E-Harmony Gives You 58 Dimensions Of Suck By Billing You For Two Accounts
David tried to sign up for an eHarmony account, and there were problems. For instance, after he signed up and paid, the company kept asking him to join. He called and was told the transaction listed on his PayPal screen wasn't showing up on their side, then that it was a "pre-approval" and would go away. It was not and it did not, of course.
Update: eHarmony has returned the money.
The next day, David's bank account was hit with two charges for over $100 each, and now eHarmony is saying that either he didn't send them the money (what?) or that he deliberately opened two accounts.
Worst of all, they're not actually trying to help him. The CSR who promised he would make a note on the account to reverse any fee that showed up actually wrote, "The customer lacks the fundamental knowledge of how PayPal works."
On Saturday I sign-up for an eHarmony.com 6-month plan and thought everything went smoothly until I noticed it was still asking me to join. To ensure it wasn't a cache problem, I closed my browser, cleared the cache and tried again with no success. Before I decided to call eHarmony I checked my PayPal account to verify the payment was sent. Getting a hold of someone was relatively easy but when I provided them with account information and explained to them the problem everything went downhill from there.
I was promptly told, "I'm sorry sir, we do not show you made a transaction... are you sure you used this account to sign up?". After a few convincing arguments on my part they decided to look up the transaction in their PayPal account and sure enough they found it. But what I heard next I did not expect, "Sir, it's just a pre-approval and there's no need to worry about it.". After explaining to them that PayPal isn't a lending service and they do not pre-approve transactions she asked if I would like to speak to her supervisor Chad, I agreed.
Chad started the conversation off by trying to convince me it was just a 'pre-approval' and in the event it was a technical glitch on their end, the money would bounce off their account and end up in my PayPal account. After calling B.S. on that immediately, Chad promised to note in my account that if the money was successfully transferred from my PayPal account to eHarmony's, they would issue me an immediate refund for the amount of $143.76. I was convinced that Chad understood my issue and to reassure me he offered me a discounted 6-month plan at $110.85 and that he could sign me up over the phone to verify that it was successful and sure enough it was.
Yesterday I logged into my checking account and to no surprise, $143.76 was missing and so was $110.85. I immediately called eHarmony with the hope of receiving a refund and when I explained the issue again to the CS agent and mentioned that Chad noted on my account that I was due a refund if the transaction when through. Well, she said the only thing Chad noted on your account was "The customer lacks the fundamental knowledge of how PayPal works...", when I heard that I was livid and asked to speak to a supervisor immediately.
The supervisor I spoke to was not only rude but extremely condescending. She asked me repeatedly if I had multiple accounts and when I tried my best to assure her that I only had one she said the following "Sir, are you sure you sent us the money?". After hearing that I figured this is a complete waste of time and hung up the phone. I filed a dispute with PayPal but was told their Buyer Protection plan does not extend to Virtual Services and/or Goods. Nonetheless, PayPal is doing everything they can and they're the only people I have on my side at the moment.
Attached are photos of proof that the money was not only sent, but taken from my checking account too.
Here's a screencap from his PayPal account page, clearly showing that two separate transactions were made by eHarmony. (If you're not familiar with PayPal's notation, the double-listing for each transaction shows the funds being first transferred into your PayPal account, then paid out to the third party.)
Here's a screencap from his checking account, showing that yes, they did in fact both go through.
We hope one of David's 29 dimensions describes his ability to not have a brain aneurysm while dealing with the lies and insults coming from eHarmony's staff.
(Photo: David Light Orchard)
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Comments:
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I see 'Plenty of Fish' in his future.
Oh good! I can wave this in my moms face. "See. Your grand plan to 'find a daughter in law over the internet' THIS is what happens. Its useless. Mom I KNOW the internet... I make a living out of it, believe me, the only thing you will find on the internet are spam, nigerian scammers, other scammers, and bathrobe bloggers in their parents basements who are mean to women. And pictures of cats."
Sometimes parents have to be protected from themselves.
David, hang in there. Calm persistence will win over these clowns.
eHarmony is screwy. I've known too many people who were dumped by it for no apparent reason. The fact that they use PayPal is another reason not to go there.
I'd actually like to see a study of eharmony's business practices. I have some questions regarding how they try to retain customers. I've used it a couple of times and each time I've gotten very few matches and then suddenly got quite a few after I went through with an account cancel. Shady from start to finish.
Jeez, why would anyone be so desperate to actually pay these people in the first place. Suck it up Gen X'rs, some of you are -not- potential mates. And you never will be. Live with it. I do.
"Bobblehead old geezer on TV lacks the fundamental knowledge of how must a punch to the nose hurts. Will inform him."
David et al:
Despite the level at which PayPal recommends it, do not use your bank account as the source of payment. It works to their benefit, not yours -- and PayPal's "customer service" deserves those quotes I've just put around it.
With a credit card, at least you can do a charge back and (hopefully) talk to a human that can help you.
That's just my advice.. I know it's too little too late for David, but I don't have any tricks to dealing with PayPal other than wait, hope, and pray..
Did you make sure the first transaction money's not sitting in your Paypal account? It says "charge invalid"....they might have taken it out of your bank account but it's sitting in your Paypal account still and didn't go through to eHarmony
@Gravitational Eddy: Geez, if you're going to be down on yourself that's one thing, but don't drag the Op down with you.
PayPal sucks. Enough said.
