POOR SERVICE?
All services must under the consumer goods and services act provide a service that is "fit for purpose" . Most agencies will work hard and greatly enhance your chances of meeting new people and finding partners.
HOW TO COMPLAIN TO A DATING AGENCY. OR A OBTAIN A REFUND
A good introduction agency will geatly enhance your chances of meeting your someone special. This information is provided by The Executive Club of St James's to encourage all dating agencies to provide a good service and to assist the public should their service fall short of reasonable expectations.
You should first check that the problem is not of your own making.
- How many introductions have you received and how many were promised or reasonable to expect, taking into consideration – how good a catch are you, a short guy without a decent job is no catch nor would be a lady dress size 18 especially aged over 47. You must be realistic in what is reasonable given your circumstances.
2 How long have you been with the agency, it will probably take around 3 to 4 months to know if the agency is delivering a proper service.
3 Have you been reasonable, not turning down perfectly good dates on some minor preconception “ don’t get on with Aries” or "he likes opera and I hate it". These are not sensible reasons why two people could not be soulmates.
4 Unless you are stunning with a figure to die for (and God makes very few of you like this) don’t expect the guy to be something special, because if he was, maybe he would not date you anyway. (how many formula 1 drivers or film stars do you see with “ordinary” partners
5 If you've not been happy with the service discuss it with your agency, telling them of your problems and giving them a chance to explain or improve the service to you.
6 Have you acted politely and treated your dates with respect? You can hardly expect an agency to date you with their best or newest clients if all you do is slag off the agency or treat your dates in a way that leaves them feeling they would rather not have met you.
7 The price you pay has to be taken into consideration, it is reasonable to expect a different level of service from an agency charging £10,000 to one charging £250.
Do not wade in, demanding a refund without first giving the agency a chance to make changes to make the service work. It might be you need to make changes to make the service better, keep an open mind. Assuming that you have seriously considered the points above then this is how we recommend improving the situation.
Write a pleasant but informative letter to the agency explaining in detail the reasons you are not happy. Don’t say "all the guys were rubbish". Remember to write and POST the letters ALWAYS date the letters and they can in necessary be produced at County Court and carry considerable weight in the unlikely event you need to go this far. E.G. state how each person failed to reach the standard you were expecting eg. I asked for “professional gentleman aged up to 40, within 20 miles of where I lived. The first guy was a lorry driver, aged 55 and lived 60 miles away. This person did not meet the criteria, I do not consider this an introduction, but a waste of my time, I ask that you choose my dates more carefully as I would rather not meet anyone at all, than just anybody. Etc.
I am not happy with the service I am receiving at the present and respectfully ask that you put more care into choosing people more suitable for me. If you don’t have such people available then perhaps we can discuss a refund of my fees. However I would prefer some good matches if you have them
If things do not improve in say 5 to 12 weeks after the first letter write a more formal 2nd letter.
Further to my letter of complaint of 28th March I am afraid things are no better. Since joining your agency in September I have received a total of 4 introductions of which only one could be described as within the specifications we discussed at the time of joining. At that meeting you led me to believe you had plenty of eligible gentlemen that would suit my needs. It would appear this is not true.
The service has fallen short of what I would have considered reasonable given the fee I paid.
I would now like you to offer a partial refund my membership fee of £xxx as the service has failed to provide any introductions of the quality I was led to believe you would. I paid £xxx on 3rd September and now request that you make an offer to refund part of my membership fee.
No, or an unsatisfactory reply
Further my previous letters of 28th March and 5th May I do not accept your explanation of why you were unable to provide a proper service. I paid your fees in good faith that you would be able to provide me with sufficient dates of an acceptable quality, neither of which in 6 months you were able to do.
If you do forward a refund as requested within 10 days I understand my options to pursue the matter include
Talking the matter up with:
The local trading standards
The office of fair trading to investigate whether your
contract is lawful
The Association of British Introduction Agencies who will
investigate the matter free of charge or have an arbitration
system I can request. (This applies only to agencies who are ABIA members)
Take the matter to arbitration at my local County Court
for breach of contract.
Contact a solicitor and pursue a legal route
I will wait for 10 days before deciding which route to pursue.
If after waiting 10 days you have not had your money refunded, you should decide which method you should pursue. The courts are very public friendly and put a lot of onus on the agency having to show they did provide a reasonable service.
Most agencies would hate to lose a case at the county court and will usually settle out of court if they think you have a reasonable case.
Always keep this in mind, there may be nothing wrong with agency at all, it works for most other people.- the problem might be you! All agencies encounter a few people they would prefer hadn’t joined, but because you are the problem or unreasonable it is not a good reason to obtain a refund. We have a story in the trade of a well built lady in her 50’s joining an agency and a month or so later telling the agency she would only meet “a high court judge or a surgeon” – dream on! You guess the age group and build of people they were dating.
If you get to a stage where you have to take action to recover your fees then you can always call for advice on 0207 930 5555 and I will give you advice of how to proceed.-
Good luck
This site has been sponsored by The Executive Club of St James's setting the highest standards since 1985. Our aim is to raise the standards of poorer agencies and provide information to the public to assist them to choose the best agency for their needs and steer them away from the dubious operations that unfortunately exist in all professions. To see our main site including our famous written refund guarantees see www.thematchmaker.co.uk
dating agency professionals in london
introduction agencies for london professionals
www.execclub.net/who-are-we.htm
www.executiveclub.me.uk/who-joins-us.htm
updated 23rd 1st November 2008