It's Just Lunch - Angry Women

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Carla of Indiana, PA August 12, 2009

I joined It's Just Lunch dating service which costs 1600.00 and have gotten a complete run around and have found that it is a desceptive business that is fraudulent organization who took my money and have lied about everything they have to offer.

Essentially I had 1 date that costed me 1600.00 who was not a professional, had no manners, was disrespectful to me and used vulgar language. I had to meet with a membership consultant who coincidentally that was his first day on the job. He told me that there are 30 participating restaurants and that he was not able to get a listing of them. I was to hear from Dmytri with in 24 to 48 hours after meeting this membership consultant--- and he never called me, I had to call him.

They also lied and said that all the men are interviewed prior to any dates and that is also untrue. Dave told me that everyone gets interviewed after the first meeting. Lastly, the person that I was introduced to had NO qualities of what I described in my 2 hour phone interivew of what I was looking for!

Kathleen of Wilmington, NC August 11, 2009

It's Just Lunch is a (supposedly) reputable national dating service. I have been trying to resolve my issues with this company since May 24. The(IJL) company's representative L. Butler gave me incorrect and misleading information about the program. IJL was clearly misrepresented, and I believe intentionally. Several main points of the misrepresentation are listed. 1. I was told that the company (IJL) now had an office in Wil. NC I told him I hadn't joined in the past and would not join if it didn't have a base in Wil. 2. I was told my contract would start after my return to Wilmington, on June 19, which L. my representative was clearly informed. I was in Wyoming working until then, 2,000 miles away. 3. When the contract was sent via email, I noticed several irregularities (dates etc.) , and upon questioning this, the representative assured me that it was showing up correctly on their companies computer for all of their staff to view.

4. On May 29th I first learned of the inconsistencies and tried to get more information. I was not able to get communication with anyone to resolve the situation. 5. A contract that was signed via email states that “ Under this agreement you agree to pay 0.00 for the non-refundable interview fee and a 100 per month for the initial term of (1) month (direct quote) and dated May 12, 2009. My American Express card was charged 600 on May 12 and again 100 on June 12.

6. I have disputed these charges on my card and in response to the investigation Julie Novotny Director of Operations for IJL in the companies only defense said about the situation " She refused to travel to meet her matches. However, her contract clearly says she will have to travel outside of her geographical region". To me, this does not answer any of the questions that I brought up. I left 3 messages for Ms. Novotny on Aug. 3, 4 and 7th with no returned calls again trying to resolve the issues prior to filing this complaint.

This has been charged on my AMEX card which is handling a dispute and hopefully it will be taken off as a charge. I have spent a lot of time distressed about this situation, and trying to resolve it with this company to no avail and I cannot afford to throw away 600.

Jennifer of Salisbury, NC August 11, 2009

What a scam! I contacted ILJ in Januaray 2009 and had my first "date" in Feburary. My date was nice, attractive and MARRIED! I was contacted by his wife's attorney and was threatened with being sued (NC Law). I contacted Sheri, Marelene (?) and Penny (office mgr) to complain and ask about the companies vhetting process. I was told that this never happens and was an isolated event.

I went on another date several months later, which was not a success. After lodging many complaints about not contacting me and not being "matched" I was stood up twice. Honestly, I beleive they were just placating me with the dates.

After numerous complaints and many unanswered phone calls they informed me that I could not cancel my account but merely put it on hold. I have since hired an attorney for the mere principle of the matter.

Gail of Dyer, IN July 20, 2009

I went to It's Just Lunch in Chicago, IL on June 19 at 2:30 pm at met with Liz to see what this dating service was all about. Liz made it sound wonderful and that she had alot of men that she could fix me up with. I told her specifically what I was looking for and what features I wanted with a man. It is now July 20 and I have been on exactly two dates and with men that I did not describe to them...one did not have a hand, which I was never told about and the excuse from Molly was that it was not in his profile...come on! You don't miss not seeing a person without a hand. The second one was no taller than me and said he didn't have time to date anyone. I have NEVER heard back from either Liz nor Molly now for 3 weeks. I spent 1800.00 for this service and it is a SCAM...I WANT MY MONEY BACK! They do not promise what they preach!

Diane of Maple Grove, MN July 18, 2009

My complaint is similar if not identical to other clients who feel taken advantage of and were promised social introductions to other professional singles with attributes and interests described to IJL during an one and one half hour interview. My first date was an introduction to "Lester". I immediately called Liz to describe my disappointment (although stereotyping) of being set up with a man named Lester, who was divorced, 2 kids, etc. One of my stipulations was that any date have at least a 4 year degree, polished, good sense of humor, not vulgar and favoring movies such as "Jackass", etc. Liz reassured me there was no need to worry that Lester was a professional, showed up to his interview in khakis and a nice shirt, was not at all like the stereotype I was fearing. She explained that after our initial interview she had a good grasp on my personality and the qualities I was looking for in a man... I took her for her word, what else could I do? I had tried on-line date, friend's introductions, church, bible studies, co-worker introductions. So I gave her the benefit of my doubts.

