Chemistry.com is a dating site that is separate from, but owned by, Match.com. Meredith learned this the hard way when she clicked over to Chemistry from a page on Match, then found that all of her information was already in their system. Assuming that it was all part of the same site and that Match’s advertised six-month guarantee was in effect, she signed up for a membership. After six months passed with neither chemistry nor matches, she learned that the guarantee doesn’t extend to Chemistry.com memberships.

Towards the end of last year, I decided to subscribe to Match.com. A service I had used previously, but not in the recent past. When I went to reopen my account, I elected to take a Chemistry.com Quiz, which I thought was your typical dating site quiz because it was advertised on Match.com.

At this point, I was transferred from the Match.com site to the Chemistry.com site without notice. Ok, so the color of the page changed, but I still didn’t realize I wasn’t using a Match.com service or taking a Match.com quiz. Because I was linked there from Match.com, I thought I was still in the world of Match.com.

After the quiz, all of my account information was brought over (photographs, text, information, etc.) from my Match.com account to Chemistry.com. Because of this, I still didn’t realize I was on a whole new site. I selected the six-month subscription to ensure the 6-month Match.com guarantee, and went about participating on Chemistry.com. Yes, Chemistry.com.

Here’s how my brain accounted for the disparity:

Because I had intended to renew my Match.com account, because I had directed my browser there, and because my account information had come over, I still believed I was a Match.com customer and covered by that agreement.

But the site was Chemistry.com, how did you not figure this out, you ask?

Since Chemistry.com is a newer service and owned by Match.com, I thought they were poising Chemistry.com as the “new” Match.com by redirecting Match.com’s NYC clientele to Chemistry.com.

Yes, New York City snobbery, I know.

When my six months were up, and I still hadn’t found love, I thought I’d be covered by the Match.com guarantee. This is when I realized I’d been charged for another six-month period, and when I was told by Chemistry.com that I wasn’t covered by the guarantee because I was a Chemistry.com subscriber not a Match.com subscriber. What?!

My call to customer service, a group of folks in a Nicaragua call center, resulted in the explanation that I had, in fact, been turned over to Chemistry.com by Match.com when I went to take the quiz. I learned that Chemistry.com had, in fact, accessed my account, and brought over my information (making it appear I was renewing my Match.com account rather than creating a new Chemistry.com account). And I learned I was not covered by any guarantee.

When I asked the supervisor at the Nicaragua call center to speak with her supervisor, I was informed she reports to no one.

I then tried to find contact information for someone at Chemistry.com who might be able to help me. I ended up only with telephone numbers for Match.com. The people with whom I spoke at Match.com sounded understanding but claimed they were unable to help me, even though they were willing to tell me the Chemistry.com folks sit down the hall from them.

I still have been unable to reach anyone at Chemistry.com. I have since put the charge in dispute with my credit card and written to the Attorney General’s office.

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