Elite Personal Search, Debra Winkler Is a RIPOFF, do not get sucked in by their misleading sales approach, they will LIE to you! Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, Irvine California
In July 2006, I went into the offices of Elite Personal Search and had a 3 hour "interview" with Devan. At that time, I wasn't sure if the service was right for me. I explained to Devan that I felt it would difficult to find a match for me among the members of Elite Personal Search/Debra Winkler. Although I am a professional career woman, Devan assured me that I would "easy to match", even though I have tattoos and dreadlocks (I work in a creative field, and wanted to meet someone who was a professional, but also "eclectic") . She explained, "we have all kinds of people as members. We have artists and musicians, even performers from Cirque De Soleil."
I was hesitant about joining, when she assured me that if they did not have someone appropriate for me, that Elite Personal Search/Debra Winkler will go outside of its membership and "troll the community" for a good match. She explained that she had met HER husband through Elite, and that once she started working there, she was able to fix up 2 of her girlfriends with men who were NOT members, but that she had met outside of work and thought they would be good matches. She told me that one of them was now married to the man Devan had fixed her up with. I do not feel that I would have been comfortable paying the extraordinary amount of money membership cost if I had not been reassured that they would go outside of the membership to find a match for me.
Devan and I discussed the type of man who would be a good match for me. We set up a long list of parameters, which she assured me DID exist in many of their members. (the main thing we agreed I needed was someone who was "hip" and up on modern technology, as I am a bit of a computer geek). When she told me that my $5000 fee would get me 8 matches in the next year, I was wary. I told her that I didn't feel like 8 was very many matches. At that point she said, "But we will be doing all the research for you. By the time you meet a match, they will have all of the qualifications you are looking for. The only thing missing will be chemistry, and you WILL have chemistry with at least one of 8 men who exactly the type of match you are looking for." She noted that Elite also checks criminal records and paycheck stubs to make sure that members DO in fact make the amount of money they claim (although they never asked for any of that from me). Additionally, Devan assured me that she would work closely with the matchmaker and that the matchmaker would also work very closely with me by calling me frequently to discuss various matches. All of the above made me feel safe and comfortable and confident that Elite could help me find a match.
I was unable to join in July, so I had to put it off until December 2006. I did join in December of 2006. At that time, Elite set up a second interview with Jen Turner. Jen also said that she thought I would be easy to match and that the qualities, and other parameters I was looking for would not be difficult to find. She also assured me that Elite would go outside of their membership to find a match for me.
Since that time, I have had NO matches that "have all the qualifications I am looking for". Additionally, I have not met any men from outside of the membership. In fact, most of the matches I have been sent, were not at all the type of men that I would be interested in. Many of the matches have been misrepresented by Elite. For example, I was sent a potential match who "had his own business building zen gardens", he was actually a gardener for the public park systems! I was sent a potential match who worked as a "holistic therapist", he turned out to be a massage therapist! I was VERY specific about the type of person I wanted to meet, as well as what type of job they should have (professional, like me!), how far I'd be willing to travel (I live within 10 miles of literally millions of people, yet they sent me matches that lived 50 miles away?!), and the fact that he should work at a standard job where he would normally have nights and weekends free (the massage therapist worked BOTH nights AND weekends!). Neither Jen or Devan or anyone from the Elite office have ever "worked closely" with me to find a match. In fact, I often don't hear anything for weeks and weeks, unless I email THEM.
I now feel that I was misled. It has been over 9 months since I joined and not ONE good match has been introduced to me. I sent a certified letter to Elite with all of the above information and demanded my fee be returned. I filed a complaint with the BBB (they have over 20 complaints and have earned an "F" rating), but Elite did not respond to either me or the BBB. I feel that it is appropriate for Elite Personal Search/Debra Winkler to return my $5000 fee.
Chris
LA, California
U.S.A.
10 Updates & Rebuttals
Incagirl
LA,California,
U.S.A.
