I don’t often pick on specific dating sites that make it difficult to deal with billing issues but this reader’s story is one that I am hearing all to often these days, and not just about be2.com.
Lightly edited for length and clarity:
You are probably aware that be2.com are under scrutiny. I signed up with be2 for the 1 month free trial. Not really aware of the fact they automatically renew it to the tune of £149 a month later unless you contact them within two weeks of the payment going out.
When…i went on the site to try to cancel my account and basically couldn’t. The website takes you around in circles and it is impossible. I looked for contact information and it says on the website to cancel your membership you need to fax it in writing, but what a surprise, no fax number. Basically it is deliberately made impossible to contact them.
I again attempted to cancel my membership and hey presto, there is link to cancel my membership however with no refund. Obviously, once they have your money they allow the link.
I have had series of emails where i have tried to argue my case and again you are met with a blank wall of what seem like pre-generated emails. Not only that, the website is fake, two thirds of the profiles are fake, with a shoddy attempt at reality by blurring the photographs.
On further investigation i have found testimonies on the web of hundreds of victims of this scam including an article from the guardian.
On further investigation, the contact numbers for the company listed in the domain database checked via google, do not exist, i’ve tried them.
I suggest signing up for £5, and see what happens, i guarantee you will have exactly the same experience.
From a few minutes of Google searches it seems like this person is not near the only one having trouble with be2’s automatic billing process. The same could be said for a number of high-profile dating sites around the world.
Billing issues like this and the recent brouhaha around background checks have some attorney’s looking at the dating industry as their next big score, although none that I have spoken with have shown an Elliot Spitzer-like effort to call the industry to task. My advice? Clean up your act or the government will do it for you.
