ElovePaulFalzone, CEOCarol (T refused to provide your last name) 80Washington StBldgE 11-12 Norwell, MA 02061 DearMr. Paul Falzone and Ms. Carol,
I respectfully request you promptly processmy elove membership cancellation/release and refund, and consider waiving theInitiation Fee I paid on Veterans Day (Together Dating-SA, TX / 613 NW Loop410 Ste 195, San Antonio, TX 78216). I experienced business practices of thepoorest quality and value Ive ever encountered or it was manipulation anddeception. Im disappointed in the elove counselor/authorized signature who said she had 7years of experience yet did not clearly explain or present the fullcontract/services or professionally process my release/refund. Im frustrated by the centralMembership Services number answered by a representative who has no direct ability to resolvemembership issues and who perpetuates an ineffective message loop. It seemslike stonewalling when the rep refers me back to the SA office and takesmessages, and the SA office refers me back to Member Services, when ultimatelythey all tell me corporate is the only decision authority. Its extremely unusual that no managersare ever identified or available. Only corporate can make decisions yet is not clearly identified orreadily accessible. I discovered elove when I responded to anonline solicitation. A representative quickly contacted me by phone to schedulean immediate personal interview (follow-up email showed V, Relationship Specialist, [email protected], 210-348-5736). I joined eloveafter an interview with your counselor and based on her description of an ethical & caring business withhistory since 1974, whose priority was service personalized to meet membersneeds. She briefed that the level included a personal matchmaker who would get to know me and fine-tunethe referrals to my preferences over time (she expressed hope she would be theone assigned to work with me as such). I did feel rushed and her demeanor markedly changed when I said I wantedtime to see and assess the contract and service levels (she had no pamphlet ofservices/fees for me and retained her presentation chart); and when I asked herto verify the transferability and identify other locations because of mymilitary commitments (she confirmed essentially global and quickly listed ahandful of U.S. Offices as examples). The contract was signed for a leveland I departed at approx. 3:00.in the lobby, she asked if the man waitingthere would beacceptable to me. She said hedbeen scheduled for an interview but had to reschedule because hed been in anauto accident earlier and the policeman had kept his drivers license. This man was not fully screened, if atall, and totally unmatched yet she seemed to be offering him to me as areferral. Veterans Day was a rare free day for me. Driving home I recognized I couldnt dedicate the time that is essential to theother members in this process due to my demanding work schedule in the USAF. Iunfolded the contract to get office information and discovered a full back sideof the contract; which was not revealed to me in our discussion noracknowledged by either of us in our review together of the contract during thesigning process. I believed the text referencing (over) applied to theSpecial Notes section Cindy hadfilled in and emphasized. No continuation of that section from the front waswritten or indicated by C sothere was no need to turn the document over. Cindy did notpresent the back to me or indicate the contract actually continued there. During the contract review she held thedocument down on the table and summarized each paragraph on the front with apen before giving me the pen and pointing to the signature line for me tosign. My copy was already foldedup when she returned to the room and handed it to me. She kept my personalinformation including social security number, bank accounts/balances, creditcard, employer/salary, military ID, drivers license, address, email, phonenumbers and results of a simple magazine-style personality assessment and abasic interests/compatibility questionnaire. At 4:35 I called the SA office (210-979-2550written on the contract) to cancel my membership and got a message nobody wasavailable. At 4:40 I called the Membership Services number (1-800-317-3283written on the contract and office phone message) and asked the representative (Toccara) to cancel mymembership. She couldnt cancelthe membership and referred me back to the counselor (C) Cindy) to cancel it. She said shedhave Cindy call me. I tried Cindys cell (941-201-9939 written on the contract) and gotvoicemail. At 4:45 I called the office again and told the representative that Iintended to cancel the contract. She said C indy was in aninterview. I left a message andthen returned to the SA office at 5:00. Cindy met with me after ashort wait. She referred me to Membership Services to cancel. She was surprised when I told herMembership Services couldnt cancel the membership and had referred me back toher. She indicated I might be charged the full rate of $ (a substantial sumequivalent to my monthly paycheck) because shed already dropped thepapers. As a credentialedinvestigator I know traditional background checks should not be conducted witha single source or concluded so quickly. Shed previously highlighted that a thorough background check wasconducted on all members to ensure they were all of highest character, notcriminal predators like online, so I could be confident in meeting theircompatible referrals. She said it would take 1-4 weeks. She then clarified nothing was startedyet (e.G., background checks, assigned matchmaker, referrals, etc.) and I wasonly obligated the Initiation Fee of $ (a high amount). Despite my reason for cancellation, shetold me I was just nervous. She asked me to think about it for one day with nofurther obligation. I declinedyet she continued to push me to retain membership, counseling me on myvulnerabilitieslack of personal time and social investment. She suggested areduced service package even when I repeatedly told her why I intended tocancel. I asked several times tocancel the membership and complete the release paperwork. She told me twice there was no paperwork or further process to finalize release. This was all highly suspicious to me. She eventually handed me a scrap ofpaper and agreed to sign it receiving my cancellation. When asked, she alsosigned, cancelled on my copy of the contract to release me. She did not providea refund of any payments but indicated it would be immediate. I asked about also waiving theInitiation Fee. My membershiplasted 2-4 hours (from 2:25 credit transaction/3:00 departed elove office until 4:40 advised elove Membership Services of cancellation/4:45 advised SA officerep of cancellation/5:00 returned to elove office to cancel/6:00 contractreleased in writing). C acknowledged no