Together Dating Services Deceptive financial, advertising and contractual practices - not to mention flat out lies and high preasure, once in a life time sales tactics San Antonio Texas
I've got all the same complaints as 'Linda' in the previous report from this company - and I figured I should add some more from what I see wrong with the contract it self it the hopes that potential buyers will be warned, although I did have this opportunity because of the once in a life great opportunity - take it or leave deal they offered.
Here are the major problems I have with them...
1) I gave them a chance because of their advertisement on the website (that I can't find now) and from hearing something about their 'criminal background check' on TV, which was also plastered all over the website - the only problem with this is 2 things, they did an awfully quick background check because in less than 6 business hours and 20 real life hours they were calling me with matches, and the fact that the contract it self (I had to initial all the fine print) contradicts the background check, and even the personality 'test' they give you. Specifically paragraph 15 and paragraph 6.
2) One of my concerns was being 'set up' with women that for any number of reasons were reckless with their life -the 'managers' response back was simply that if they can afford this, they must be on the up and up - although, they use a high risk lending institution that does not check credit - so ANYONE can sign up for this...
3)I was also 'told' that I was signing up for 24 months @ $XXX, although after going over the contract dozens of times, I'm pretty sure the total price is at the 18% - in that it will be a lot longer than 24 months to pay this off... I could be wrong on this, but the #'s don't seem to add up.
4)I was told to put 'down' something for the financing, it is on the contract that I put down $10 with X amount financed, although at other spots on the contract, the membership fee is the X amount financed plus the $10 - from my understanding, when you put something 'down' in goes towards the over all cost, it isn't added - glad I didn't put down $100... That may all be legit, but the #'s seem to revolve around the down payment to much.
5)I used my debit card for the down payment, the monthly payments were to begin on 4/20. By 4/13 I had not received anything in regards to financial statements in where to send the payment to, the account # etc... In order to make sure the payment would arrive early, I scoured the contract for an address and account # to send the payment to since I had no contact information to find out the information.
I sent the payment off knowing it was probably wrong, I finally found the contact information a week later to the office I signed up at - I called on 4/17, she said that they received the payment and she would find out why I had to received any statements and forward the check on with the correct information.
I was then informed that they had set me up for automatic debit, and used the information from the debit card transaction (for the so called down payment) to fill everything in - I did not authorize any of this, and the financial institution actually argued with me whether they had my signature, when I was staring at the contract in front of me. All in all, they (both offices) told me that would cancel the debit for April, all reoccurring debits and start ending me out the statements.
Low and behold on 4/20 the debited the account anyway. I have also received a faxed copy of their contract, which is the same thing - thinking that I actually did not have a copy of the supposed authorization.
6)As the previous complaint stated, I too tried to cancel the very next day and was told 'No!' and was even argued with - the works.
7)I was also told, just as the previous complainant that would have a personal 'counselor', and they would be able to answer any and all questions including something simple on how to break the ice on cold calling the match - when given my first two matches the very next day, one of which was blatantly and very simply not what I requested in the form of age - I was told to just deal with that.
Anyway, I asked the 'counselor' about breaking the ice, and her words were exactly 'I have no idea....'. The second girl I was setup with, after finally getting a hold of her because of my own screwed up schedule, I had the distinct impression from a few things she said that she was on her last matches, was very dissatisfied on the previous ones and was looking for something specific in her next match - because she was out celebrating with friends, we agreed she would be giving me a call the next day, which she never did. Nothing against her, I would probably have done the same thing...
I have since put my self permanently on hold as far as I am concerned. Bank of America is doing the right thing and helping me with the fraudulent debit's. My only decision now is to either push my finances to the max next month to pay all of this off and put it behind me, or pursue legal action and even press charges for stealing my debit card in which in my opinion they did.
Unfortunately, and not realizing it was the same company I had done business with these guys 15yrs before and they were just as bad then, but they swore up and down that they had learned so much over the years and so many things have changed that it is not the same company anymore.
From the 'interview' that I was given, I was given the impression that this is more or less a 'real life' EHarmony type of place in that they do the same personality testing and matching as EHarmony does with the big difference of actually getting to meet the person in real life and speak to them on the phone - and not a cold email.
On reference to pictures, I do recall something about that, and they do take your picture - regardless of whether you are looking you best or let alone ready for it though (which I wasn't); but you don't get the chance to see them... The whole personality test is a scam, and you do pay for it at the same time - the 'manager' who interviewed my told me flat out she doesn't use it, and that she just goes off her own instinct and that she was very good at it.
