AtticManTrader

You are probably aware if you follow my website, that I am a single father of two. So, as part of being single, I have from time to time tried to locate a new partner – I have to admit, it’s not at the forefront of my mind, but never the less a couple of Saturdays ago I was browsing through Facebook and noticed an advert for a dating website called Be2. As you do, I had a quick look, registered right up to the point of paying, and then got distracted onto something else.

A couple of hours later messages from Be2 started appearing in my inbox – with pictures of rather attractive women who apparently have ’shown an interest’ in my profile and left me a message. I headed back over to the website but because I had not paid, I was unable to see these messages. This is all pretty standard stuff. A couple of days later I now had over 20 messages in my inbox, all with pictures of attractive women who had apparently left me messages.  I headed back over to the site and noticed a £5 for two days access option. At this point I am aware that the likelihood of these women being real is slim (I was not born yesterday) but given the risk/reward ratio, I figured £5 was pretty good value.

I selected the £5 option and  completed the form. Accidentally I got my card pin number wrong and was kicked back to the payment form, where I duly re-typed my card number – This time getting it right. When the confirmation form came up I was horrified to see that I had been charged £119.94 for a 6 month membership!

In panic I immediately googled Be2 and was horrified to see that numerous other people had also been scammed by them (try this google search).

Next I called my Bank, who told me that there was nothing that I could do, because they had already accepted the payment. My only hope was in emailing the company in order to explain the mistake and hope they would provide a refund. I also headed straight back over to the website and cancelled my membership – the rationale behind this was that I could prove that I had not used the website beyond 2-3hrs (eg well within the £5 trail period)

I then entered into a series of email jabs and left hooks……

———————————————–

Daniel Jackson to customerservic., billing (5 September)

Hi There,

I only intended to purchase the 1 month @ £5 option, however as I got some credit card details wrong on the first attempt, the option switched to the premium version on my second attempt and I did not notice this.

Please can you change my membership option an reimburse my credit card for the balance.

————————————————

A couple of days later I got this reply back from them

————————————————

Customer Service be2 – UK to me (7 September)

Dear Mr. Jackson,

Thank you for your message!

Unfortunately a withdrawal of the contract with be2 is no longer possible, as you have already used the services you paid for. We cant make an exception, because you have already been in touch with your partner recommendations. If you want, you can cancel your membership normally on our homepage.

We can confirm that your Premium Membership will expire on 05.03.2010

Always look on the bright side; this will give you a chance to meet more suitable matches and maybe even the very partner of your dreams!

We will be happy to help you with any questions!

We would like to get your feedback. Please click on the link below to answer us some short questions regarding our service:

http://be2.eQuestionnaire.de/customersatisfaction2

Sincerely,

Daniel Connor

be2 customer service

————————————————

So because I had logged in to their website to pick up a mail, I had ‘used their service’. Surely I had used to £5 option? I figured I was onto a loser, but decided to test their integrity with another email….

————————————————

Daniel Jackson to customerservice

show details 8 Sep

I am most disappointed in your response. The service I was interested in was the 2 day trial membership for £5 – This is the service I have paid for (and used). I have not been in touch with any of my partner recommendations – there seems to be a very small membership in the UK.

Due to a, quite frankly, less than ethical ‘resetting’ of the order form, the choice I made around the product (eg the £5 trail) was replaced with a 6month membership, which I had absolutely no intention of signing up for – Indeed who in their right mind would pay £120 for an unproven product when there was a perfectly sensible £5 option available in order to test your services.

I have subsequently spent sometime researching your business and am not surprised to find that you appear to operate in a less than ethical way, with many people complaining about how complicated it is to cancel and money being taken from accounts without authorisation etc etc.

I doubt very much that you will re-consider my request to refund the £115 that you owe me, but I would ask again in order that you might see that developing a reputation that is negative will eventually kill your business. Surely much better for you to reimburse me and for me to leave with a positive view of your business?

————————————————-

There – that should show them I mean business…..a couple of days later I get a mail from someone else in their Customer Service team.

————————————————–

Customer Service be2 – UK to me

show details 10 Sep

Dear “DanielJ”,

Thank you for your message!

Unfortunately the reduction of the membership isn’t possible after the service have been used. We can see that you have read messages (use of service), so there is nothing we can do. We understand that you are frustrated but also please notice that we have sent you a payment receipt right after the purchase and you have agreed our terms and conditions which states the right of withdrawal.

Please contact us if you have any further questions, we are glad to help!

We would like to get your feedback. Please click on the link below to answer us some short questions regarding our service:

http://be2.eQuestionnaire.de/customersatisfaction2

Sincerely,

Audrey Campbell

be2 customer service

—————————————————

So they are still harping on about ‘the service being used’ BUT I ONLY USED THE SERVICE FOR 2-3HRS BEFORE CANCELLING MY MEMBERSHIP – YOU BLOODY MUPPETS

I needed to calm down at this point, but my blood was boiling, and I sent this email back to them

————————————————–

Daniel Jackson to customerservice

show details 21 Sep (3 days ago)

I don’t understand how you can say that I have ‘used the service’?

I have logged in to your system within the 2 day period that I initially wanted to purchase. since then I have not logged in once.

I am very disappointed with your response. I intended to purchase the 2 day package in good faith, however your system has been cleverly designed to reset ‘options button’ to the £120. Your business clearly has absolutely no concept of customer care, otherwise you would appreciate that unhappy ex-customers will eventually signal the end of your business.

Please remove me from your systems – DO NOT send anymore spam emails.

I run a number of websites, and with a Twitter following of over 10,000, I will now ensure that I publicize your unethical business practices alerting anyone who may be considering joining that you are operating a business that they should steer clear of.

——————————————————-

I figured this would be the end of their emails to me. Clearly they do not care about their customers. They simply collect the money and move on. I then received this email from them.

——————————————————-

Customer Service be2 – UK to me

show details 14:09 (1 hour ago)

Thank you for your message!

****Please note that this is an AUTOMATIC ANSWER. If this answer doesn’t help you, please reply directly to this email.****

Do you want to delete your profile?

You can delete it easily yourself by choosing “Settings“ and then “Profile settings“.

IMPORTANT: The deletion of your profile does not cancel your Premium Membership!

Your be2 customer service

****Please note that this is an AUTOMATIC ANSWER. If this answer doesn’t help you, please reply directly to this email.****

be2 S.à.r.l. – 12, rue Jean Engling – L-1466 Luxembourg

Commercial Register Luxembourg, B 123206

Authorisation 118042/A

Directors: Andreas Etten, Dr. Robert Wuttke

MUPPETS…..

Some subsequent research may suggest I have some legal recourse….