- Report: #265737
Complaint Review: Great Expectations - Texas
-
Author Confirmed
Why?
Great Expectations
14180 Dallas Parkway, Suite 100 75232 Texas, U.S.A.
Phone:
972-4487900
Web:
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Great Expectations Ways of Great Expectations ripoff Texas
Here's the way this works:
You are contacted by their telemarketing computer or like me, you run across their website. They make an appointment with one person, then when you arrive to speak to a different (sales) person.
In addition to their office, the sales person has a loaner room. The loaner room has a TV/VCR so they can play you a 9 minute brainwash blurb about how great their company is. Meanwhile, you've given them a credit card and your driver's license so they can run your credit and see how much you can spend.
The sales person has strategically placed pictures of their wonderful family and will comment that they found their spouse using this service also. They will even pick the creme of the crop profiles to show you as examples. I'm not sure if these are even real people in these example profiles. The sales person got really nervous when I started writing down the names and profile numbers.
When I asked if I can simply search by the profile number, she said no, only by first name and a few other non-unique traits (smoking, kids, etc.). They will also compliment you and tell you that you will have no problem finding interested people in their program.
Now that they have run your full credit report which they claim is to make sure you are not married or a criminal (like them), they offer three levels of membership which have been priced very close together so that the obvious choice is the most expensive, all-inclusive one.
Here is where they steal your money. They have your full credit report, so they know what credit cards you have and how much available credit you have on each card. They offer you pricing that will just barely fit on the card with the most room. In my case, I had a Citibank card which has around $7500 available credit. The price of the VIP membership, which the photo shoot and video totaled $7409.00. Gee, wonder why they didn't take the last $91.00.
$7400 for a dating service, seems a bit expensive. No, it seems very fraudulent. Had I seen pricing after the first two times I had asked, I could have made a fair decision. I was not given pricing until after my credit report came back. After a little research I found most victims were paying $2700 to $3500.
Buyer beware, these guys don't play fair. A few things I've learned from this:
1. If they won't give pricing up front, they probably don't have standard pricing.
2. If they have a one-day only price, its a scam, they don't want you to have the time to make a well thought out decision or to do research on their company.
3. A contract that says "You shall not request, refunds, cancellations or recissions of any kind" means they know you will ask once you realize the service isn't worth what they charge.
Tc0
Plano, Texas
U.S.A.
You are contacted by their telemarketing computer or like me, you run across their website. They make an appointment with one person, then when you arrive to speak to a different (sales) person.
In addition to their office, the sales person has a loaner room. The loaner room has a TV/VCR so they can play you a 9 minute brainwash blurb about how great their company is. Meanwhile, you've given them a credit card and your driver's license so they can run your credit and see how much you can spend.
The sales person has strategically placed pictures of their wonderful family and will comment that they found their spouse using this service also. They will even pick the creme of the crop profiles to show you as examples. I'm not sure if these are even real people in these example profiles. The sales person got really nervous when I started writing down the names and profile numbers.
When I asked if I can simply search by the profile number, she said no, only by first name and a few other non-unique traits (smoking, kids, etc.). They will also compliment you and tell you that you will have no problem finding interested people in their program.
Now that they have run your full credit report which they claim is to make sure you are not married or a criminal (like them), they offer three levels of membership which have been priced very close together so that the obvious choice is the most expensive, all-inclusive one.
Here is where they steal your money. They have your full credit report, so they know what credit cards you have and how much available credit you have on each card. They offer you pricing that will just barely fit on the card with the most room. In my case, I had a Citibank card which has around $7500 available credit. The price of the VIP membership, which the photo shoot and video totaled $7409.00. Gee, wonder why they didn't take the last $91.00.
$7400 for a dating service, seems a bit expensive. No, it seems very fraudulent. Had I seen pricing after the first two times I had asked, I could have made a fair decision. I was not given pricing until after my credit report came back. After a little research I found most victims were paying $2700 to $3500.
Buyer beware, these guys don't play fair. A few things I've learned from this:
1. If they won't give pricing up front, they probably don't have standard pricing.
2. If they have a one-day only price, its a scam, they don't want you to have the time to make a well thought out decision or to do research on their company.
3. A contract that says "You shall not request, refunds, cancellations or recissions of any kind" means they know you will ask once you realize the service isn't worth what they charge.
Tc0
Plano, Texas
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Tc0
Plano,Texas,
U.S.A.
Chase Credit Card reversed disputed charge
#2Author of original report
Tue, October 09, 2007
Thank goodness! I called Chase Bank immediately and disputed the charge. My main points were: 1. Bait and switch - since I had no idea I was meeting Great Expectations instead of DallasSingles (.org is supposed to be for non-profit orgs) 2. They ran my credit and charged me the amount that was most available of any of my credit cards. 3. They refused to reverse the charges. 4. I did not receive any services that I was promised. I didn't go to the photo shoot, do the profile thing, etc. I'd love to hear what they based their decision on. If I can find out, I'll pass it along.
Michael
Duncanville,Texas,
U.S.A.
Ditto from me & suggestions
#3Consumer Comment
Sat, August 25, 2007
In June, Great Expectations also got me. I filled out an online form for dallassingles.org. It never mentioned anything about being associated with Great Expectations. A girl called me 3x/wk for two weeks. I finally decided to anser her call. She identified herself as being with Dallas Singles, and never mentioned anything about Great Expectations. I agreed to meet with her. I was surprised that the address was for Great Expectations, and not Dallas Singles. The girl I talked to on the phone, and emailed me was not there. I'm sure it was her job to trick people into the office. After telling the lady who was only identified by her 1st name, "not today" 2 or 3 times, and having her come back telling me I would never be the man I could be w/o them and Great Expectations being my only hope, over and over again, I was finally pressured into signing the contract. I signed about 8pm on a Thursday night. I felt sick to my stomach and did not sleep well. The next morning I called my CC bank to dispute the charge and cancel my card. Then I called Great Expectations. They insisted I talk to the same lady. I did and she refused to reverse the charges, stating that I signed a contract and they would not be helping me if they let me out of it. She proceeded to belittle me as she had the night before. I finally yelled at her and told her I was not calling for more sales pressure. She finally shut the hell up. She told me I would have to call back on Monday and talk to Stephanie, but she warned me Stephanie would not agree to reversing the charges either. I did not communicate with Great Expectations again. Instead I opened complaints with 3 departments of the Texas Attorney General, The Federal Trade Commission, several local news investigative teams, and even Oprah (since they so proudly brag about being promoted on the show). I also drew up a letter of cancellation, had it notorized and sent certified mail to Great Expectations. I sent copies of this letter and the signed certified mail card to all the prementioned. After the CC bank received my dispute form with photo copies and written detail with names, locations, dates, and times, they reversed the charges. I called to check, and they said that Great Expectations had 45 days to offer a rebuttal, but said they didn't think they would. I'm past the point of 45 days, but I'm not going to breath normally until the end of the month. Just a hint, a friend of mine who is a big business contract lawyer in the DFW area told me by using websites that do not identify them as being Great Expectations, they are using bait-and-switch tactics to get people into their office. In most cases that is illegal. It's like false marketing. I also would be willing (no fee) to offer testimony against this, should be criminal company.
