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Match.com’s Web site has had more than 100 million members since 2000, offers services in 24 countries and territories and hosts sites in 15 languages.
REUTERS
Published 00:21, June the 10th, 2009
Lawsuit: Match.com is the heartbreaker
Web matchmaker’s ‘deceptive practices’ letdown for Brooklyn man
A New York man sued dating Web site Match.com yesterday for misleading members by posting profiles of prospective dates who are unable to respond to any interest in them because they do not have a paid subscription.
Sean McGinn, of Brooklyn, who filed the lawsuit in New York federal court, accused Match.com of causing “humiliation and disappointment” for some members who feel rejected when their attempt to contact a prospective date gets no reply.
McGinn wants Match.com to stop “its deceptive practices” and demands unspecified damages.
People can create a Match.com profile for others to see and search the database of prospective dates for free, but to be able contact someone of interest or respond there are fees, ranging from $39.99 for one month to $19.99 a month for six months.
The lawsuit said that “despite the emotional vulnerability inherent in the dating process, fraught as it is with fear of rejection and anxiety, Match defrauds the consumer of his/her time, labor, and emotional investment” by not telling them that someone they are contacting does not have a subscription.
Match.com, which is owned by Barry Diller’s Internet media company IAC/InterActiveCorp, is still reviewing the complaint, but said “we will defend it vigorously.”