July 21, 2000
TV pitchman Robin Leach -- onetime host of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" -- must be looking for a new gig these days. Leach has settled lawsuits brought by 12 state Attorneys General by agreeing not to do any more celebrity endorsements for Ramada Plaza Resorts, Florida Travel Network or National Travel Services.
"Pack your bags!" Leach beamed in videotapes distributed by the three tour promoters.
"Next time Robin Leach puts his name behind a vacation package, promising caviar wishes and champagne dreams, hed better know those promises are true," said Washington State Attorney General Christine Gregoire.
Leach's endorsement was used to help sell supposedly free "dream vacations" to consumers who wound up paying $1,100 or more for seven days in Florida and the Bahamas. Instead of glitzy beachfront hotels and glistening cruises, consumers said they stayed in roach-infested dumps miles from the beach and endured a sweltering ferry road to the Bahamas.
Leach admitted no wrongdoing in the lawsuit settlements, which bar him from violating Federal Trade Commission rules that require spokespersons to base promotional endorsements on honest beliefs formed from personal findings or experience.
The travel companies have agreed to pay millions in restitution to consumers in the 12 states. The settlement works out to about $200 per person.
