Match.com sued for fraud

[Cold Warrior]

US dating agencies sued for fraud



By Guto Harri
BBC News, New York
Two major online dating agencies are being sued for alleged fraud and malpractice in the United States.
Match.com has been accused of sending bogus emails to clients and using their own staff to attend some dates - the practice known as "date bait".
A separate lawsuit involves Yahoo's personal service.
Match.com denies the allegations but is not commenting on the pending litigation. Yahoo has not made any comment on its case.

'Fictitious' clients
Fifteen million people have apparently sought companionship or love through Match.com.
They pay almost $30 (£17) a month to be put in touch with potential partners and the whole dating industry in the US is now worth about $250m (£146m) a year.
It is a competitive field in more ways than one.
A lawsuit recently filed in Los Angeles claims that Match.com's staff have turned up for dates with clients in order to keep them interested when no one else seems to be interested in them.
A separate lawsuit filed in San Jose accuses the online dating service of internet giant Yahoo of breach of contract, fraud and unfair trade practices.
It has been brought by a Florida man who accuses the company of posting profiles of fictitious potential clients on its website to give the impression, he says, that it has more single people on its books than is really the case.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4451606.stm

Published: 2005/11/19 02:19:12 GMT

© BBC MMV

[anono]

i'm sure the agencies in russia and ukraine are shaking in their boots

[Rvrwind]

i'm sure the agencies in russia and ukraine are shaking in their boots

Not Me!!!

I love it, I hope they bust their asses right out of the game & I know a few others that are treading on thin ice as well.

It's about bloody time!!!!

[/font]RVR-Canadian Cowboy/Agency Owner

[anono]

dang it!  this is the second time i forgot to make the exception for RVR..my apologies!

[Rvrwind]

:DROTFLMFAO:D

RVR-Canadian Cowboy/Agency Owner

[al-c]

I'm glad this is being exposed, and maybe it will keep the Russian agencies on the straight and narrow, but you still have to remember that those agencies can thumb their noses at the U.S. courts.

 

[anono]

but you still have to remember that those agencies can thumb their noses at the U.S. courts.

just like the rest of the world is at just about everything the usa has been doing.

we put man on the moon, satellites on the edge of the solar system and other galaxies and yet we're arguing about "intelligent design".. good grief!

[Vaughn]

C'mon, Anono, give us a break. When the earthquake hits, who do they call? I rest my case.

[acrzybear]

C'mon, Anono, give us a break. When the earthquake hits, who do they call?

 

Um Ghostbusters?

[Admin]

but you still have to remember that those agencies can thumb their noses at the U.S. courts.

just like the rest of the world is at just about everythingtheusa hasbeen doing.

we put man on the moon, satellites on the edge of the solar system and othergalaxies and yet we're arguing about "intelligent design".. good grief!
[/quote]

Sounds like a topic for the NHB section - with the politicial and religious overtones.

- Dan

[Ste]

but you still have to remember that those agencies can thumb their noses at the U.S. courts.

just like the rest of the world is at just about everything the usa has been doing.

we put man on the moon....
[/quote]

No way, filmed in Hollywood.

Britain were first on the moon in Victorian times but it was hushed up cos it's made of Cheese.

Ste

[acrzybear]

 

OFF TOPIC

Hey STE

Why is it the sun never set on Great Britain during the 1800's?

Because even God didn't trust the British in the dark:P:D

Old joke I heard years ago from a British Marine, I always smile when I think of that joke:)

ta ta

Have a good day, I'm off to Supervise  crime in the great state of Texas.

[Bruno]

we put ... satellites on the edge of the solar system and other galaxies

Other galaxies...

I have always think that the "stargate" program was a miniserie... and it is only two year ago, with the new "stargate Atlantis" that they have reach a other galaxie ( Pegasus )...

So, what i see on my TV is not science-fiction miniserie but reality show :? Now, i am sure that Roswell is a true story :cool:

:D:D

[Son of Clyde]

I was a member of Match.com for one year and it was like I never joined at all. One or two responses in a year. I think it was geared for the younger generation anyway. I was constantly rewriting my profile, changing the age groups of the women i was seeking and changing my photograph. I was seeking younger women still young enough to have children. I ended up seeking women from 32 to 45. Still no activity. Maybe this was my mistake (I was 53) I should have looked for grandmothers. It was a miserable experience and a negative shot to the ego to see almost zero responses to the dozens of letters I sent out.

[Turboguy]

Clyde, I never tried Match.com.  Did you try taking the initative and contacting some of the ladies first.   When I was that age the last 4 girlfriends I had had were  21, 30, 22 & 21.   I musta got in a rut with that age group.  I have to say that at this point I think the chances to find an american gal who was of childbearing age and interested would be slim at best.  Actually is seems like all the 50 year old American gals now only want to date 30 year old guys if they have anything going for the physically.

[Goombah]

Extreme disappointment with the quality of ladies I found on Match.com  and Yahoo personals are a large part of why I ended up looking in the  FSU.  I was 45 at the time, and had a hard time finding anyone in  the mid-20s to mid-30s (childbearing age) that was interested in a 45  yo man.  Those that were had posted 10+ year old photos of  themselves, or were heavy smokers, had five kids, etc.

That said, I was contacted by a number of 43-mid 50 yo woman looking for romance.

Kevin

[Son of Clyde]

Turbo, I had written to at least 50 women, some more than once.

I was also receiving a message from a RW at Matchmaker.com who was obviously a model or a ruse to keep the members interested. She never wrote back and her picture was too perfect. It was like a Hollywood studio shot.

[Goombah]

Match.com and Yahoo Personals were two sites that I didn't have any  "bait & switch" type activity on - call them Tier 1.  The Tier  2 and Tier 3 sites were absolutely horrible at this:  all offer  "free membership".  I tried about a half dozen, and EVERY one  would give me a free membership, and within 24 hours I would be  contacted by a beautiful lady.  Of course, all required a paid  membership to actually read or occassionaly just to reply, to that  initial letter...  I fell for it twice, caught the pattern on the  third time, and discounted  any service that sent a "too good to  be true" lady to me within 24 hours before I forego any related anguish.

I actually had pretty good luck on freepersonals.ru and luckylovers.net  (~$20/month on luckylovers, but you manually have to pay every month -  no autobilling - so you can fade in and out as you desire).

Kevin

[Turboguy]

I still have an membership in Yahoo Personals.   Since I am back in the hunt again I made my profile active and thought I might look on both sides of the ocean and if nothing else find a friend to spend some time with.  I don't think I missed much.  Had my first date from it Tuesday and got an e-mail telling me off.  Spent two hours chatting with one gal (no photo and overweight)  She is great to talk to but was quite clear you can date her forever and get nowhere (not even sure I would want to).  right now I am thinking about making it inactive again.   I think Yahoo and Match are a waste of time and the worst is eHarmony. 

As far as sites for Russian gals that have been good for me.  I can second Kevins recommendation for FreePersonals.com  You can meet a lot of women there and there are some nice ones.  I think the quality is not quite as good as some of the paid sites.  That means the age range of the gals I am meeting there is where it should be not where I want it to be.

I have had good luck on Bruno's site.   http://www.love-from-russia.be/  I am writing a couple of nice gals from there and it is free which is in my price range.

I also used to have luck on www.eecl.org  I have not used it for a while

The site that works really well for me is Elena's models.   I just re-upped my platinum membership and am having good luck there.