and left!
May 23rd, 2006 at 10:31 am
Four Oaks, Birmingham, UK.
His sales speach was funny, Quoting “Doug Ellis” the Aston Villa Football Club Owner, that he bought 4 sets and then saying he has been round to the football players houses selling them. Then he said our neighbour bought 9 sets and paid £1200.
He was coming from the NEC also, as he was at the show there. He just wanted the Customs & Excise VAT.
The Dutch guy has now just left. Name Koos, Drives a VW Passat.
I paid£220 for:
12Pc Knife Set = £45
12Pc Knife Set = £45
12Pc Sauce Pan Set = £90
Full Cutlery Set = £40
Now, I feel I have paid the right price for these.
All this stuff is made in China. I met a Chinese manufacturer who who made some of this stuff. So all Berghaus are doing are having there brand name put on it.
Ok so My uncle bought the Full Cutlery set from the manufacturer with no name on it for £70.
To me these prices are ok, and you get what you paid for. Most of the stuff you buy in the shops are over priced.
I will add another post to tell you what the stuf is like after some use.
May 23rd, 2006 at 7:28 pm
Streetly, Birmingham, UK.
Same story as above but the Dutch man stopped off at my Dad’s business and my Dad bought 2 knife sets, sauce pan set and cutlery set for £130. I’ve just bought my first house so he bought them for me. They look nice!
May 24th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
They’re heading North here in Florida. I can’t believe I fell for this! I tried to cancel my check but they cashed it within 2 hours. I bought the 72 piece flatware set and the knife set. I dropped him from $525 to $200 total for the 2 sets but still think he got me. He gave me some garbage about letting them go at this price so we can build a relationship with our hotel so when they open up their store in Florida we can continue to do business. They do seem to be of good quality, my chef had seen their product at restaurant shows and although he wouldn’t use them in our 4 1/2 star kitchen he thought they’d be fine at home. I am in Central Florida. Watch out, they’re here!!
May 25th, 2006 at 11:56 am
I first found this stuff on EBay. There were several vendors offering this stuff as professional German-made by “Pearl of Kitchen” at prices with starting bids in the US$60-$90 range. I asked one for the address of the manufacturer, and his response was that he thinkgs they are actual made by Haushahn Germany, but he couldn’t provide any information because he got them from a distributor who went out of business, and “European companies aren’t like US companies” with published addresses. Uhuh…
I notified EBay of several fraudulent listings, but I doubt very much EBay will do anything but make sure they collect their sales commissions.
May 26th, 2006 at 11:45 am
They just visited my doorstep. About 7 miles west of Stratford Upon Avon (south of Birmingham).
Young guy in a silver coloured, Dutch license plate Opel (Vectra?).
Showed me a Berkendorf ‘business card’ but it just had the company name … maybe some address details but no cointact name. Claimed they are trying to establish a name in the UK for quality cookware.
Same story… trade show at NEC, can’t take the stuff back on the ferry as customs won’t allow them to - that’s what killed the discussion for me… it’s just NOT right.
His father had told him to find some private buyers.
I said no thanks… glad I did ‘cos I’m a sucker for nice cookware.
May 26th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
My mother-in-law bought me a set of knives in a nice suitcase for €50.00. She also bought one for her own doughter. Same story as above besides that this story took place in Holland and the Dutchman was on his way to England! It’s a Bachmayr set and the quality is not professional.
May 28th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
This dutch guy came to west wales about a month ago, same old story, but what i did not like was the fact he has a huge amount of 50p’s he must have spent about £50 in in my shop buying top up phone, magazines, and still had a lot left, when i asked him why he had so many, he told me a customer had paid him in them!
strange!!!!!!!!!
June 7th, 2006 at 11:25 am
I live in a small village in Sweden,this guy showed up here like 30 minutes ago same story as above,i bought some knives from him he demanded 150 euro i offered him him 70 and he took it directly.Knives look nice hope they are worth the money : )
June 13th, 2006 at 10:18 am
We are British and, like lots of other Brits, live in SW France (Lot et Garonne,near Dordogne).
