Dating Site Threats

INAMESS

Hi this is a bit embarrasing but is making me panic as i'm getting lots of threatening emails now. A couple of months ago i drunkenly thought it woud be a good idea to join a dating site although not one of the mainstream ones. I registered to the site then put my card details in to which they were declined, i then came to my senses (all in the space of a hour) and decided not to attempt to pay again and i also emailed them to say cancel my registration, card etc. I then thought nothing of it until a few weeks later when i found emails from the site saying i must pay the joining fee plus expenses etc, then a few days later they said what i owe has gone and they will pass it onto a debt collection agency or take me to court. I've not done anything with these emails but i am panicing a bit. They even say they have my IP address etc so i will be traced. The email address of these emails is collection@fairmount.world I think the company name and address is Paidwings, Alte Steinhauserstrasse 1, 6330 Cham, Switzerland.
Does anyone of any knowledge of them or whether i should be worried or not? Is this a scam or genuine? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

user1977

If you signed up with a Swiss website then your relevant consumer rights would be Swiss, rather than anything people here are likely to be able to give you definitive advice about.

But I very much doubt they will actually go to the expense of trying to pursue debts cross-border, unless you owed them a vast amount, so I think you can safely ignore.

Ectophile

They even say they have my IP address etc so i will be traced.

Most people have dynamic IP addresses, which means every time you reboot your router, you're given a new one by your ISP.

That means there's no reliable way to trace an IP address to anyone unless they get the help of:

• A law enforcement agency, or
• Your ISP, who should not be helping them (it would be illegal under the GDPR).
  

tacpot12

If they do take you to court, the contract laws in Switzerland are likely to be very similar to those in the UK, i.e. you only have the right of termination laid out in the contract OR in Swiss law. If Swiss law provides a 14day cooling off period, then the company should have allowed you to cancel. 

Alderbank

No consideration (payment) was made by the OP and no access was given by the site so under Swiss law, as with UK law, I can't see that any contract was made to start with.

I don't think any Swiss gnomes will be knocking at the door of your ISP address!

Parking_Trouble

The payment was declined, so surely you didn't get the benefit of membership?

INAMESS

It’s a Swiss and address at the bottom of the emails they’ve sent but the website is designed for UK subscribers. The worry is each email I receive they increase the amount they say I owe them. I don’t want to leave it then find in a years time I owe them thousands! I assume your real address can be traced via your IP address? My internet provider is Plusnet, I don’t know whether they do static or dynamic IP address whatever all that means lol. So the general consensus is this is a scam and ignore it?

ThumbRemote

1. You cannot be traced by your IP address
2. They have no proof it was you who even tried to join
3. The company are known scammers
4. You never paid, no contract was formed, so you never joined the site. 

Stop worrying, block their emails to cut all contact.

INAMESS

They do have my name, email address, card details and date of birth which i entered when i tried to subscribe.
Tonight i have received an email from their legal representatives called....
Auer Witte Thiel Solicitors
Bayerstrabe 27
D-80335
Munchen
They now say pay before the 5th October otherwise they will go to court?

user1977

I doubt their Munich solicitors are going to be capable of going to any court which would affect you. Just ignore them.

NBLondon

user1977 said:

I doubt their Munich solicitors are going to be capable of going to any court which would affect you. Just ignore them.

A Swiss company using German solicitors?  Looks dodgy to me...