Gay Options Dating Service

Huge thank you to the wonderful team at Options for introducing me to Carol, my partner of 8 years now. The staff was always friendly yet professional and I always felt they had my best interests at heart throughout the entire process.

Thank you!💝

Dear ***,Almost from the outset of *** ***'s enrollment on January 25, 2012, we had problems with her credit card declining for her monthly paymentsAs soon as a member's card gets declined, their membership goes into a hold status and no matches are developed
during this time frameIf all payments went through on a timely basis, *** ***'s membership would have been paid in full by August 25, Instead, her last payment was just approved this past April 23, (please see attached).We provided *** *** with a match on February 6, and received positive ratings (please see attached)Since that time, her account was intermittently on and off hold numerous times for falling into arrearsWe had reached out to *** *** several times, in an attempt to work something out, but she repeatedly ignored our callsThe additional issue that compounded the delay was the fact that *** *** smokes at least a pack of cigarettes a day which is a problem for the vast majority of our membersWe alerted *** *** to the possibility for such a delay by writing an addendum right into the special notes section of her contract (please see attached)We have every intention, now that her membership is paid in full, to fulfill our contractual obligation for the remaining four introductionsWe are determined to have the same success with *** *** that her friend had that referred her to our service. In fact, we recently offered *** *** an introduction, which she declined because of her allergy to cats. And since that match was declined, we have been
in touch with *** *** with an alternate match. As always, feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions in reference to this complaint. Respectfully,*** ***Director of Member Services###-###-####

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because they still failed to fill the contractI really don't have many of the responses that I sent to Options in response to emails past My emails fill quickly These are all I have that pertaining to the complaint I was not expecting to have problems with all of this.
Agreed, I was having alot of trouble with that particular credit card I was unaware of the delinquency of the accountWhen I received the bill, I contacted them and brought my account up to speedI work alot of hours, I am a busy lady, I am not quick to respond to emails or phone messages My work can demand alot of time I didn't realize that the account had fallen behind That credit company was soon absorbed by another company and I thought everything was fine This was the email I wrote the company when I got the bill and voiced my complaint about my disappointment with the service in June The response was something to the effect that they do not respond to desperate demands That I was a difficult case and that I would have to be patient So, I paid what I contracted to pay hoping that something good would still pan out I didn't realize that doing your job and being diligent about filling the contract was being desperate
Me
To [email protected]
Jun 20, my name is *** *** I am one of your members I was wondering what is going on with my membership you have send me a name for *** * things did not work out I send the papers that you requested back, did you get them? I have been waiting to hear from your outfit for a second date, I feel as though I am paying every month and I should be entitled to have your attentionif there is something else that you require form me please let me know my phone # is *** *** *** thank you.
Next, I was trying to fix the issue with my account and pay the balance That is funny that this letter that was sent to me in September of says that I was in still active matches when the response letter to the complaint said that if there was behind that they freeze the account I was mislead and lied to Had they told me flat out that they would not be able to match me because of my smoking and allergies, I would have never given them for nothing It would have been better for them to release the contract seems like they never tried at allAppointment
To Me
*** *** ***
*** ***,
Thank you for letting us know in advance that you have closed your *** account ending in ***You may forward a check for your balance of $to: *** *** *** ***, VA *** (due by September 25, 2013).You have been in active matching, however the smoking issue has been a re-occurring obstacleWe will however continue to diligently pursue matches on your behalf and will hopefully be able to get an appropriate introduction out to you as soon as possiblePlease do not give up on us as we intend to fulfill our contractual obligation with the remainder of your four introductionsThank you kindly for your continued patience and we will be in touch as soon as we canTake care.Warm regards,*** ***Member Services
Then, after they received the complaint, they magically had two matches for me Imagine, after two years and the additional payment, they find two matches within two weeks Wow, had they just tried from the beginning, this all could have resolved in keeping with horrible service, they match me up with a person that has cats*** * was a cat lover and that was a deal breaker on the one and only date they managed Now, my allergies are my fault too Gosh, I would have added an addendum to my end of the contract if this was going to be a problem also And it took me two days to respond to the phone call and another magic pairing slipped through my fingers because I was not responding quickly enough.
I have encouraged *** * to file a similar complaint I want hard working people who cannot throw away what they can expect Let the buyer beware I am sure they have successfully matched plenty of people If they saw no hope after all this time, they should have practiced good business ethics and said so I have paid all I owed, maybe slower than expected, but that is more than Options has done
Show message history
Regards,
*** ***

Review: I saw on my credit report recently that Options Dating Service had reported me as having a bad credit history with them. This angers me to no end. I have had more than my share of frustration with this company and it seems never ending. I want to end it and clear it up now. I have never had such a bad experience with a service oriented business in my life.

