Zoosk.com engages in false and deceptive advertising and refuses to refund customers' money when they complain.
Zoosk presents itself as a large online dating community with many members. Its advertisements claim that it is free to post a profile. Technically, this is true, but only paid members can send messages. This is not made clear in the advertisements or in the terms and conditions.
I joined the site and purchased a six month membership for $74.95 plus an activation fee of $24.99 for a total of $99.94. Over several weeks, I sent out approximately 30 messages. I also replied "Yes" to Zoosk's Scientific Matching Service (a daily match suggestion) about 20 times. In that time, only one person replied to my messages, and only one person mutually accepted the daily match.
I saw numerous indicators that a large percentage of the women on Zoosk are not able to respond to messages because they are not paid members, even though Zoosk never indicates this:
- Numerous women read my messages and added me to their buddies list but never responded to the message
- Numerous women read my messages and returned to view my profile repeatedly over several days but never responded to my messags
- My personal experience in using other dating sites is that I typically get 2-3 responses for every 10 messages that I send
- 7 women added me to their buddies list, which is consistent with my above-mentioned typical response rate
- I received several inbound messages (the woman messaged me first) that included a masked email address and a request for me to initiate contact outside of Zoosk, indicating that some women have figured out that they can't communicate on the site without paying
Zoosk presented all of these women in my search results as people whom I could contact. If the person can't respond, then that constitutes false advertising.
I closed my account and asked that my money be refunded. Zoosk has responded only with the baloney boilerplate email below.
I strongly recommend avoiding Zoosk.com, as their business practices are very shady.
Zoosk's email reply:
Thank you for contacting Zoosk Customer Support.
Im sorry that your recent experience on Zoosk didnt entirely meet your
expectations. We realize that dating can be tricky. So at Zoosk our goal is to
make things as fun and easy as possible. We are always working to maintain a
community in which users feel comfortable to date their way, whether they want
to browse, flirt, or find a soul mate. If you think there is something we can
improve upon in order to provide you with a better experience in the future,
please feel free to let us know.
Please recall that we displayed a confirmation screen before completing the
transaction. This screen showed the total purchase amount, including all
applicable taxes and Activation Fees. In order to complete the purchase you
were required to view and accept this confirmation. We have established this
confirmation procedure because all Subscription purchases are non-refundable.
We appreciate your interest in Zoosk, and we apologize for any
inconvenience.
Best regards,
XXXXXXX
Zoosk Customer Support