What is the biggest complaint most people have about online dating services? Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the websites themselves but rather the common billing practices used by many online dating companies. Automatic renewal is a source of unhappiness for many people who join an online dating site, but the practice known as re-billing is also a highly complained about problem.

Even if you don’t know what re-billing is you’ve probably been exposed to it many different times and maybe even fallen prey to the negative aspects of this practice. Re-billing is the term for those pop-up windows that appear after you have made a purchase online; you know the ones, they offer to give you “cash back” or future discounts just by clicking on the button and joining a service, testing out a product, or otherwise agreeing to get involved with some other company. The problem is that many of these offers are extremely deceiving, getting out of them once you have signed up is extremely difficult, and they don’t make it clear that when you sign up the original website you were on receives money for referring you.

The practice of re-billing has been a huge moneymaker for many online dating sites, but the problem has become so out of hand that the credit card industry is finally cracking down on it. Mastercard recently announced it will suspend the merchant accounts of websites engaging in deceptive re-billing activities until they make changes that include:

  • Showing the billing terms clearly and up front
  • Clear notice that the consumer is enrolling in a paid service
  • Trial periods must be at least 10 days
  • Multiple methods of cancellation must be clearly made available

So the next time you come across a re-billing pop-up ad on an online dating website you’ll be in a better position to make a good decision based on having accurate and complete information presented to you.

taraDating EssentialsAuto-renewal,Complaints,Fraud,Rebill,Scams,SubscriptionsWhat is the biggest complaint most people have about online dating services? Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the websites themselves but rather the common billing practices used by many online dating companies. Automatic renewal is a source of unhappiness for many people who join an...Advice and Tips for Online Dating