A judge ruled that dating service Great Expectations should refund the thousands of dollars two women paid to find the right guy because Great Expectations wasn't all that great. The service has its members create video and profiles, and claims to introduce members to each other, but for two NYC women, it came up way short. Judge Diane Lebedeff from the Civil Court said that Great Expectations was "massively overcharging" clients and that the agency "violated every mandate of the Dating Services Law!" Quick, someone who has a grasp of the law, let us know what that is exactly! GE claims that since they are an Internet dating firm, they are outside the Dating Services Law. Anyway, we went to a Consumer Affairs website and found Debra's complaint:
I paid $3,800 for the promise of 12 'dates', referred to as personal shoppers by Great Expectations ("GE"). I have been a member of this organization for 2 years and have not had one date. In my opinion GE is an unprofessional, completely disorganized service organization that provided no services. My phone calls were rarely returned. Over the past two years, when selections were made by me or one of my five personal shoppers, there was no follow-up.
I am currently suing GE in Small Claims Court. Based upon my appearance in court last night I feel fairly confident that I will prevail. I am scheduled to present my case in front of a judge on October 27, 2005.
Almost $4,000 for a dating service? Gothamist supposes using Nerve or Match is slumming it - and let's not get into craiglist. In the end, not only did Judge Lebedeff rule that Jennifer Doe (pseudonym) was owed $1,000 for a six month membership and Debra Roe was owed $3,790 for a 54-month deal, she said that they were "both appearing to be intelligent, well-spoken and attractive professional women" and seem to have "carefully negotiated the services to be provided." Aw, that's an edorsement for them to put on their new dating profiles (Match? JDate? eHarmony?) But $1,000 for a dating service? You're better off going offline and getting yourself a live matchmaker. Or a dog, which can be a great conversation starter. Great Expectations says they will appeal.