No lawsuits yet
#11Author of original report
Thu, January 12, 2012
@Joe, In response to your complaint, I don't know of anyone who has filed a lawsuit. I do know that both the BBB and several consumer advocate groups have been notified, but I don't know if any action has been taken. You should also check out the complaints on Yelp and City Search, I know people have complained there. Interestingly, I did go out with a few men who complained to ME, but never did anything about it. I do believe a class action suit would get a lot of takers, but no one wants to do the work or put up the funds. Good Luck! Someone needs to do something about them!
Mag
Miami,Florida,
USA
Hi Joe
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, December 13, 2011
Hi Joe..
Just a question... I was wondering if you are able to provide me with some information pertaining to elite personal search / elite matchmaking. I'm currently seeking legal actions and was wondering if you know of anyone that has won a case against them?
I currently have some pretty good documentation validating the fact that they are nothing but a scam, that they do not have a database of gentlemen and furthermore give perks to members just to provide dates to their high paying customer.
I know this post is old, but figured I'd take a chance.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
Incagirl
LA,California,
U.S.A.
Update to My Report
#11Author of original report
Tue, May 18, 2010
It is now 2010... I am the woman who originally wrote the complaint, and I have not changed my mind, despite Elite's attempt to "match" me. I posted a lot of complaints on the internet, in fact, I must have posted enough complaints, that a year after my letter to them, they finally decided to contact me. In 2008 I met with the new manager of the office in Beverly Hills, Kristina. She suggested that I give them another chance. She said that when I joined the business was expanding rapidly and that had caused some problems, but things were better. She assured me that she personally would take care of me. She "suggested" that I not post more complaints on the internet and that they would give me a lifetime free membership.... I figured I had nothing to lose. In fact, I told Kristina that if I was satisfied with the service and matches, I could actually bring them some new business since I have quite a few single friends. (you would think that would make them WANT to find a good match for me).
In the past 2 years, I have met about 1 match every 3-4 months. I did date one man for about 6 weeks, but the rest of the matches were not appropriate for me. I am not suggesting that I am a typical woman, nor did I want to meet a "typical" kind of guy. That was my reason for using Elite. When I was told that they would "go outside of their membership" to find someone just right for ME! I was sold.
Kristina did send me a nice thank-you note for meeting with her, but then I never heard from her again. I was turned over to my previous matchmaker, Jen. Jen is very nice, and I'm sure she is doing her job as well as she can, but the reality is, they simply can't, don't or won't search outside the data base for someone right for me.
In conclusion, I still believe this is a scam, I would never recommend Elite to anyone.
Joe
United States of AmericaThey are a scam
#11UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sat, April 24, 2010
I'm a programmer and I worked on their database system. They claim to have thousands of members. HA! Try a few hundred and that's the total membership going back over ten years.
At any time they have at most a hand full of active members.
They claim that they do personal matches. That's a crock. They push a button that runs an SQL query that simply looks for matching check boxes.
I have worked on their system and I have seen how many successful matches they have had and its is very very few. Almost every client is dissatisfied.
They are predatory con-men.
Themessager
San Fransisco,California,
U.S.A.
That's one story.
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, June 02, 2009
You just had a bad luck situation. That's normal. I've had bad luck before, but I cry about it. Having a bad experience is one thing. Telling people that it's a complete fraud is another thing.
Here's my story.
A year ago, I signed up after hearing amazing stories about them. I walked into the office in Dallas and spoke with Shelly. I went through the whole four hour interview and was very tired but very confident. I'm not the best looking guy and I guess I don't have the best personality or sense of humor. Shelly could have just lied to me by saying that it would be easy to find me a suitable match just so I would be quick to pay the fee. However, she didn't. Instead, she said "I'll try my best. No matter what, You won't be disappointed". Again, I left very confident in my chances.
For two weeks, I didn't hear from her and I wasn't happy at all. I e-mailed her and told her to contact me to let me know what was going on. After getting no reply for three days, she called me with a great excuse for not answering back right away. Her mother was in the hospital. After hearing that, I forgot all about it. So ,aybe you should take the time to give it the benefit of the doubt like I gave Shelly.