Bottom line - they do not give you an opportunity to go over the contract even though you have to initial everything. And because it is a once in a life time deal, you are left with -them- answering your questions, which are either blatant lies, beating around the bush, or mis leading. They use the notion that they are going to find the X number of perfect matches for you and how much would that be worth to you - although everything you initial on the contract flat out says that they can set you up with a 5 time felon on death row if there is no one else that falls with in your requests, the contract also says that they are not a detective agency and the like - which contradicts the 'background check' in my opinion that they supposedly do, and of course you pay for.
After reading the the complaint from Linda only a few days ago, I am leaning towards legal action now...
Curtis
San Antonio, Texas
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Curtis
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Problems resolved
#6Author of original report
Tue, October 30, 2007
I've spoken with the owner/manager of this company and he is a very upstanding guy - he has gone out of his way to resolve this, and has done so impressively. The above was apparently based on miscommunication and an uncooperative 3rd party.
Manager
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Facts Regarding Curtis' complaint
#6UPDATE Employee
Thu, October 25, 2007
Together would like to respond to the complaint that Curtis has filed, and add some facts that have been left out. Firstly, we would like to say that our members' happiness with their decision to join, as well as our service, is our utmost concern. We will make every attempt to contact Curtis and resolve his complaints, or cancel his monetary balance with our company.
Curtis joined our service on 3-6-07. He had responded to an online advertisement and filled out a Single's Survey on our website. Contrary to Curtis' complaint, our website is still online, and has been for over 8 years; it is www.togetherdating.com
Because Curtis was not able to pay our complete membership in full, he was offered a finance option, through a very legitimate, and experienced finance company. As stated in his complaint, Curtis' contract was for 24 months. However, contrary to Curtis' complaint, his contract was calculated correctly, and will be paid off in 24 months. Additonally, and contrary to Curtis' complaint, our contract was thoroghly gone over with Curtis; as each paragraph was read to him, or by him, he was asked to initial each paragraph and sign the contract.
Following Curtis' joining of our service at approximately 4:30pm on 3-6-07, his criminal background check was processed, and it was completed the next morning. Additionally, his profile and testing were evaluated and prepared for matching. On 3-7-07, Curtis was called by our Matchmaking Department with his first 2 referrals. All of the referrals made for our Clients are pre-approved with the Clients; this means that our Matchmaking Staff will call both parties of a referral, and read off the referred party's entire biography, or profile. Our Clients all have the ability to accept, or reject, any referral made for them by Together. When called by our office to approve his matches, Curtis approved both of them as acceptable on 3-8-07.
Contrary to Curtis' complaint, Curtis did not call our office and inquire about cancelling his membership the next day; it was not until 3-14-07, after Curtis had both received referrals from Together, and speaking with one of his referrals, that he called to inquire about cancelling his membership. In that conversation, Curtis stated the following (which is documented on his profile): "Curtis called in wanting to find out if he could cancel his membership. He does not want to cancel his payments, just his matches. He stated that his is nervous about talking to his referrals over the phone. I encouraged him and he said he would give it a try."
The next day, on 3-15-07, Curtis called our office to get one of his referrals information again. Our office made numerous follow-up calls to Curtis, on 3-22-07, 3-24-07, 3-27-07, and 3-28-07, to see how his first date went and to gather "feedback" from Curtis so we could prepare another referral. On 3-28-07, our office received the following email from Curtis: "Hi, I need to put my membership on hold for a bit, things are too hectic with work/moving/truck. Thnx, Curtis." This email is in Curtis' Membership File and is very contradictory to his complaint here; he has never, to this day, expressed dissatisfaction with our service, or his desire to cancel his membership. His email clearly states his reasons for going on hold to be personal, and not an issue of service.
It is our opinion that this process is simply uncomforable for Curtis. We strongly defend everything we have done for Curtis, however, his happiness as a member is our utmost concern. We wish that Curtis would have made us aware of his discomfort; we could have resolved this long ago. Regardless, Together will make every attempt to contact Curtis, encourage him to use his membership, or cancel his entire balance with our company. We recommend to Curtis, and any Client, that they attempt to resolve their issues with our Company; we are very reasonable, understanding, and cooperative. We make every attempt to resolve most issues brought to our attention, and most are "resolvable".
Manager
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Facts Regarding Curtis' complaint
#6UPDATE Employee
Thu, October 25, 2007
Together would like to respond to the complaint that Curtis has filed, and add some facts that have been left out. Firstly, we would like to say that our members' happiness with their decision to join, as well as our service, is our utmost concern. We will make every attempt to contact Curtis and resolve his complaints, or cancel his monetary balance with our company.