My intuition was right. Lester was exactly what I was expecting him to be and was very disappointed. He showed up to our date in jeans, tennis shoes, and striped shirt. Told me that he was not a manager and didn't know why they (IJL) always told people that. He worked on a factory line at the cardboard box making factory in St. Paul. He told me about his cabin (mobile home) on 120 acres up toward Duluth (I dread Duluth) with no running water, sewer, or lake. We had nothing in common, there was no attraction, and he was not who they represented him to be. He said he was not impressed or pleased with his experience with IJL either and that some of the women had been outright rude to him.

Now, after going on 6 dates myself with terrible results, I can see why their disappointment of being set up with men who have none of the qualifications they are looking for and being lied to about dates could make them react in anger toward someone. Instead of taking it out on my dates I would like to express my disappointment of the company myself. After each date I did contact IJL and tell them how I was not happy with the date, how their description of each date was inaccurate and offered to come in and talk to Liz again and be reinterviewed so we could go over my list of requirements and preferences again. I was told that it was all a process and that each date would come closer and closer to the type of person I was interested in meeting. I told them that they could not be any further away from what I was looking for and that they should look for someone exactly opposite from whom they previously selected for me.

I also asked for additional dates and asked why it took so long for them to set me up with another person. Why could I not be set up with two dates in the same week? They said they wanted feedback before they set me up with additional people. At every corner I was met with resistance when trying to communicate my frustration with the lack of expertise they advertised and bragged about in the market of match making. Liz told me that she was number 8 in their company nationally for sales and success stories. She was not shy in expressing her high opinion of herself.

I did try to research the company before signing up. I asked several friends and friends of friends. Some were ambivalent others had success stories. It is only now, three months later that I found your website with stories of disappointment and complaints. I wish I would have seen it sooner. I was also intrigued by the state limit for what they were allowed to charge for their services in New York and other states. I would be interested in finding out if there is a way for me to recoup some of my fees or to make a more public announcement of the scam I believe this company to be so others will not waste their money or time. Dating is not easy or necessarily fun and can be discouraging. No one needs to pay to have those disappointments exaggerated.

I appreciate your time and the work you do to help consumers. Feel free to contact me. I would love to get to the bottom of this. I have had several dates(and names)who feel the same and would like to see something done.

Karen of Houston, TX July 10, 2009

There should be a guidebook on "What to Know About Your Dating Service". My first surprise was Bachelor #3 a pistol-packing cop that had me wishing I hadn't parked on a side street all too convenient for assault, just minutes after he's told me that IJL does no background checks whatsoever. I did call to let IJL know that I was concerned enough for my safety to refuse any future evening commitments. Absolute unconcern was the response--guess the canned flip tele-marketing handbook response to that was unavailable. The next amazing response was when I took a pass on their recommendation, "You are not allowed to say no because we've worked so hard to make these matches."

As so many have pointed out here, a dart is about as accurate. After I pointed out that Bachelor #4 was on my list of will-not-considers, she relented ungraciously and cooked up a new alternative. I was clear that the dates have been very uncomfortable and even threatening in that one instance and requested a refund, to no avail. The only option offered was to put my activity on hold, which only prolongs the misery so I'm still going.

After #5, which lasted 20 minutes, I requested that this not count since it was so clearly outside either party's comfort zone but that was rejected as well. My assumption has been that they have a women to men ratio of about 400:1 that means sending the women out with whatever warm body is available since the dates have all told me that they go out weekly instead of monthly like I do. Finally, I'd asked to refine my profile and was told no, that "I was accepted as a client on the basis of that and no changes were permitted". So I can't say no, I can't ask for better and I can't get my money back. My goal now is to spread the word as widely as possible about this scam.

So the Guidebook should ask:

How much background investigation is done on the candidates? They should at least make sure the parties are not married!
What is the ratio of men to women?
How is the feedback used to improve the outcomes of future matches?
What recourse is available if the results are clearly unsatisfactory for a specific match and for the service overall?

Jennifer of Cary, NC June 11, 2009

I wish all of these reviews had been up a few years ago when I joined IJL. The good reviews are probably just from people that work there and are trying their best to stay in business. I am based in NC, and when I first joined the service, I really liked it. Since then, it is a common theme that many of the locations are closed and everything is now through their corporate office. There, the people who answer the phones (sounds like a call center in the background IF you get a call back), are very rude, do not call you back, and if you try to complain, they try to railroad you!