Same story, just come from a Trade Fair in Bordeaux etc. He was targeting Brits in the area as he said he couldn’t speak French. Who sends a rep to a French Trade Fair without French? Anyway, we bought a set of pans and a set of cutlery (not the kitchen Knives) for a total of 250 euros and I was quite pleased until I looked at this site. I then looked more carefully at all the printed material that came with the stuff and couldn’t find an address or country of manufacture anywhere. There wasn’t even a printer’s name . This contravenes EU regulations and on those grounds we cancelled the cheque this morning. I did use a pan last night but I washed it up and packed it all away and I wait for him to return, if he dare.
Has he ever returned to collect stuff when a cheque has been stopped?
June 13th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
A pleasant-mannered and very smart Dutchman bearing a Berkendorf card which named him as Albert, accompanied by an equally smart colleague in an shiny silver 4×4 visited us today on Hants/Sussex border today with same story about the trade exhibition, not being able to return through Customs with knives etc and saying that he didn’t speak great English (it was very good) along with the Berkenhof spiel. They said they were looking to visit lot of farmers!! Thankfully, we showed no interest so they drove off.
June 14th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
Just bought 12 pc pan set for £60 from Dutch salesman with same patter as above (can’t take stuff back on ferry - just been to Brighton for trade fair with Jamie Oliver etc etc). Pans look OK for approx £8.50 each- large frying pan and four casserole type saucepans with lids (not sure about thermostats on lids though) + milk pan and steamer unit. They come with glossy instruction leaflet and guarantee card from “Berkendorf”. Shop bought cookware at that price isn’t particularly great and these do look reasonably robust, but time will tell. ‘Martin’ - blonde, personable, good English, bad shoes- gave me a card listing Berkendorf’s address as Tackenweide 26, 464467 Emmerich, Deutchland. Tel no - 0049 2822 689801. Havn’t checked it out yet but expect the worst. Has anyone discovered where these products are coming from yet?
June 21st, 2006 at 7:44 pm
the famous douch salesman (Martin) came by my house here in the country (Newick East Sussex), screeched up and jumped out.
He said the same going on the ferry story and asked for 100 pounds for the knives and 130 for a 72 piece cutlery set. He was very convincing and made me feel I had to act fast. My mother is building a new house and I thaught of buying them for her. So I got him down to 200 quid, and the deal was done, with a receipt on “Berkendorf” (this was the make of the knives) headed paper… So now reading all this I feel really stupid and annoyed that I fell for the guys fast pushy selling style. By looking on the chat forum, it seems mayby there are only two guys doing this in the UK, and change their names, do you think this is so? He said his name is Martin Ras, and was tallish, fair hair, douch, in a silver mercadies, his number is 07791585175.
When I got through to him, and requested my money back under the law of the cooling off period, he told me he was now in Holland, which I am sure is a lie as the ring tone on his Orange mobile phone is the normal UK one, and apparently if he were abroad it would sound like the European ring tone. So basically he tells me I have to wait 3 weeks till he back in the uk, although I am sure he is still in England.
He is breaking the law, right? What can I do? Please help me someone! I am pretty hard up at the moment and honestly thaught I’d got a good deal. Now I realize I was lied to, tricked, coned and now lied to again, being refused my legal rights to get my money back, I feel I need help. Please please write if anyone knows what can I do. Could it be Mr van de Pol himself? I want justice and my money back!
Lawrence.
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:16 pm
Although the story line is similar, and I was reasonably confident of a scam, I bought a full set of pots and knives for what I felt was a fair price - we have bought most of our kitchenware at a restaurant supply store so I have a fair idea of what good equipment costs. My wife, an experienced cook, and I are very impressed and feel that we got value for money. I’ve checked the sites dealing with false knives (which are mostly in German) and these are definitely not the cheap copies that are often described. I suspect that some of the postings above are from people who bought copies, but some got a good price on the real thing. I am pretty sure that what we bought is genuine, or at least of comparable quality. This by the way was in the Algarve, southern Portugal, in early June 2006.
June 27th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Got caught out in a similar incident in West Sussex on June 22 2006 purchased a 12 piece saucepan set for £100 once checked out company stopped the cheque immediately I too will be interested if the gentleman comes back for his saucepans. How long do I leave it before I start using them!!
July 3rd, 2006 at 6:42 pm
just to let you no there in dorset, the knives dont look to bad for £90 hope its worth it??