workload/costs (e.G., background checks, matchmaking, referrals, etc.) were incurred given the shorttime span but I was still obligated to pay the Initiation Fee. She didnt have the authority to waivethe fee and said it would be a corporate decision; however, no manager wasavailable and no contact information for one was provided. Since then, no eloveauthority has contacted me. On 12 Nov 10, my USAA account showed the original credit transactionpending. I called C at 10:00 andasked her to verify the refund was accomplished. She doubted the transactionhad gone through but said shed check when she got to the office and verify itwas refunded that day. I still hadno reply or refund by 5:00. Itried C s cell and then the office line gave its message to call MembershipServices. I asked the rep (Tagain) to verify my refund. She tried to refer me back to my counselor to cancel my membership. I advised I met with C in person and shed already cancelled the contract. T indicated it was too late because shedfully processed the contract and my background check. I did not believe her because C confirmed on 11 Nov 10, that nothing wasstarted. T repeated she had the contract andbackground check in her hand. If true, I told her she must have done it afterId cancelled the contract with C the previous day. She told me background checks were run bythe office (C) and faxed to her so she didnt run it after the release. I disputed this because I was with C to cancel on 11 Nov 10, and shespecifically told me nothing was started on my membership. T said C must nothave realized shed already faxed it to them. I found that hard to believe and certainly sloppymanagement/handling of my personal information. I asked for a copy of thebackground check but she refused because such infowasnt shared with the member. Iasked her to identify the organization that conducted it. She named (deleted), LLC; and said itwas part of the company. T then affirmed I was only obligated forthe $ fee as agreed with C, andnot the full payment. She couldntdo anything about the refund and the release had to go to corporate to be processed, which would take up to 21 days. Meanwhile, the full charge of $ would remain onmy credit. I asked for thecorporations contact informationname, address, a principal point of contact, phone number and fax, email. She told me to send any letter to her and shewould forward a fax to corporate. I asked for the corporations fax but shedidnt know it; she said that it was just a button on the machine that shepushed and it went. Again, Ifound that hard to believe. It iscertainly poor performance and service when representatives dont know basiccompany information or procedures; when they do not ensure protection of mypersonal information by faxing it to an unknown/unconfirmed number; and whenthey interfere with my ability to communicate directly or confidentially withcorporate leadership. After Ipersisted, she provided: elove, 80Washington Street, Building E 11-12, Norwell, MA 02061. She identified Carol asthe principal corporate contact but refused to provide Carols last name oranything else except an email [email protected]. My short experience with your company &services has left me feeling helpless and violated in a way I imagine date rapevictims must feel. While the reps were courteous, the business performance hasbeen nothing like what was represented to me. I ask that your highest corporate authority evaluate mycomplaint and resolve my consumer concerns. I know an ethical business of highquality and reputation would immediately and openly do so. Yet again, I respectfully request youpromptly process my membership cancellation/release and refund allpayments. I also ask you toconsider waiving the Initiation Fee or at least adjusting the fee to reflect areasonable hourly rate for a max of 4 hours service. For example, a salesperson with 10 years experience mayaverage up to $15.00 p/hr and the national median for a degreed psychiatrist is$72.00 p/hr (ref www.payscale.com). Finally, I encourage you to assess andimprove your business practices at all locations and affiliates to ensure open, clear, and ethical transactions with consumers (e.G., www.bbb.org reports elove (ID 98805 and ID 90081421) ARE NOT BBB Accredited Business asadvertised on your webpage www.elove.com); offer a24-hour cancellation policy and someone immediately available withcancellation/refund authority plus release forms (ref TX 80 (R) HB 2623relating to the cancellation of a dating service contract within a certainperiod after execution of the contract; "Cooling Off" laws that mandate a period of time for contract cancellation in many states); and establish an online public accesspost which allows members/consumers to rate and comment on your services &success
Thank youfor your consideration, AttachmentsCredit PaymentMembershipCancellationContractand ReleaseEloveEmailEloveWebpage with BBB Symbol*Note: Together Dating-SA, TX is one of many addresses identified under elove PersonalMatchmaking, 7000 N Mopac Expy 2 Fl, Austin, TX 78731, (210) 280-0368 (BBB ID90081421; is not a BBB Accredited Business). *Note: This is a copy (some original text deleted or slightly altered to prevent some disclosures) of the letter I mailed to elove at the Norwell, MA address on 15 Nov 10. On 15 Nov 10 at1211, I received a cell voicemail from my counselor, C at elove AKA Together Dating-San Antonio, TX), indicating the "corporation" had a resolution for me. I called her celland she said the corporation agreed to the refund, less the initiation fee, andalso wanted to offer me continued membership at half price. I thanked her forthe offer but noted that the business practices with elove left me disillusioned. I no longer trusted them and did notwant to continue any membership (I'd listed honesty and integrity as my top requirement during my interview with her). I advised her Id filed a complaint with corporate (the letter mailed to Norwell, MA). Despite their approval of the refund therehas been no actual refund posted to the account. ConsumerComplaint Links (many receive complaints online and may be able to eitherassist you directly in resolution or use your experience to build consumerprotection programs and laws to stop it from happening to others): 1. Your CreditCard Bank (for transaction dispute) 2. BetterBusiness Bureau 3. FederalTrade Commission4. Licensingand Regulation Department in your state5. Office ofthe Attorney General in your state6. Your stateslegislative committees for business and commerce (State Senate and House ofRepresentatives) 7. Yourpolitical representatives (e.G., local, state, national congressionalrepresentatives) 8. ConsumerAdvocacy Groups (e.G., elderly, military, low income, handicapped, etc.) 9. Media (localaffiliates to major TV news and magazines; newspaper, radio, etc.)
0 comments