Anyway, we spoke for about twenty min over the phone about the amazing sounding girl she had for me. Her name was Allison and she sounded exactly like the kind of girl I told her I wanted. Our first date went well and we enjoyed each others company for six hours. For the next five months, Shelly listened to everything Allison and I had to say and was very helpful in leading us to the most incredible day of our lives. Our wedding. Yes that's right, this company helped me find what I was looking for despite of what some people including you say.
Shelly was right when she promised me I wouldn't be disappointed. Not only that but I definitely think it was the smartest thing I ever did.
So there you have it. Finally an honest story. I didn't have to tell you that Shelly didn't contact me for a week because of her mother's unfortunate situation. I could have just left that part out but I didn't. I was honest and told you everything.
Themessager
San Fransisco,California,
U.S.A.
That's one story.
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, June 02, 2009
You just had a bad luck situation. That's normal. I've had bad luck before, but I cry about it. Having a bad experience is one thing. Telling people that it's a complete fraud is another thing.
Here's my story.
A year ago, I signed up after hearing amazing stories about them. I walked into the office in Dallas and spoke with Shelly. I went through the whole four hour interview and was very tired but very confident. I'm not the best looking guy and I guess I don't have the best personality or sense of humor. Shelly could have just lied to me by saying that it would be easy to find me a suitable match just so I would be quick to pay the fee. However, she didn't. Instead, she said "I'll try my best. No matter what, You won't be disappointed". Again, I left very confident in my chances.
For two weeks, I didn't hear from her and I wasn't happy at all. I e-mailed her and told her to contact me to let me know what was going on. After getting no reply for three days, she called me with a great excuse for not answering back right away. Her mother was in the hospital. After hearing that, I forgot all about it. So ,aybe you should take the time to give it the benefit of the doubt like I gave Shelly.
Anyway, we spoke for about twenty min over the phone about the amazing sounding girl she had for me. Her name was Allison and she sounded exactly like the kind of girl I told her I wanted. Our first date went well and we enjoyed each others company for six hours. For the next five months, Shelly listened to everything Allison and I had to say and was very helpful in leading us to the most incredible day of our lives. Our wedding. Yes that's right, this company helped me find what I was looking for despite of what some people including you say.
Shelly was right when she promised me I wouldn't be disappointed. Not only that but I definitely think it was the smartest thing I ever did.
So there you have it. Finally an honest story. I didn't have to tell you that Shelly didn't contact me for a week because of her mother's unfortunate situation. I could have just left that part out but I didn't. I was honest and told you everything.
Themessager
San Fransisco,California,
U.S.A.
That's one story.
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, June 02, 2009
You just had a bad luck situation. That's normal. I've had bad luck before, but I cry about it. Having a bad experience is one thing. Telling people that it's a complete fraud is another thing.
Here's my story.
A year ago, I signed up after hearing amazing stories about them. I walked into the office in Dallas and spoke with Shelly. I went through the whole four hour interview and was very tired but very confident. I'm not the best looking guy and I guess I don't have the best personality or sense of humor. Shelly could have just lied to me by saying that it would be easy to find me a suitable match just so I would be quick to pay the fee. However, she didn't. Instead, she said "I'll try my best. No matter what, You won't be disappointed". Again, I left very confident in my chances.
For two weeks, I didn't hear from her and I wasn't happy at all. I e-mailed her and told her to contact me to let me know what was going on. After getting no reply for three days, she called me with a great excuse for not answering back right away. Her mother was in the hospital. After hearing that, I forgot all about it. So ,aybe you should take the time to give it the benefit of the doubt like I gave Shelly.
Anyway, we spoke for about twenty min over the phone about the amazing sounding girl she had for me. Her name was Allison and she sounded exactly like the kind of girl I told her I wanted. Our first date went well and we enjoyed each others company for six hours. For the next five months, Shelly listened to everything Allison and I had to say and was very helpful in leading us to the most incredible day of our lives. Our wedding. Yes that's right, this company helped me find what I was looking for despite of what some people including you say.
