Successful Singles

In a moment of weakness, I signed up with Successful Singles. Being an RN, my wallet isn't exactly bursting at the seams. Still, it was the holidays, my birthday was coming up and I was single, so I decided to go for it. Almost all of the men I'd met lately had girlfriends, and I wanted to meet guys who were actually single. On November 27th Ron C offered me what sounded like a great deal. Instead of $3000, I would pay $400 for a three month membership, which was to begin December 1st. Unfortunately the copier was broken, so he wasn't able to give me a copy of the contract I'd signed.

On December 20th, I called because I'd changed my mind and wanted my money back. I'd seen several red flags--I'd never received a copy of the contract despite Ron having promised to mail it to me, despite paying $400 they expected me to pay for the postage needed to return their personality questionnaire, and I'd read several complaints online about the company. Despite the fact that this was within the 3 week trial period, Ron repeatedly insisted that he was literally unable to give me my money back. He asked me several times to give me one good reason why I should give you your money back. Apparently the fact that I was a dissatisfied customer wasn't enough.

I became more and more upset, even threatening to go to the media if I had to, until I finally said call me when you're ready to give me my money back, otherwise I have some papers to write and hung up on him. About 5 minutes later he called back, saying that he had spoken to his colleagues and since I was within the first 21 days of the membership I was entitled to a full refund. He promised the check would be sent out in the mail the next day and that I should receive it within 5 business days. Which meant I should receive it on December 29th.

When I hadn't received it by Saturday's mail delivery, I called him. He promised me that he had spoken to someone, and the check had definitely been put in the mail that Friday, December 29th, so I should definitely get it by January 2nd. On January 2nd he called to let me know that the post office had been closed because of the death of Gerald Ford, so I should receive it on January 3rd instead. When on the 3rd I still hadn't received it, I called to let him know. He then promised to put it in the mail for overnight delivery the next day, promising I would have it on Friday, January 5th. I even called him back on his cell phone and left my address so they could make sure they had my correct address.

Today is the 5th, and I still have not received my check. I have given up the hope of every seeing my money again, unless I have help. $400 is a lot of money for me, especially when it literally gets me nothing in return.

Michelle M signed contractual agreement with Successful Singles stating that [she] would accept a refund for our services and agree that she would NOT post, say, and or document and negative information regarding any employees and or any thing related to regarding Successful Singles. We see that you have allowed her to post a complaint on your web site. We ask you to take it down before we have to proceed with further action regarding this matter.

Ron says that Successful Singles has “thousands” of members. But don’t be surprised if they have nobody who fits your requirements for age, location, or anything else. They may even “accidentally” send you the same referral multiple times. It seems they simply don’t have enough of a membership base, perhaps because of the explosion of internet dating services. You’ll be lucky to get more than one or two referrals over a three month period.

Mr. Cater was very charismatic and did not give me sufficient time to read the airtight contract that negated the many promises he made verbally. (For example, he told me that this service attraced men of similar financial means as mine, as they would have to be able to afford the high fee. In the contract, however, there is a clause allowing SSI to allow people in at "a discounted rate" to even out the male:female ratio.

Also, he assured me that they do a "background check" on everyone. I did not provide my social security number, so I later wondered about it. Roberta, the VP of the company, told me, "Don't worry, I guess Ron just decided to trust you, so he didn't do one." I know that I'm OK, but he does promise to check EVERYONE's background. How do I know whether he has done the check that he claims to do? When I called him on it, he sent me a hastily prepared "background check" that was just a list of addresses where I had lived.

The "background check" he did on me revealed nothing significant about me. I could have had a criminal history, and it would not have shown. I could have lied about my profession, education, etc. He had told me that $250 of my fee was for the background check. I could go on.)

After reading the contract the next day, I immediately asked for my money back, but he refused and tried to reassure me. I have investigated him and have found that he has had many similar complaints against him, but he seems to get out of it every time with fancy legal footwork. He has complaints with the AG's office and the Better Business Bureau. Additionally, several TV consumer advocates have reported on him.

He has offered me $1000 in return for my silence. He told me that if I took his offer, I would have to say that the situation was "resolved to my satisfaction". Recently, in a telephone conversation with me he was so threatening and nasty that I actually feared for my safety. This man's business practices prey on women with money who are finding it difficult to meet appropriate men. I should have read the contract more thoroughly. If I had, I would not have signed it. However, Mr. Cater was so convincing, with smooth answers to every concern I raised, and he dismissed the contract as "a mere formality".

By the way, when they sent me my "profile" to review they sent someone else's by mistake, and then they sent me profiles of two men who were totally inappropriate. One was 17 years older that I am, and the other lives several hours away from me. They never followed up with an actual introduction, so they have done nothing for me.