I personally have never had a problem with eHarmony during my usage. I find the service easy, fool proof, and the best quality online. And if you were to average out the membership cost per date, it is well worth it.
@Lucifer_Cat et al
I can understand your skepticism, but if mom is willing to pay for it, why not go for it? I've never had a problem meeting women in day-to-day life normally, but gave the service a shot at finding me a larger pool of potentials. You'd be surprised at how many beautiful, intelligent women you get dates with in the end. Honestly.
Besides, if mom is going to pressure you into one of the dating sites, eHarmony is probably the best way to go since there isn't any 'date shopping'. People can't browse your profile, they have to be matched to you via the system first which prevents random people from stumbling across it for the most part.
Hmmm... I know someone who works at their call center. Maybe I can get her to help.
It doesn't say invalid charge in the account, that is Consumerist's, or the OP's notation on the screen shot.
@Keith Brown: The "charge invalid" is not part of the paypal screen but was added (either by consumerist or the OP)
@IT-Chick: Correct, David added that himself. I've updated the image to make that more clear to avoid future confusion.
If you're going to use your bank account, it is also better to use a Debit/Credit card. I have no problems with chargebacks from my bank, but adding PayPal in the middle can cause issues.
@Gravitational Eddy: I'm thinking your attitude has more to do with your problem with not getting dates than anything else.
@Keith Brown: I believe the "Valid Charge" and "Invalid Charge" are notations made by the OP, not something that appeared on the screen.
And to recap: "If you're not familiar with PayPal's notation, the double-listing for each transaction shows the funds being first transferred into your PayPal account, then paid out to the third party." They aren't sitting in his Paypal account.
@ScottRose: I always figure that any payment method they're so determined to dissuade me from must be the good one for me.
I am on to eHarmony. On the commercials everyone is shown as being married on very suspicious dates. Examples: July 7, 2007: 7/7/7! or August 8, 2008 - 8/8/8! Seriously! Watch the commercials!!! I guess those could just be popular dates to get married... but still... I'm keeping my eye on them!
Thats the best headline this year.
Jeez- why on earth to people use their BANK ACCOUNTS for auto-billing stuff?
I might make a credit card payment with my debit card, (where I ONE TIME give the number) but would never allow a company to repeat bill it.
Use a credit card - which you can easily dispute without some skeezy company depleting your checking account and rent money.
Wow, I've gotta say, I feel pretty badly for the OP. Not only has he been driven to the internet, but he got screwed out of a couple hundred buck, lost his cool (for obvious reasons), then got pwned by the CSR @ eHarmony. I'm not expert on the whole online dating but when an online company can spend as much as they do on media marketing, pre-bubble, they're doing something fishy.
David, my sympathies...
If you were gay, this would have never happened. This is clearly all your fault.
Kidding aside, might that work? Tell them you're gay and see if they rush to drop you? Oh wait, they're starting some same-sex matching service, right?
The CSRs sound like total tools. Sorry he's having to go through this, as online dating services generally take away enough of your pride and self-respect anyways.
Did you send them the screenshots you posted here? That should get them to refund...
@Lucifer_Cat: "Oh good! I can wave this in my moms face....."
just leave a copy of the article near the dryer when she comes downstairs to do laundry
"The customer lacks the fundamental knowledge of how PayPal works."
Anyone else thinking PayPal lacks that too?
@Lucifer_Cat: THIS!!
It will save me from having to explain for the 854th time why I will NOT sign up for Match.com, and I'm fine being single, no I'm not going to get pregnant this month, you have 3 other married children of child-bearing age, bug them.
@Lucifer_Cat: Surely your mom found out about Craigslist dating while buying some Hummel figurines for her display cabinets in the front parlor.
You know- display cabinets in that room upstairs with the plastic covered furniture that you are never allowed to step foot into since you might get something "dirty"...
@CColdsmoke: I found Plenty of Fish's creator's strategy to be an interesting anti-eharmony business read too..
@emona: My god...I have the same talk with my mother every time I talk to her. Well, except for the pregnant part...I was given daddy parts instead. My very recent 30th birthday didn't help matters much either...I should have brought my ex-wife to the party. ;-)
@Lucifer_Cat: I have been married 6 years to my wife, whom I found on an Internet dating site (now out of business).
It can work.
@Gravitational Eddy: That's definitely a really unattractive attitude. No wonder you have problems.
Anyone can find love - sometimes it just takes a little boost for some folks.
@emona: Sometimes I am really, really happy that my mom has this stolid pleasant-but-distant attitude towards my relationships that forbids her to admit that I have a heart or a uterus. I'm told it's a German thing, in which case I think I'd like to move to Berlin.
We regret to hear that David had a negative experience with our Customer Care team. I want to reassure everyone that we've looked into this situation and will be addressing this as a training issue with the appropriate personnel. We take this concern very seriously and will follow up with David to ensure that his billing issues are resolved promptly.
-Jack
@calquist: They are just popular I suspect. I got married many years ago on a date similar to those and it was a MADHOUSE. Four other couples that we knew got married that same day.
honestly...
do not use paypal. they are not a bank. they are not ethical or held to strict laws. they can steal your money or mishandle transactions with no easy recourse.
buying something on paypal is akin to giving money to a drug dealer and asking them to deliver it to the seller. leaving money in a paypal account is putting it in the drug dealer's glove compartment.
why would you let your money sit in an uninsured, unsafe place?
I had massive problems getting a refund from this place. it's terrible and i got massive runaround. Thanks for the reminder i'm going to call and complain abut my runaround.