Shelly was right when she promised me I wouldn't be disappointed. Not only that but I definitely think it was the smartest thing I ever did.
So there you have it. Finally an honest story. I didn't have to tell you that Shelly didn't contact me for a week because of her mother's unfortunate situation. I could have just left that part out but I didn't. I was honest and told you everything.
Themessager
San Fransisco,California,
U.S.A.
That's one story.
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, June 02, 2009
You just had a bad luck situation. That's normal. I've had bad luck before, but I cry about it. Having a bad experience is one thing. Telling people that it's a complete fraud is another thing.
Here's my story.
A year ago, I signed up after hearing amazing stories about them. I walked into the office in Dallas and spoke with Shelly. I went through the whole four hour interview and was very tired but very confident. I'm not the best looking guy and I guess I don't have the best personality or sense of humor. Shelly could have just lied to me by saying that it would be easy to find me a suitable match just so I would be quick to pay the fee. However, she didn't. Instead, she said "I'll try my best. No matter what, You won't be disappointed". Again, I left very confident in my chances.
For two weeks, I didn't hear from her and I wasn't happy at all. I e-mailed her and told her to contact me to let me know what was going on. After getting no reply for three days, she called me with a great excuse for not answering back right away. Her mother was in the hospital. After hearing that, I forgot all about it. So ,aybe you should take the time to give it the benefit of the doubt like I gave Shelly.
Anyway, we spoke for about twenty min over the phone about the amazing sounding girl she had for me. Her name was Allison and she sounded exactly like the kind of girl I told her I wanted. Our first date went well and we enjoyed each others company for six hours. For the next five months, Shelly listened to everything Allison and I had to say and was very helpful in leading us to the most incredible day of our lives. Our wedding. Yes that's right, this company helped me find what I was looking for despite of what some people including you say.
Shelly was right when she promised me I wouldn't be disappointed. Not only that but I definitely think it was the smartest thing I ever did.
So there you have it. Finally an honest story. I didn't have to tell you that Shelly didn't contact me for a week because of her mother's unfortunate situation. I could have just left that part out but I didn't. I was honest and told you everything.
Jackhack
Littleton,Colorado,
U.S.A.
It Works for Most Other People
#11Consumer Comment
Mon, May 25, 2009
I can understand why the above guy would be upset. However, the fact is that this company is at least 90% successful in finding good matches for their customers. The other 10% is just them not being perfect which they aren't expected to be.
Chris here isn't happy with them and obviously has a right to be but let's not forget that when people are upset and angry they tend to blow things out of proportion. I personally know two people who also unfortunately weren't happy with this company but received a refund with-in a month of thier request. I highly doubt that in Chris's case, they refused to reply to him.
Like solidreview said above Dig deeper and you will see that they arrange thousands of successful matches a year. I myself have been a member for a year now and no, I'm not married yet, but I have been set up with plenty of great girls. All who have fit the almost exact description of what I told my interviewer I wanted. I am VERY confident in this company in finding me what I want.
So for all you readers out there who are thinking of signing up with them, don't hesitate and certainly don't let a few not so great stories stop you from being happy for the rest of your life.
Solidreview
Burbank,California,
U.S.A.
Do Not Base Your Decision on A Couple Angry People
#11Consumer Comment
Tue, May 05, 2009
There is a lot of misinformation on the internet, this is because it is so hard control. Every angry person such as the above reviewer gets to write as they please.
This company is not a scam in the slightest way, they have set me and a number of my friends up on very real dates. I even know a person or two that got married through their service.
What people are paying for here is real matchmaking not some pub/bar meetup. They have matchmakers that work with you as well as a very large database of names.
I am assuming that not everyone gets what they want. I myself have been set up on a number of dates that did not meet my immediate expectations. But this was on the minority of the scale. My matchmaker was always ready to listen to my feedback and work with me.
My overall feeling is that I am heading in the correct direction and have very strong hopes of still finding a spouse through them. I do not recommend that people take the advice of these few angry reviewers, there will always be a few disgruntled members. Dig deeper and you will see that they arrange thousands of successful matches a year.