Be Skeptical of Online Dating Services, Online Scams, BBB Advises

St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 8, 2010 – If you’re looking for the man or woman of your dreams, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises you to be careful about using dating or matchmaking services on the Internet or down the street. Some deliver only headaches, not heart-throbs.

Matchmaking and dating services often promise to introduce people to other area singles that meet specified criteria. However, many services also generate complaints about the quality of matches they make and their cost, which can run to thousands of dollars. Last year, the St. Louis BBB received 42 complaints about dating services.

Most complaints about the dating service industry concern personalized matchmaking companies and online dating websites. The two services take a different approach to helping people find love and the types of complaints to the BBB are divergent.

Common matchmaking complaints include: 

• Failure to match with singles that met specified criteria: Non-smoking complainants said they were matched with people who smoke, well-educated people were matched with less-educated ones or religious people were matched with atheists or people from other religions. Some were matched with people who lived too far away or were married. 
• Use of intimidating or duplicitous sales tactics: Complainants reported being yelled at, being told to not be so picky or being completely ignored by the companies involved.
• Failure to deliver: Complainants were told the service had a database of thousands of singles, but they didn’t receive the promised number of dates or introductions. Others said a singles club sponsored events to bring singles together but the events didn’t live up to their billing.

Online Dating Complaints include:

• Minimum enrollment period: Online dating services normally require a specific length of membership and charge a monthly fee, which is renewed automatically when it expires. Either the customer didn’t realize the steps needed to cancel the account, or the consumer took the necessary steps but billing continued anyway.
• Inability to cancel: Consumers said some companies wouldn’t allow them to cancel the contract after being dissatisfied with the company and its process.

The BBB offers the following advice on matchmaking and online dating services: 

• Don’t fall in love with the advertising. Be skeptical of claims such as “an exclusive network of people,” “for sincere daters only” or “beautiful singles just like you.” The BBB’s National Advertising Division recently decided a case between rival online services, requiring one to stop advertising that its methods were based on “the latest science of attraction.”
• Don’t give in to high-pressure sales tactics. Sales associates may tell you that a low price is only good for that day and ask you to sign a contract immediately. You should take the contract home, read it carefully and make sure you understand what you are signing and paying for.
• Know how to break up. Consumers should not assume that they will stop being billed once the contract runs out. Many online dating sites automatically renew memberships. Usually you must call the company or send written instructions to avoid being billed again. Know in advance what you need to do to cancel.
• Beware of demands by a match to send money. Some scams that match men with foreign women typically include a request to send money to pay for a trip to the United States, using a wire service like Moneygram or Western Union. The woman never makes the trip, and the money can’t be recovered.
• Do your homework. Ask to speak to other members or customers of the service about their experiences.
• Check the company’s BBB Reliability Report by calling 314-645-3300 or by going online to www.bbb.org.

Contacts: Michelle Corey, President & CEO, 314-645-3300, mcorey@stlouisbbb.org or Chris Thetford, Director of Communications, 314-645-3300, communications@stlouisbbb.org