I live an alternative lifestyle and was seeking help with finding quality people for partnership in my area. I had a friend tell me about the service. I decided to call and get some information about what contracting with them would offer me. I would get introduced to five people for a 2000 contract. To be sure, it is a service related business. I was hopeful and understanding that this type of service would be a long process. I contracted with them around June or July of 2011. They promptly got back to me with some contacts that were not quite right. I was introduced to someone and started and stopped dating that person. I took some time to fill their required paperwork and told them like four or five months later that I was interested in dating someone else. Around then, they started to tell me I was not a good candidate for the members they had registered in their service. I would call the customer service line to remind them that I still wanted the other four introductions that I was supposed to get. They kept telling me that I smoke and that severely limited my options. So, I was patient. In the time that I was not calling to ask for services to be rendered, the credit card I was using to pay them was absorbed by another company. I failed to give them a new credit card. The collections department quickly started to stalker call me and send letters. I corrected the billing issue and mentioned in December 2012 that I had not even gotten two introductions. Again, they blamed it on me that I had not been introduced to anyone. My friend assured me that they had worked with her for over years to have faith. I was patient. I must have paid the full amount around December of 2013. This company never called me back for the whole year. Paying for nothing is not what I should have received. I want someone who is able to reach this information to have a good idea of what will happen if you are not a good candidate for this business. You will be blamed for not being marketable and they will take your money anyway AND send you to collections rather than let the revenue go. Amazing business practices. I hope this helps someone. Thank goodness there is an outlet for the consumer.Desired Settlement: If options could not have provided me the services after the many complaints that I had, they should have released me from the remaining amount of the contract when they reported me to collections like two years ago at 1195. I tried to buy a car and saw this on my credit recently. I am furious. It is the mistake that keeps on offending. I had to pay the balance of my contract or lose my job. I would have never paid the remaining balance had they not threatened to fire me over it. I am required to keep my credit clean because I am bonded. I was introduced to ONE person, not the five I was contracted to meet. I feel like I should have only paid 400 for the one introduction. The contract cost me more than 65 hours of work. Then the company blames me for the failure to fill the contract. I resent this company for failing people like me miserably. I make sure that everyone who wants to use a service like this is made aware of what can happen and never to use this company specifically. I go out of my way to try to hurt this company's business by recounting my complaint. They should make good on their contract. I let it go, but my dealings with this company is still hurting me. If Options decided to give me my money back, I will be satisfied to let go my complaints.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted],Almost from the outset of [redacted]'s enrollment on January 25, 2012, we had problems with her credit card declining for her monthly payments. As soon as a member's card gets declined, their membership goes into a hold status and no matches are developed during this time frame. If all payments went through on a timely basis, [redacted]'s membership would have been paid in full by August 25, 2013. Instead, her last payment was just approved this past April 23, 2014 (please see attached).We provided [redacted] with a match on February 6, 2012 and received positive ratings (please see attached). Since that time, her account was intermittently on and off hold numerous times for falling into arrears. We had reached out to [redacted] several times, in an attempt to work something out, but she repeatedly ignored our calls. The additional issue that compounded the delay was the fact that [redacted] smokes at least a pack of cigarettes a day which is a problem for the vast majority of our members. We alerted [redacted] to the possibility for such a delay by writing an addendum right into the special notes section of her contract (please see attached). We have every intention, now that her membership is paid in full, to fulfill our contractual obligation for the remaining four introductions. We are determined to have the same success with [redacted] that her friend had that referred her to our service. In fact, we recently offered [redacted] an introduction, which she declined because of her allergy to cats. And since that match was declined, we have been

in touch with [redacted] with an alternate match. As always, feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions in reference to this complaint. Respectfully,[redacted]Director of Member Services###-###-####

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because they still failed to fill the contract.I really don't have many of the responses that I sent to Options in response to emails past. My emails fill quickly. These are all I have that pertaining to the complaint. I was not expecting to have problems with all of this.