Curtis joined our service on 3-6-07. He had responded to an online advertisement and filled out a Single's Survey on our website. Contrary to Curtis' complaint, our website is still online, and has been for over 8 years; it is www.togetherdating.com
Because Curtis was not able to pay our complete membership in full, he was offered a finance option, through a very legitimate, and experienced finance company. As stated in his complaint, Curtis' contract was for 24 months. However, contrary to Curtis' complaint, his contract was calculated correctly, and will be paid off in 24 months. Additonally, and contrary to Curtis' complaint, our contract was thoroghly gone over with Curtis; as each paragraph was read to him, or by him, he was asked to initial each paragraph and sign the contract.
Following Curtis' joining of our service at approximately 4:30pm on 3-6-07, his criminal background check was processed, and it was completed the next morning. Additionally, his profile and testing were evaluated and prepared for matching. On 3-7-07, Curtis was called by our Matchmaking Department with his first 2 referrals. All of the referrals made for our Clients are pre-approved with the Clients; this means that our Matchmaking Staff will call both parties of a referral, and read off the referred party's entire biography, or profile. Our Clients all have the ability to accept, or reject, any referral made for them by Together. When called by our office to approve his matches, Curtis approved both of them as acceptable on 3-8-07.
Contrary to Curtis' complaint, Curtis did not call our office and inquire about cancelling his membership the next day; it was not until 3-14-07, after Curtis had both received referrals from Together, and speaking with one of his referrals, that he called to inquire about cancelling his membership. In that conversation, Curtis stated the following (which is documented on his profile): "Curtis called in wanting to find out if he could cancel his membership. He does not want to cancel his payments, just his matches. He stated that his is nervous about talking to his referrals over the phone. I encouraged him and he said he would give it a try."
The next day, on 3-15-07, Curtis called our office to get one of his referrals information again. Our office made numerous follow-up calls to Curtis, on 3-22-07, 3-24-07, 3-27-07, and 3-28-07, to see how his first date went and to gather "feedback" from Curtis so we could prepare another referral. On 3-28-07, our office received the following email from Curtis: "Hi, I need to put my membership on hold for a bit, things are too hectic with work/moving/truck. Thnx, Curtis." This email is in Curtis' Membership File and is very contradictory to his complaint here; he has never, to this day, expressed dissatisfaction with our service, or his desire to cancel his membership. His email clearly states his reasons for going on hold to be personal, and not an issue of service.
It is our opinion that this process is simply uncomforable for Curtis. We strongly defend everything we have done for Curtis, however, his happiness as a member is our utmost concern. We wish that Curtis would have made us aware of his discomfort; we could have resolved this long ago. Regardless, Together will make every attempt to contact Curtis, encourage him to use his membership, or cancel his entire balance with our company. We recommend to Curtis, and any Client, that they attempt to resolve their issues with our Company; we are very reasonable, understanding, and cooperative. We make every attempt to resolve most issues brought to our attention, and most are "resolvable".
Manager
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Facts Regarding Curtis' complaint
#6UPDATE Employee
Thu, October 25, 2007
Together would like to respond to the complaint that Curtis has filed, and add some facts that have been left out. Firstly, we would like to say that our members' happiness with their decision to join, as well as our service, is our utmost concern. We will make every attempt to contact Curtis and resolve his complaints, or cancel his monetary balance with our company.
Curtis joined our service on 3-6-07. He had responded to an online advertisement and filled out a Single's Survey on our website. Contrary to Curtis' complaint, our website is still online, and has been for over 8 years; it is www.togetherdating.com
Because Curtis was not able to pay our complete membership in full, he was offered a finance option, through a very legitimate, and experienced finance company. As stated in his complaint, Curtis' contract was for 24 months. However, contrary to Curtis' complaint, his contract was calculated correctly, and will be paid off in 24 months. Additonally, and contrary to Curtis' complaint, our contract was thoroghly gone over with Curtis; as each paragraph was read to him, or by him, he was asked to initial each paragraph and sign the contract.
Following Curtis' joining of our service at approximately 4:30pm on 3-6-07, his criminal background check was processed, and it was completed the next morning. Additionally, his profile and testing were evaluated and prepared for matching. On 3-7-07, Curtis was called by our Matchmaking Department with his first 2 referrals. All of the referrals made for our Clients are pre-approved with the Clients; this means that our Matchmaking Staff will call both parties of a referral, and read off the referred party's entire biography, or profile. Our Clients all have the ability to accept, or reject, any referral made for them by Together. When called by our office to approve his matches, Curtis approved both of them as acceptable on 3-8-07.
Contrary to Curtis' complaint, Curtis did not call our office and inquire about cancelling his membership the next day; it was not until 3-14-07, after Curtis had both received referrals from Together, and speaking with one of his referrals, that he called to inquire about cancelling his membership. In that conversation, Curtis stated the following (which is documented on his profile): "Curtis called in wanting to find out if he could cancel his membership. He does not want to cancel his payments, just his matches. He stated that his is nervous about talking to his referrals over the phone. I encouraged him and he said he would give it a try."
