DANGER BOY ! Frederic Malouin
Nombre de messages : 689 Date d'inscription : 03/11/2005
| Sujet: Le coeur a ses raisons... monétaires ! Mer 7 Déc - 10:44 | |
| Deux personnes traînent Yahoo! Personals et Match.com en justice pour leur avoir supposément donné de faux espoirs d'être "matchés"... une chance que le ridicule ne tue pas ! - NewsFactor Network a écrit:
- Internet 'Date Bait Scam' Draws Lawsuits
By Elizabeth Millard November 30, 2005 2:00PM
In the case against Match.com, plaintiff Matthew Evans accuses the site of sending a female employee on a date with him, acting as "bait" to keep him interested in staying on as a subscriber. Evans also claims that the company uses fake profiles and sends false e-mails allegedly from potential matches to keep subscribers.
Although plenty of online dating service subscribers have grumbled about the "fraud" perpetrated when prospective lovebirds do not match their pictures, two individuals have a much more significant beef, and are willing to take it to court.
In two separate lawsuits, subscribers are charging Match.com and Yahoo Latest News about Yahoo Personals with engaging in deceptive practices that include sending out a woman as "bait" to keep a subscriber signed up, and putting up fake profiles to keep subscribers from canceling the service.
If the plaintiffs are successful, it could have a ripple effect on the entire online dating scene, which generates significant revenue for the companies offering the services.
The Internet personals market, as a whole, brings in nearly half a billion dollars a year, most of it gained through membership fees from subscribers who pay approximately $20 to $40 per month to try and meet their matches.
Match Game
In the case against Match.com, plaintiff Matthew Evans accuses the site of sending a female employee named Autumn Marzec on a date with him, acting as "bait" to keep him interested in staying on as a subscriber. Evans also claims that the company uses fake profiles and sends false e-mails allegedly from potential matches to keep subscribers signed up.
After being served with the lawsuit, Match.com presented a signed affidavit from Marzec, in which she stated that she had never worked for the company, or been asked to go on any dates on the company's behalf.
Match.com denies the other accusations with vehemence, noting that the company usually does not respond publicly to litigation, but that the allegations are so sensationalist and baseless, it felt compelled to comment.
"The suit was filed on the basis of no evidence whatsoever and without any investigation of the facts as required by federal law," said Kristin Kelly, Match.com spokesperson.
The company is demanding that Evans and his attorneys dismiss the lawsuit, and if they fail to do so, Match.com will seek damages from Evans, as well as his lawyers.
In addition to being bad publicity for Match.com specifically, a victory for Evans would be a black eye for other online dating sites, which rely heavily on customer trust and loyalty. Match.com's strong reaction could be seen as an indication of how much is at stake, and how fiercely the site is willing to counterattack.
"We will expose this suit for what it is, a cynical attempt to impugn the good name of Match.com at the expense of the millions of quality single people who have entrusted their emotional futures to us," added Kelly.
Faking It
In the suit against Yahoo, filed in October, similar allegations surfaced. Plaintiff Robert Anthony was suspicious when he kept receiving notices of new matches at about the same time that his membership was up for renewal. More notably, he began examining the personals at a number of Yahoo sites to see if they described the same woman, or had the same photo.
When the matches failed to turn into dates, and the profiles popped up on several Yahoo pages, Anthony did not just get frustrated and cancel his subscription -- he sought the advice of counsel. Anthony's law firm, Freidin & Dobrinsky, undertook an investigation and confirmed his suspicions.
"We found many profiles that we thought weren't legitimate, and we wanted to know why they were allowed to be on the sites," said Randy Rosenblum, Anthony's attorney. The firm sent a letter to Yahoo asking for an explanation, and when the company did not respond, Anthony filed suit.
"We'd like to see Yahoo stop the practice because it's misleading and hurtful to people who are trying to find a match," said Rosenblum.
At this point, he is unaware of whether Yahoo is involved in creating the profiles, or simply does not know that profiles are being replicated and used fraudulently. Either way, Rosenblum is determined to see the practice ended so subscribers like Anthony do not have to wade through fake profiles just to find "real" personals.
Unlike Match.com, Yahoo is not commenting on the pending litigation, according to Rochelle Adams, Yahoo Personals spokesperson. But she did note that the company's larger goals remain unsullied.
"Yahoo Personals continues its dedication to providing the best online dating experience on the Internet, with a safe, fun, and trustworthy environment for singles."
Whether the lawsuits have an impact on either company remains to be seen, but it is possible that the attention being paid to how online dating works might prompt other subscribers to complain, or even file similar lawsuits.
To mangle an old saying: Hell hath no fury like an online dater scorned. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=39785 | |
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Mingus Mathieu Charlebois
Nombre de messages : 1207 Age : 43 Date d'inscription : 14/09/2005
| Sujet: Re: Le coeur a ses raisons... monétaires ! Mer 7 Déc - 10:57 | |
| Je les condamne!... à perdre leur argent dans toutes les gamiques possibles parce qu'ils sont vraiment trop naïfs.
Bon, faut que je vous laisse, faut que je passe à la banque, changer un chèque de 2 millions de dollars qu'un gars du Togo m'a envoyé. Il m'a dit dans le courriel qu'il allait me donner 500 000$ juste pour faire ça.
Vraiment trop cool. | |
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No Name No.5 Jean-François Cadieux
Nombre de messages : 378 Date d'inscription : 27/09/2005
| Sujet: Re: Le coeur a ses raisons... monétaires ! Mer 7 Déc - 13:12 | |
| Quoi?!?!?!?!
Ça veut tu dire que Lavalife serait une crosse monumentale profitant de la solitude de pauvres gens blasés et pathétiques???
Shit, j'me désabonne à l'instant! | |
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Joseph Joseph Elfassi
Nombre de messages : 800 Date d'inscription : 16/09/2005
| Sujet: Re: Le coeur a ses raisons... monétaires ! Mer 7 Déc - 14:23 | |
| j'ai peur d'ajouter du sarcasme dans ce thread, ça risque d'exploser. | |
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| Sujet: Re: Le coeur a ses raisons... monétaires ! | |
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