Review: I contacted Gay Options Dating Service in August 2012 to get information about their matchmaking service. The primary question I asked them (more than once) was whether they had a large pool of women in their database who lived in my area and met my criteria, so that they would have plenty of "introductions" to send me on. I told them that if there was any chance that their database was too small and they didn't have enough women who met my criteria (and therefore I would not be matched frequently), I was not interested in signing up for the service. Why would I pay for a matchmaker who can't find me a match? The sales representative said she was tying my criteria into the online system, and she immediately pulled up 300 women in [redacted] (my state) who tentatively met all of my requirements. She said that matching me would be "no problem at all" since she told me I'm "exactly what everyone is looking for." She told that since I am feminine, thin, attractive, educated, financially secure, and have successful career, that I should have many, many matches. I then asked (again) "but are you sure you have OTHER members who meet the same criteria?" I said that I have no trouble finding women to go on dates with, but I'm looing for a more tailored match-- I want someone else who is feminine, thin, educated, and financially secure. That's the reason I'm hiring a matchmaker-- because I want a good match, without having to put in the "work" of something like online dating. I have a busy career, and don't have the time to do the "legwork" of sorting through online profiles. The representative again said, "absolutely! matching you will be so easy! you'll get more dates than most of our clients because you're such a good candidate." So, the forms arrived, I signed them, and I became "active" in their system in September 2012.

It is now July 2013 and I have not yet received one introduction. I have called many times, and I have been given every excuse in the book as to why they have not matched me. Finally, they admitted they simply have no one in their system who meets my criteria. There isn't one woman in their system who lives in my state and meets my bare minimum requirements. I have been more than flexible with them-- I widened my geographic requirements too, in order to give them more room to work with and I gave them additional time before asking for my money back. Still, neither of these helped.

The last time I spoke with someone on the phone (before they stopped returning my calls), they said that the matchmaker had found a potential match for me but, while she was listed on her profile as "5.5/10" on the femininity scale, she really looked more like a "4/10" and therefore the match was ultimately rejected. I said "but my requirement is a minimum of 7! No one under 7/10 should even be considered. You don't have anyone who meets my criteria, so why are you refusing to give me my money back? Since you cannot provide the service you promised, I should be entitled to a refund."

The company got so desperate they called me up and tried to get me to accept an introduction with a woman who lived in [redacted], Florida. I live in [redacted], Minnesota. I explicitly stated in my interview and paperwork that I am not willing to relocate or to meet someone who does not live within 90-minutes travel distance. I think at some point they got me to expand that to 2 hours. Either way, [redacted] is clearly not reasonable. They've stated they have no one in [redacted] for me. So, why won't they return my money?

I also did some research on this company after having all of these problems, and it seems many other people have had the exact same problem. People report they are told they have hundreds of matches in the system, and then when they sign up, they never go on one introduction. Either the company is an outright scam, or the company is lying about the size of its database and knows full well when taking on new clients that they will be unable to match them (because there are not enough members in the system who meet their criteria).

When you simply put the company name into google, the first search result is [redacted]

If you do more digging for "gay options dating service-- reviews" on google, you find more and more reports of the exact same problem happening over and over to different clients.Desired Settlement: Since I was not sent on one introduction during my 10 months as a client with the company, I believe I am entitled to my money back. IF the company had legitimate matches for me and were actually sending me on introductions with women who matched my criteria, I would stay with the service. I wanted to join a matchmaking service. I still do! However, I am not willing to continue waiting for something that is never going to happen, or be sent on an introduction with someone who does not meet my criteria just so the company can say "see, we found you a match." I'm afraid that after submitting this complaint, the company will call and, for the first time, offer me an introduction just so they can claim to have fulfilled their promise (and avoid returning my money)-- but that the person they will set me up with will not fit my criteria. If they set me up with someone who did meet my criteria, great! But, if they haven't been able to do it in 10 months, why would they suddenly be able to do it now, AFTER I've filed a complaint? I just want to address that concern, in advance, in case it happens. I heard of this happening to someone else who wrote an online complaint against them, so I just want to protect myself in advance.

