ALT.com - Adult Friend Finder And Various.inc Bait And Switch And Inpropper Advertising Contact Sites Various.inc Deliberate withholding of information. Palo Alto California Internet
Alt.com standard (free) members are constantly encouraged to 'update' their membership by taking out a subscription.
If you click on a members picture or name you are taken to an upgrade page with the members thumbnail, 'handle' age and area. However they have now changed this page so it no longer includes previously displayed information that told you when last that member signed into their account.
The have deliberately withheld this information now so potential customers are unaware that an account may be inactive until after they pay for a subscription to contact that person.
As Alt and other various.inc sites are full of inactive accounts this is poor business practice and I suggest anyone caught by it demand an immediate and full refund.
Bait and Switch.
Ever time a Standard (free) member signs in to Alt and other Various.inc dating sites they are offered the opportunity to purchase 'Gold' or 'Silver' membership subscription packages.
I particular they tell customers that 'Gold' will allow them to; Be the FIRST to contact new members, and they tell silver they can; Contact new members.
In actual fact they can only contact new members who have also taken out a subscription. They fail to mention that new standard (free) members who form the vast majority are unable to view contacts made to them within their first 50 days of membership.
As standard members mails are only held on record 30 days any lost sent is lost before it can be read.
On contacting customer support about this I was advised that they would be able to read and reply to my contact if I purchased 'Standard contacts' (a service only described as allowing standard members to read your profile and INITIATE contact).
So they ask you to pay to contact new members yet when you do so they then tell you need to pay for an extra service to enable these new members to actually see the contact.
Nowhere in the advertising or in the help pages of the site is this explained, this is all kept from the prospective customer until they have their money.
This is Bait and Switch.
Doc
bersaillin
France
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Doc
Bersaillin,Europe,
France
Over 5 years thingshave got worse
#6Consumer Comment
Fri, December 07, 2007
Robert there is no confusion on my part I have been with Alt over 5 years and have held two premium gold memberships and am fully conversant with how contacts are made.
The operating of the subscription system is not the problem, nor that of the 'Standard Contacts' system, it is the way these are promoted with information withheld.
If you try and contact a new standard member who first signed up less then 50 days ago then the fact is your contact can not be read by that member.
The advertising saying you can contact them is false.
Advising Gold and Silver members to then purchase 'Standard Contacts' to get around the restriction is a switch.
This is NEW standard members (the ones you are told you can be FIRST to contact if you buy Gold). Those being Standard Members who have very recently signed up, I am not confusing Standard and new.
If you have an existing Gold or Silver subscription your contact can still NOT be read by a standard member inside the first 50 days but this would be a 'non provision of service' issue where this report concerns promotion for people to take out new subscriptions.
I sugest you ask for clarification on the AFF site support blog yourself if you hold a Gold subscription yourself.
Robert
Buffalo,New York,
U.S.A.
Over 6 years with no problem.
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, December 05, 2007
I've used AFF for over 6 years with no problems.
Your post seems to indicate that you are confusing NEW members with STANDARD (free) members.
Standard members cannot initiate contact. Gold and silver members can.
Standard members cannot use the search capabilities although they can BROWSE.
Gold and silver members can search.
Gold members can use ALL available features.
The "allow standard members to contact you" is an additional paid service whereas the paying member is paying a fee so that a STANDARD member may contact him/her.
Robert
Buffalo,New York,
U.S.A.
Over 6 years with no problem.
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, December 05, 2007
I've used AFF for over 6 years with no problems.
Your post seems to indicate that you are confusing NEW members with STANDARD (free) members.
Standard members cannot initiate contact. Gold and silver members can.
Standard members cannot use the search capabilities although they can BROWSE.
Gold and silver members can search.
Gold members can use ALL available features.
The "allow standard members to contact you" is an additional paid service whereas the paying member is paying a fee so that a STANDARD member may contact him/her.
Robert
Buffalo,New York,
U.S.A.
Over 6 years with no problem.
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, December 05, 2007
I've used AFF for over 6 years with no problems.
Your post seems to indicate that you are confusing NEW members with STANDARD (free) members.
Standard members cannot initiate contact. Gold and silver members can.
Standard members cannot use the search capabilities although they can BROWSE.
Gold and silver members can search.
Gold members can use ALL available features.
The "allow standard members to contact you" is an additional paid service whereas the paying member is paying a fee so that a STANDARD member may contact him/her.
Robert
Buffalo,New York,
U.S.A.
Over 6 years with no problem.
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, December 05, 2007
I've used AFF for over 6 years with no problems.
Your post seems to indicate that you are confusing NEW members with STANDARD (free) members.
Standard members cannot initiate contact. Gold and silver members can.
Standard members cannot use the search capabilities although they can BROWSE.
Gold and silver members can search.
Gold members can use ALL available features.
The "allow standard members to contact you" is an additional paid service whereas the paying member is paying a fee so that a STANDARD member may contact him/her.