The next day, on 3-15-07, Curtis called our office to get one of his referrals information again. Our office made numerous follow-up calls to Curtis, on 3-22-07, 3-24-07, 3-27-07, and 3-28-07, to see how his first date went and to gather "feedback" from Curtis so we could prepare another referral. On 3-28-07, our office received the following email from Curtis: "Hi, I need to put my membership on hold for a bit, things are too hectic with work/moving/truck. Thnx, Curtis." This email is in Curtis' Membership File and is very contradictory to his complaint here; he has never, to this day, expressed dissatisfaction with our service, or his desire to cancel his membership. His email clearly states his reasons for going on hold to be personal, and not an issue of service.
It is our opinion that this process is simply uncomforable for Curtis. We strongly defend everything we have done for Curtis, however, his happiness as a member is our utmost concern. We wish that Curtis would have made us aware of his discomfort; we could have resolved this long ago. Regardless, Together will make every attempt to contact Curtis, encourage him to use his membership, or cancel his entire balance with our company. We recommend to Curtis, and any Client, that they attempt to resolve their issues with our Company; we are very reasonable, understanding, and cooperative. We make every attempt to resolve most issues brought to our attention, and most are "resolvable".
Manager
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Facts Regarding Curtis' complaint
#6UPDATE Employee
Thu, October 25, 2007
Together would like to respond to the complaint that Curtis has filed, and add some facts that have been left out. Firstly, we would like to say that our members' happiness with their decision to join, as well as our service, is our utmost concern. We will make every attempt to contact Curtis and resolve his complaints, or cancel his monetary balance with our company.
Curtis joined our service on 3-6-07. He had responded to an online advertisement and filled out a Single's Survey on our website. Contrary to Curtis' complaint, our website is still online, and has been for over 8 years; it is www.togetherdating.com
Because Curtis was not able to pay our complete membership in full, he was offered a finance option, through a very legitimate, and experienced finance company. As stated in his complaint, Curtis' contract was for 24 months. However, contrary to Curtis' complaint, his contract was calculated correctly, and will be paid off in 24 months. Additonally, and contrary to Curtis' complaint, our contract was thoroghly gone over with Curtis; as each paragraph was read to him, or by him, he was asked to initial each paragraph and sign the contract.
Following Curtis' joining of our service at approximately 4:30pm on 3-6-07, his criminal background check was processed, and it was completed the next morning. Additionally, his profile and testing were evaluated and prepared for matching. On 3-7-07, Curtis was called by our Matchmaking Department with his first 2 referrals. All of the referrals made for our Clients are pre-approved with the Clients; this means that our Matchmaking Staff will call both parties of a referral, and read off the referred party's entire biography, or profile. Our Clients all have the ability to accept, or reject, any referral made for them by Together. When called by our office to approve his matches, Curtis approved both of them as acceptable on 3-8-07.
Contrary to Curtis' complaint, Curtis did not call our office and inquire about cancelling his membership the next day; it was not until 3-14-07, after Curtis had both received referrals from Together, and speaking with one of his referrals, that he called to inquire about cancelling his membership. In that conversation, Curtis stated the following (which is documented on his profile): "Curtis called in wanting to find out if he could cancel his membership. He does not want to cancel his payments, just his matches. He stated that his is nervous about talking to his referrals over the phone. I encouraged him and he said he would give it a try."
The next day, on 3-15-07, Curtis called our office to get one of his referrals information again. Our office made numerous follow-up calls to Curtis, on 3-22-07, 3-24-07, 3-27-07, and 3-28-07, to see how his first date went and to gather "feedback" from Curtis so we could prepare another referral. On 3-28-07, our office received the following email from Curtis: "Hi, I need to put my membership on hold for a bit, things are too hectic with work/moving/truck. Thnx, Curtis." This email is in Curtis' Membership File and is very contradictory to his complaint here; he has never, to this day, expressed dissatisfaction with our service, or his desire to cancel his membership. His email clearly states his reasons for going on hold to be personal, and not an issue of service.
It is our opinion that this process is simply uncomforable for Curtis. We strongly defend everything we have done for Curtis, however, his happiness as a member is our utmost concern. We wish that Curtis would have made us aware of his discomfort; we could have resolved this long ago. Regardless, Together will make every attempt to contact Curtis, encourage him to use his membership, or cancel his entire balance with our company. We recommend to Curtis, and any Client, that they attempt to resolve their issues with our Company; we are very reasonable, understanding, and cooperative. We make every attempt to resolve most issues brought to our attention, and most are "resolvable".