July 4th, 2006 at 10:01 am
We have just had a visit from the Dutch salesman in Curdridge, Southampton today, bought a set of pans for £60, they seem ok but only time will tell. My colleague bought a set of knives and pans for £90.
Must admit to feeling a little daft after reading all the comments on the previous page - ah well live an learn - will know next time and send him packing.
July 14th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
Well I am feeling about as stupid as possible. He struck here, Givrins, Switzerland this morning. Tall, dark dutch man with sidekick. Very smooth. Basically the same story. Pulled in to comment how impressive the new horse facility we run was. Said his Dutch mate in Lausanne competed in a similar disipline throughout Europe. Even named the places where he competes which all made sense. Was interested to know if his mate could come to ride at the facility and took our business card to give to him. He then went on to give a story about having one saucepan set which he needed to sell cheap so he did not have to worry about customs on his return to the Netherlands. After giving a few reasons why I was not interested I finally had a look. Wham he had me. I forked out 500 euros for a set of saucepans & a knife set. I am furious at myself but he was very well prepared with his story about the horses that he just did not seem like a con. Seems like he knew I did not speak french which creeps me out a bit. How much background work do these b#####ds do? You live and learn I guess.
July 15th, 2006 at 1:27 am
In response to iaen april 30th 2006- i have also been looking to replace the rosenbaum pot thermostat handles since they have come off three pots, however mine are 5 years old now, and i still can not find a website or anything for rosenabaum, although on the pots it says life time warranty…..
July 21st, 2006 at 12:37 pm
Hmmm… I wish I had had a computer when the “German” guy stopped to ask his way… (St-Prex, Switzerland). I wasn’t interested in buying anything, and told him, but I took pity on him, he seemed so young and really bothered by the fact he would have to pay VAT on the pots & knives he had in his BMW break… so bought him some knives. CHF 100.- (”instead of CHF 1200.-”)…
Grr, really angry with myself now when I read all this…
July 21st, 2006 at 2:05 pm
I just called the police in Morges (Switzerland) to tell them about this, but the guy just laughed at my face saying I should have known better, what was I thinking etc. Thanks, makes me feel a lot better….
August 9th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Well, this seems to be an never ending story…I just sent away a Dutch guy who had exactly the same story. I was very close to fall for his story, but finally sent him packing without buying anything. Which I feel grateful for reading the above. We live in mid- Sweden so evidently they’ve brought their scam north… To be honest, a serious company should not need this kind of marketing practises….
August 9th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
Just had this slik Dutch geezer turn up in my yard, i am a farmer from Herefordshire, i think these sale guys must be getting desperate as if they did there reserach then they will have learned there is no one as tight as a farmer.
Knife set came out the boot, he wantd £70, i told hime i could buy 5 brittish made pitchforks for that, he looked at me slightly confused and jumped into his smart silver BMW 7 series. Just googled Berkendorf and found this forum, i guess reading above every where else in the UK has been targetted, although the knife set looked alright why cant these buggers just tell the truth and lose the accent.
August 9th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
Similar story, bloke turned up in very smart BMW on our farm asking to speak to the owners, mother in law here on her own advised not all here and could she help. He told her he had come from Holland and wanted to see the owners as he deals with kitchen utensils, left business card with name of Berkendorf on it. As he got in his car and went to leave she noted down his number plate, he obviously saw this and got back out and asked why she had taken down the number saying he wanted the piece of paper as he would report her to his company. Being slightly scared and intimidated by this, she gave it to him. Be warned they aren’t always nice!!! Powys / Shropshire border.
August 9th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
Hi, we are a German knife importer. We gave a set of Berghaus Knives to an independent test institute in Solingen, Germay. The result: Those knives are not knives referring to the industrial DIN norm as you can not resharpen them. The material which is used for the blades, is the cheapest chinese made steel, normaly used for cheap stainless steel bowls. …
Those people who like the quality of the BERGHAUS knives should try any good knife … They will be surprised.
Those attaches are sold in China for 10 Euros, at wholesale sites for 15 Euro.
There is another forum at www.billigmesser.ro - not only Beghaus, there are many other phantasy brands listed with the same scam!
