Match.com won't give me my money back even though I never authorised the payment

definitivefreak

I registered on Match.com in February for a 6 month membership. It showed me a start date and an end date for the subscription. When it came to June, I decided to stop using it, so I thought I'd let the membership run its course in case I changed my mind.

Today I discover that I have 23p in my bank account. I ring my bank to find out why. It's due to £65.25 coming out tomorrow, a payment for another 6 months with Match. I did NOT authorise this.

I rang their customer services and requested that they stop the payment or give me a refund. So began a 16 minute and 46 second argument about their policy of not refunding because I apparently had signed up for automatic billing.

Regardless, any website I'd been a previous paying member of had always ALWAYS sent me a confirmation or reminder email that an amount was about to be billed. That's good customer service. The girl I spoke to wouldn't accept this, she said I signed up to automatic billing and they don't have a policy to remind people. So they just swindle inactive members then?

I had considered deleting my profile, but I decided against it because I thought it would become inactive once the membership expired. The girl said that according to their records, my membership has never expired, in fact it's active right up to the end date of 9th February 2010. I said to her that it HAD expired because I was getting email notifications that said I had been winked at or emailed and that I could only view them if I RE-SUBSCRIBED. If I was already subscribed, how was that possible?

We ended the very expensive-from-a-mobile conversation with me saying that I want my £65.25 back, and I was going to do it through my bank. Is this the right way to go about it? Has anyone else been caught out by Match.com? Is it within my rights to expect a notice of billing? If I had received a notice that I was going to be billed, none of this would have happened...

Mark_Hewitt

If you believe the adverts you get 6 months free anyway?

ifonlyitwaseasier

please ignore suesuesue, they seem to be trollling the boards having a go at people.

firstly send a letter/email of complaint to match.com stating that they have 7 days to refund, never agreed to re join etc etc
secondly i'd go to the bank and state that you did not give permission for that transaction and the company are refusing a refund so you'd like them to reverse it (might not work but always worth a try)

good luck

gnaril

DOnt ignore suesue as they are correct.

If you actually check the merchants terms and conditions then they will state that ( 99%) of the time that if you do not cancel within the trial/term period them they will automatically bill your card held on file.

Yes its good customer service to send a email to advise however not seen anywhere that its a legal requirment.

There aint beena breach of contract with the merchant. i fail to see how your bank would step in on your behalf. I have not seen their cancellation policy so dont know if you could go down that route.

Unfortunalty you have been caught out like millions of other people that agree to T+cs initially and either dont read them or fully understand how these things work.

I dont deal with debit card disputes so unsure how they could help you, but if you paid on a credit card, you have not cancelled prior to billing so dont have a leg to stand on.

Sorry mate

DCFC79

Match.com dont have send the email as its not compulsory for them to do, did you read the terms and conditions

Purpledaisy_2

You have to tell them you dont want to continue your membership so if you didnt cancel it with them you dont have a leg to stand on unfortunately.

savemoney

Sorry but terms and condition do state this you should have read them

[URL="javascript:var%20w%20=%20window.open('http://cp.match.com/cppp/index/uk/rules.html','rules','height=500,width=476,title=0,status=0,scrollbars=1');"]*Terms apply[/URL]



As part of the enrolment process for the Trial, you will be required to submit a valid credit card and pick a Match.com subscription package. The Trial period begins at the time of completion of the enrolment process for the Trial and ends 168 consecutive hours (7 days) thereafter (and cannot be extended). If you do not cancel your subscription during the Trial period, you will be billed for the subscription package to Match.com which you select during the Trial registration process.

pinkshoes

For once, suesuesue is actually correct.

It clearly states in the terms and conditions that you need to cancel if you don't wish to continue, as do most contracts.

Also, I believe they have a "make love happen" guarantee, so you should insist on the 6 months being free!!

If you're going to have to pay for it anyway, and are still single, then make the most of it, or sell the membership to a friend!

Frances700

Ok this is my problem. I had my 3 day free trial and signed up my card details for a months subscription. I decided to cancel within my 3 days and not pay the months money. I phoned up within the time scale explained and was told that I was too late to cancel and they would take the months money anyway. I have called my Bank who said they were looking into it and they money has now come out of my bank. Please can someone tell me how to get my money back I never authorised this money to come out and when I phoned Match.com they laughed at me. Its no acceptable. If I had phoned too late i would accept this as my own stupidity but I did phone within the time specified. Any ideas?????:money:Help me!!

marisa

Sorry as this is kinda bad news, but I learnt this when working for a banks online dept.

To those talking bout getting the bank to get money back and cancel future payments, if it is a direct debit it can only be fully cancelled with match.coms permission. When u ask the bank to stop a dd they send the request to the company and if they refuse it, you have to take it to court to force them, as the dd gives them permission to take money until it is mutually agreed it will stop, usually by their own contract cancellation rules.

These places are most harmed by a bad reputation, post your story to a high traffic blog or similar, get it noticed, then they will hopefully want to compensate you so you write how they were supernice after!