Dating site refund

Lit_Up

Today I signed up to a dating site (love arts). I paid 20 quid for a months access, messaged a user but then quickly realised that the site has hardly any members, lots of dead profiles, and the user interface is crap.

I asked them for a refund and they said that because I've messaged ONE user, the cooling off period of 7 days doesn't apply as I've "used" the services. This seems ridiculous. Is there any way out of this?

halibut2209

No, but make sure that you cancel correctly otherwise you may find more money being taken out of your account

bris

No, they are correct, the DSR for services is for 7 days or when the service starts. As you have used the service you are now stuck for a month.
The dead profiles might have found love and don't need it anymore, maybe you can get just as lucky.

Lit_Up

Surely they can use their discretion... I signed up, sent a message, then asked for a refund... I've sent ONE message and not received a reply...

Or is it a case of any excuse to keep your money?

I've already cancelled the direct debit they set up

bargainbetty

Sadly, the terms are there and their actions are in accordance with the contract. Maybe they could use their discretion, but they are not legally obliged to do so, whereas you are obliged to keep your side of the bargain.

Again, make sure you have cancelled properly within their terms and received a written notification confirming that. Then, use your profile to email as many of the dead profiles as you like. If people receive a notification email, they might realise that their images are still being used by the site, and start taking them down - I had a similar problem on the Independent dating site. They just switch memberships to basic but don't delete them to maintain the numbers. You have to log in and delete it yourself, after you have cancelled.

vuvuzela

Lit_Up wrote: »

Surely they can use their discretion... I signed up, sent a message, then asked for a refund... I've sent ONE message and not received a reply...

Or is it a case of any excuse to keep your money?

I've already cancelled the direct debit they set up

They may well have received your message and decided they don't like the look of you...
You've used the service, so you pay for it, them's the rules. Make sure you cancel properly, don't just cancel your DD.

Looksguywalker

Lit_Up wrote: »

Surely they can use their discretion... I signed up, sent a message, then asked for a refund... I've sent ONE message and not received a reply...

Or is it a case of any excuse to keep your money?

I've already cancelled the direct debit they set up

You used the service and you set up the direct debit...so you pay...that's how it works.

wealdroam

Lit_Up wrote: »

Surely they can use their discretion...

Of course they can.
They have decided not to.

Lit_Up wrote: »

I've already cancelled the direct debit they set up

As others have said...

Do make sure you cancel your subscription properly.

Just cancelling the direct debit, does not cancel your contract.

Lit_Up

vuvuzela wrote: »

They may well have received your message and decided they don't like the look of you...

Trolling much?

System

Lit_Up wrote: »

Trolling much?

He's got a point. Just sending a message on a dating site does not guarantee the person will respond back to you. If you are after a site with a guaranteed response I would suggest you look at using an escort/prostitution service.

On your original problem I would hammer the site for the next month and try and get your moneys worth

vuvuzela

Lit_Up wrote: »

Trolling much?

You what ?
Just because you send a message on a dating site doesn't mean you're guaranteed a reply. I haven't used any myself, but a lass I know regularly tells us about the massively inappropriate messages she receives, mostly badly spelled and sexually offensive
This possibly isn't the sort of thing you sent, but if you think simply sending a message guarantees a reply, then you're mistaken.