August 10th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
My parents and friends have jsut given my, now, husband & I a set of pans and a case of knives - I was only lookihng on line about them today as I needed to know if you can put the pans in the over…There I’m gutted to read that it’s all a scam and my lovely parents have been taken in. The pans and knives seem to be a good quality - but how do you really know if they are fake or not? Can someone please clarify if what everyone saying is: There IS a company called Berghaus and that they sell top rate wares - OR - the company is a fake and the wares are of poor quality - OR - the company is real but there are fake tradesmen running around Europe selling fakes? I’m confused!
August 11th, 2006 at 7:40 pm
I have the same story here. I was on business in Geneva and I was putting petrol on my car when this Dutch guy approached me. He was driving a black Merc S600 and told me that he had been at a trade show in Geneva. He had 6 sets of pots/pans, knives and 72 pc. cutlery set. He stated that he could not take all this stuff back with him due to the all “hassle” I purchased the pots and cutlery set and passed on the knives since I had recently bought the Wusthof Culinar set and these are the best knives money can buy!
Now to my evaluation of the pots and cutlery set. I spent 300 Euros for the lot and I think for that price this is a bargain. I already own expensive pots from Fissler and these Berghaus pots seem to be of good COOKING qaulity when compared to the Fissler set. I have noticed that food does NOT stick to these pots like it does with CHEAP pots. They heat up fast and the bottom of the pot retains the heat well. They are also very easy to clean compared to CHEAP pots.
The cutlery set is stamped with the type of stainless steel grade that is used and I have no complaints about this set at all.
I do a lot of cooking and I only like using qaulity pots and pans when I do so. So far I am a little confused on this Berghaus deal since they seem to be of good qaulity but the confusing part is the selling tactics?
So is their REAL and FAKE Berghaus products circulating?
August 13th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
I just wanted to add a little to my previous comment. I have looked thoroughly at the pots and the cutlery set from Berghaus. They are using 18/10 stainless steel in the cutlery set and you can test it with a magnet since 18/8 and 18/10 stainless steel will not stick to a magnet. So they are using qaulity steel in the cutlery set as they stated.
Everybody here seems to feel that they have been scammed?? Take a look at the Berghaus website, it does not look like a scam site? Look at the packaging Berghaus uses, it is qaulity packaging. Take a look at the pots and pans. They are heavy and robust and great for cooking and easy to clean. The handles are not supposed to get hot and they dont just like is stated.
I have unfortunately no experience with the knives from this company and I would like the lady who stated that she had the Berghaus knives tested in Germany to publish for us that report so we can validate it for ourselves.
What will put a lot of people of when judging the qaulity of the pots and pans is the THERMOMETER on the lids. Start by showing the chef in your family the pots and pans and ask for an honest opinion without taking the THERMOMETER into that judgement.
I will try to find a KNIFE set from them even though I do not need one just to judge them for myself. Like I stated before I use Wusthof knives and they are not cheap and I know a cheap knife when I see one.
So my conclusion is that these are QUALITY POTS and PANS and the CUTLERY is of HIGH QUALITY also. One thing that is not of quality is the tactics used to sell these products.
Thanks
August 15th, 2006 at 11:57 am
Just got this BMW and german-dutch guy down to Geneva Switzerland trying to sell those, same price as website first. Exhibition reasons. At least he can buy fuel to have a trip around Europe :)
August 20th, 2006 at 9:24 am
August 19 06
They are in somerset, young man grey BMW - have car reg-said the same story as before .Did think we were getting Quality pans / knives.Husbard and friend Got talked into 2 sets of pans and 3 sets of knives.Put name in google and found your page!!! Have taken time to read all posted and yes can see
we have be taken for a ride!! used pans last night and am pleased with them.
Time will tell .Will not be putting in dishwasher just in case!! Dont like the tactics used to sell them £50.00 for 24p knives set and £175.00 for 12p pan set
Just hope my Husband does not ask me to pay for them as I told him NO!! AT THE TIME
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:56 pm
In a small village nearby Antwerp,the same old story!
It happened to me 7 years ago,dutch man in mercedes in a small lane when I was walking my dog.he opened his trunk and tried to convince me but I do not buy from strange men in a side-way!!
But now my father-in law did. :)))
He was approached while he was working in the garden and he bought the set of pans for 100 euro and the knives for 30 euro and he gave it to us as a present,real proud of his bargain,poor daddy!!!
