NEW CANAAN--Match.com claims to be responsible for more dates, relationships and marriages than any other dating website. It also has more customer complaints with the Better Business Bureau than its competitors, like eHarmony.
As of Wednesday, the Better Business Bureau has received 2,630 complaints against Match in the last three years. Of those complaints, 835 remained unanswered.
The BBB revoked Match's accreditation in July 2015, and gave the online dating site an "F" rating. In its reasoning, the BBB cites the 835 unanswered complaints filed against the business, and notes that many of the complaints are regarding the company's automatic renewal and cancellation policy.
John, a New Canaan father of two, used Match in 2015 and subsequently filed a complaint with the BBB. He said he subscribed to Match because it was a dating site he was familiar with, but he did not research the company before signing up. He signed up for a six-month membership, which he attempted to opt-out of before it ended.
"I took off the auto-renew, thinking its not going to auto renew and it's just gonna end when it ends," explained John. "And I find out that's not the case. You have to cancel it. And I wasn't aware of that."
John was then charged for another subscription. He said he tried calling customer service six or seven times before finally connecting to a representative. "They were kind of rude and disrespectful, and I felt like I was trying to be bullied," said John.
John said Match refused to issue him a refund, even though he called as soon as he saw the renewal charge pending on his credit card.
"I just said, 'Look, I don't want the service,'" John said. "I'm calling the day after it was renewed. I tried to get through for a couple days, and I couldn't. And I just want my membership cancelled. And they refused, 'absolutely not.'"
Eventually, John disputed the charge through Chase and was reimbursed. He said trying to cancel his account online was so complicated, he relied on third-party video tutorials to explain the process.
"It's not that many people making a mistake," said John. "It's deliberately confusing."
Since filing a complaint through the BBB, John has also read through some of the more-than 1,800 reviews of Match on ConsumerAffairs.com. The ratings site gave Match a 1 star out of a possible 5.
"It's not that many people making a mistake," said John. "It's deliberately confusing."
Elsewhere online, other Connecticut Match subscribers are sounding off. One user in Danbury wrote, "Match.com auto-renews your membership with no notice of the expiration date."
Another Connecticut user complained, "Match had charged me for another 3 month term without me initiating another 3 month subscription."
Howard Schwartz with the Better Business Bureau said Match's "F" rating "speaks for itself."
The BBB noted on its website that it has reached out to Match on multiple occasions to try and work with the company to answer complaints. According to Schwartz, Match told the BBB it takes its complaints seriously, but has not responded to additional BBB requests for cooperation. As of January 7, Match had failed to answer the BBB's most recent request.
"When you have a large number of unanswered complaints, that means very clearly that the company does not want to deal with people who are having problems," said Schwartz.
Schwartz encourages reading the Terms of Use before signing up for Match or any service, and recommends Match subscribers diligently check their bank statements.
"It's vital that you check your credit card statements for the next couple of months to make sure that those charges are not still appearing," said Schwartz.
FOX 61 did not receive a response from Match when asked for comment about the company's auto-renewal system, but did receive the following statement from a spokesperson for the company:
Match is not a member of the Better Business Bureau, therefore we do not respond to complaints through their service. We encourage members to contact our customer care team with any issues. Once you unsubscribe through our service, you will receive a confirmation number at the end of the cancellation process. If you don't receive this, please contact us at a dedicated email address for FOX 61 viewers at fox61@match.com and we will be happy to assist you with this process.