The reason I joined the service was because I was told they had 300 women in [redacted] who met my criteria-- they have told me, since then, that they do NOT have 300 women (or any women) in [redacted] who meet my criteria. I joined the service based on a lie that was told to me in order to get me to purchase the product. They got me as a client based on fraudulent information and now will not return my money.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: Part of this response is factually inaccurate and this response does not address the false information that was given to me at the time of joining the service.

Review: This company is a scam operation. I feel very much taken advantage of. I paid $359.70 for several months of matchmaking services that they failed to deliver. During our initial high-pressure sales pitch phone calls, they assured me that they had over 1200 active members in the San Francisco Bay area they could match me with.

After a few weeks, they sent out one introduction. I met up for the date and it was a terrible mismatch with an overweight man. I am very fitness focused and they are aware I was looking for similar man to date. I sent back my feedback form, complaining that it was not a good match. I never heard from them again.

I am 32 years old, in perfect health, very successful and fit. My expectations for being sent more matches are not out of line, considering their claim to have over 1200 members in my area.

They took advantage of me and I know they have several other Revdex.com complaints like this.Desired Settlement: Refund of $359.70

Business

Response:

December 9, 2013

Dear **. [redacted]

You're right, there are two sides to every dispute, and our version is quite different thar **. "[redacted]'s", First of all, **. "[redacted]" is an alias that was used when **. [redacted] enrolled on September 11, 2013 (Exhibit A: **. [redacted]'s US Passport). Secondly, If you review clause two of our contract (Exhibit B), there Is absolutely no guarantee of even a single introduction. We were very hesitant to bring **. [redacted] on as a member due to his extremely effeminate voice and appearance, because our experience has shown us that our members are extremely reluctant to accept introductions with these specific characteristics, but he made repeated calls into our company pleading for an interview. After the interview, his counselor decided that we could not offer him one of our Premium Membership with guaranteed introductions. Instead, he was offered a very small trial six-mpnth Basic Membership with the caveat that he may not even receive a single introduction.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts to match **. [redacted], we were finally able to get his femininity approved. On October 1, 2013 **. [redacted] was contacted about a potential introduction that matched all of his requirements except for the weight requirement, **. [redacted] accepted the match and we received his written feedback on October 21, 20l3(Exhibit G). On October 26, 2013, we called **. [redacted] for another match approval but he declined the distance which was only 45 miles away because he doesn't own a car (and yet he stated that he had accepted over half a dozen matches from his previous matchmaking service ([redacted]) that all live in [redacted], His referral was even willing to drive to him, but **. [redacted] still chose to decline the match. **. [redacted]'s allegation that he never heard from us after his first match is completely false and we are more than willing to supply phone records to support this so that the Better Business can add this evidence to our file.

**. [redacted]'s allegation that he "talked" to the company on October 8, October 15 and finally on October 30 is also false and **. [redacted] will be unable to provide his phone records supporting this falsehood. According to our Basic Member Policy and Guidelines (See enclosed Exhibit D), all communication is strictly through email.

Although **. [redacted] is not entitled to a refund, the company in good faith was willing to provide a full refund (even prior to receiving the Revdex.com complaint dated December 2 in the mail). When we reached out to **. [redacted] on December 2 to offer the refund, **. [redacted] failed) to return our phone cill. Instead, he not only registered a complaint with the Revdex.com, but also welnt on [redacted] with a series of complete fabrications.

In order to receive his refund of $359.70, **. [redacted] must first sign the enclosed release (Exhibit E) and remove his [redacted] complaint. Otherwise, we have no alternative except to rebut **. [redacted]'s complaint on [redacted] with his full legal name along with the full details of the circumstances regarding our experiences with him.

We have been successfully matching members for almost twenty years now, and we regret that as hard as we try, some members are simply too challenging. That is why the company developed three inexpensive Basic Memberships for those individuals that we foresee potential difficulties with. We look forward to having the Revdex.com act as a go between to get this matter resollved as soon as possible for both parties involved.

Feel free to contact me directly at ###-###-#### if you wish to discuss any further details regarding this matter.

Very truly yours,

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.