NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — $7,500. That's how much one woman says she was scammed out of by a local dating service that never delivered on their promises.
"I just thought it would be worth looking into a different avenue to meet people,” The woman, who wanted to stay anonymous, said.
In an age where so many people look for a partner through online dating apps, she decided to look into a premium dating service that would do the hard work for her.
That company was Nashville Matchmakers, and they said she was an ideal candidate, and scheduled an interview to set up her profile.
"It was an in-depth interview,” she explained. “They asked a lot of personal questions. They asked a lot about your financial history."
And according to her, they promised she'd get 14 dates with people compatible with her at a price of $7,500.
"My time is a premium to me, so I thought paying a premium price for a service would be worth it."
The problem is, she said they never delivered on their promise. "I have met one person in three months."
She said that date didn’t go well. So, frustrated with lack of results, she asked for her money back.
"I asked for a refund based on the fact that they were not providing the services that I was promised, and they said, 'We don't do refunds. You signed, you initialed,' and that's when I started doing more and more of the investigating and filed with the credit card company."
Since then she found a lot of questionable things, including what she thinks are fake reviews. "A lot of them had the same misspellings."
She also had trouble reaching the company over the phone or in person.
We decided to go to their office to see if we could chat with them, but the doors were locked.
Neighboring businesses said they've been closed for months, and they've had multiple people stop by saying they're also out thousands of dollars.
Eventually, we were able to get someone with the company on the phone, but when they heard we were with the news, they hung up.
On Thursday, the woman filed a police report, and she said she plans to file with the FTC, and possibly the Attorney General. "I'm actually a little bit concerned for my safety, because they did have so much personal information. I've gone ahead and I've filed a fraud alert with the credit card companies."
She decided to share her story in hopes that she could help others proceed with caution when it comes to dating services.
"I don't want other people to walk into the situation. It's something that potentially could be embarrassing for people. I'm an educated individual with a great career, and I never thought I would be scammed."
According to the woman, prices for the matchmaking service started at $5,000 and went up above $10,000 for the most premium package.