I had a so called unprofessional "director" with no communication skills tell me that "no wonder you are single; you are uncooperative". This was after calling and trying to explain to her that I was reaching out to them due to the fact that the Raleigh number no longer had the IJL message on there and that when leaving a message, no one was calling me back. I have been on 3 dates since last December and have been on hold most of that time due to my work schedule. The 3 dates were really bad. Since asking to be off hold, that is when I realized that this is a big scam b/c there really is no local office and the people (wherever they are) from corporate don't even have the files for the Raleigh branch. They claim that they don't have the information in front of them.

There may be a local person that will meet you at a Starbucks or somewhere if you want to sign up but even she will take your initial call and money and you won't hear from her anymore. These people truly are thieves. They will not return my 695 though b/c they claim that they are still operational. The people from corporate keep interrupting you when you call, they are abrasive, and when I started to stand up for myself (since I am not going to take any junk from a dating service wanna be professional sales person), she called me a bitch and hung up on me.

They claim that they have doubled their number of clients in the Raleigh-Durham area, but if they were so booming, they would return phone calls and want to get people dating. They are just running themselves in the ground, and it's not me b/c all of the sites have similar stories.

Elizabeth of Dallas, TX June 9, 2009

I was a member at It's Just Lunch and they are horrible! You fill out an application and tell them what you are looking for in a mate. They tell you that you will only be matched with people that meet your criteria and they guarantee you 13 dates. You go on your dates then give them "Feedback" on your date, what you liked and disliked and they say they will keep that in consideration for your next date. Well that is just a flat out lie!

I would say that 90% of my dates did not meet my criteria. Even after repeatedly telling them that. I got talked into renewing by them saying that they had a lot of new members that met my criteria, still 90% of my dates did not meet my criteria. So I am not only out the 1500 for the initial membership but another 1700 for the renewal. And when I tried to get them to cancel my membership, they would not; they put my membership on hold instead of canceling it. They even sent me a letter confirming that my membership was on hold. I believe they set you up on these dates so that they can keep their guarantee, not to match you up with someone. I am out about 3200 from this so called "dating service"

Cara of Brooklyn, NY June 3, 2009

I signed up for the service-- went one one date and decided to put my account on hold (5/12) after I met someone on my own. A week later (5/18), i decided to reinstate my account. I left a message on the general mailbox. I called to verify that they received my message again and finally i received an email back (5/22) that my account has been reactivated. It has now been almost 2 weeks and i made one more call (6/3) to see what my status is (afterall, they do their "matching" every 3 weeks) and they tell me that my account is still on HOLD!!! i spent 1000.00 on this garbage. This company clearly has no clue what they are doing, especially this celese moss. She is the one who emailed me to say my account was taken off hold and the one that i spoke to on the phone who said that my account was still on hold!

Anastasia of Fairport, NY May 22, 2009

They completely mislead me and took my money. I paid 1000.00 to meet Men in the Rochester area (where i had just moved and knew nobody)and expected to meet Men with similar interests or even Men with interests at all. I had told them that I was looking to date someone between the ages of 30 and 39 but would go as high as 40 as I was only 32 at the time. They insisted on setting me up with men well into their 40's because my last long term relationship was with an older Man. I told them i did NOT want to date older men.

the first one i went out with, Samantha accidentally switched his profile with someone else's so i was trying to talk to him about things that he had no clue about. It was extremely uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as when i told him i didn't want another date and he tried to force himself on me in a parking lot. The last one I had (they say they guarantee 8 dates in 6 months which they did not, my contract ended February 26th and my last date was yesterday)he said he was 43 but acted and looked like he was 48. He also had been married, divorced and had a child which Maria neglected to tell me.

I feel as though I was taken advantage of and my money was taken without a thought to what I was looking for. Why did they even bother to interview me if they weren't going to look at my profile again? I had told them in my interview that my Sister was a professional Ballerina in Europe and they actually told one of my dates that I used to be a professional ballerina in Europe!!! Maria slao tried to set me up with a man who lives in Binghamton...3 hours away!!!

This company is a rip off and they should be closed down. I have also heard from men that i have met on these dates that they have been charged anywhere from 1000.00 to 1600.00. What is their scam here? to take your money and still leave you lonely in a new town where you know nobody. It is a disservice to those of us who are simply looking for a companion. Again I say, they should be closed down immediately!!!! All i wanted was to meet someone nice with interests like mine who i could talk to easily and eventually have a relationship with. this has cost me 1000.00 plus the money I spent on the actual dates which would be around 200.00. Not to mention the gas money to travel to the dates.

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