The “salesman” offered them at the price of 300 euro.
Now my question is ,when it appears to be made in China and seems to be cheap steal is it healthy to cook in them??
Nobody seems to ask this question.
from studies appeared that some materials are not healthy even the ones you known as official dealers like Tefal pans.
Most of the people use this pans because they do not stick easily but if you should know in which chemical materials are food is baking in ,we eat it and what on the long term????
from where comes this steal,they used it for what??
Some time ago here in Belgium was a kind of trend of these special vases to put in your garden,you find them in different sizes and then it seemed that they had a kind of pollution,radiation,the material they were made in.
we people can be so easily fooled if you only read this page not talking about all the others who did not find this site so….when money is involved ,one do not think of people’s health…only of gaining money.
The most healthy pans are described in a book of Harvey and Marylin Diamond
Anyway it is about the scam here ….but even it is a fraude then I hope the pots are safe for everybodies health !!!
thank you for taking time to read my statement!!!
sorry for my english!
August 24th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
The stories above are so familiar. We stopped at a gasstation near Osnabruck Germany when a Dutch man from about 60 years old approached us with a set of knives from Berghaus. We bought it for 140 euro’s.At first, he was sweetening our sons, who are Footballfans, with a card from an Ajax-footballplayer and started his story, had been at te exibition in Bremen and was called away to Switserland for another exibition and didn’t want to take the set with him, because he would have to pay tax at the border, so for a small price, normally 865 euro’s as written on the flyer he gave with it from Berghaus, we could have it for 140 euro’s, could not lower his price, etc, etc The man was driving a light blue Honda, dutch licenseplate, unfortunately we didn’t get the number, actualy we were joking about it on the way home…..between real and fake!!!! How little did we know.
We can only hope, that the knives work very good, after all we paid enough for them.
August 24th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
In france, it happens too!! Just today a dutch man came to me and told me he had to sell everything before taking his flight in Lyon! The knives and others things were looking good quality and he proposed 80% free!! the products are from CARL WEILL company which doesn’t exists!! There’s a lot of comments on the bad quality of these products (rust). I went to the police and to my bank to stop my cheque.
I think these “companies” CARL WEILL and BERGHAUS are the same bad guys!!
P.S:sorry for my english.
August 28th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
I just bought an unused set in a case at a car boot sale for £15.00 (about €20) and, thinking they might be a bit suspect, checked the internet. All I can say is I think they look fine for £15.00 but I’ll see how long they last!
August 30th, 2006 at 9:25 am
well my entire family got taken for a ride by a guy calling himself Tony.We met him on the ferry on the way back from france. My dad was very kind to him, gave him names of all the hotels and shops on the island. the following day he flagged us down in the car ,said he was catching the ferry back and said he had some stuff to get rid of .I was looking for some new pots anyway. unfortunately we did not barter with him and have obviously paid through the nose for this. the knives are crap . I have yet to use the pans! I would not mind except for the fact that we took him for a coffee and helped him out no end. I still find it difficult to believe that he could look me and my two young children in the eye and lye so genuinely. if you ever read this Tony (or whatever your real name is) what goes around comes around!!!!
September 24th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
On 23.9.06 a Dutch man called Micheal came 2 my door saying he was flying bak home (Holland) and that the products were 2 heavy 2 take bak with him.would i be interested in buying his products he offered me £500 4 the lot 6 knive sets , 2 Cutlary sets and 2 Sausepan sets as well. He offered 2 drive me 2 the bank 4 £500 because i didn’t have cash but i had a appointment.I paid by cheque and he said not 2 put a name down and then he left.
That night i phoned my friend and told her wat i bought.she said that i was stupied and immediately searched the web 2 discover the scam.I immediately cancelled my cheque so lets wait and c if he gets back 2 me.
September 24th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
I have the set of knives from Berghaus. I do not know if they are real or fake, but…they are wounderful!!!I paid them 59 euros through e-bay… YES I have these knives too also from ebay. they are fANtastic. i beleive they are authentic. the steel is hardened folded and stays sharp throught abuse.
September 24th, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Bought of Dutch guys last Christmas 2005, knew at the time it was a con, so managed to get them for practically nothing (compared to what he wanted). Same old story- e