What is the biggest complaint most people have about online dating services? Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the websites themselves but rather the common billing practices used by many online dating companies. Automatic renewal is a source of unhappiness for many people who join an online dating site, but the practice known as re-billing is also a highly complained about problem.

Even if you don’t know what re-billing is you’ve probably been exposed to it many different times and maybe even fallen prey to the negative aspects of this practice. Re-billing is the term for those pop-up windows that appear after you have made a purchase online; you know the ones, they offer to give you “cash back” or future discounts just by clicking on the button and joining a service, testing out a product, or otherwise agreeing to get involved with some other company. The problem is that many of these offers are extremely deceiving, getting out of them once you have signed up is extremely difficult, and they don’t make it clear that when you sign up the original website you were on receives money for referring you.

The practice of re-billing has been a huge moneymaker for many online dating sites, but the problem has become so out of hand that the credit card industry is finally cracking down on it. Mastercard recently announced it will suspend the merchant accounts of websites engaging in deceptive re-billing activities until they make changes that include:

• Showing the billing terms clearly and up front
• Clear notice that the consumer is enrolling in a paid service
• Trial periods must be at least 10 days
• Multiple methods of cancellation must be clearly made available

So the next time you come across a re-billing pop-up ad on an online dating website you’ll be in a better position to make a good decision based on having accurate and complete information presented to you.

Dating Essentials Auto-renewal, Complaints, Fraud, Rebill, Scams, Subscriptions

You’ve made it through the holiday season and into the New Year, a period of time that is often quite difficult for singles and online daters. All of that pressure to “find someone special” can make what are supposed to be happy times into depressed and unpleasant times.

But now it’s February and those dismal, depressed times should be long gone, right? Wrong! Just because the holidays are over does not mean online daters aren’t still feeling the winter blahs. It’s still getting dark early, the weather is still pretty crummy, and it’s still hard sometimes to find yourself looking for dates and feeling quite alone.

So what can you do to overcome these winter dating blahs? As it turns out, plenty!

Keep to a routine – Establish a routine and stick to it because this kind of structure has a positive effect on your mood. The best routines include regular exercise, healthy eating habits, and getting enough sleep each night.

Keep your friends close – The winter blahs are all about feeling a lack of energy, so fight them off by keeping in contact with your friends who energize you. Talk regularly on the phone, set up regular coffee or lunch dates, and make sure you have regular contact with those people who are most energizing and fun to be around.

Practice optimism – It’s easy to get “stuck” in negativity during the winter months; it’s too hard to find dates, the weather is too ugly to go outside, and the like. Remember, though, that the power of positive thinking and optimism are real. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of what you’re feeling and experiencing, make a point of paying attention to the positive aspects of your life. It sounds silly, but it really does work.

Dating Essentials Depression, Friends, Holidays, Winter

Recession. Unemployment. Home foreclosures. It seems everywhere you turn these days, the news is filled with stories about how tough the economy is across all income levels, locations, and professions. And while there’s no doubt that it’s a terribly tough time for those who are out of work, a small glimmer of good news is coming out of the online dating industry.

Online dating is one of the few really strong growth industries around; by some estimates, it’s poised to expand as much as 20% to even 30% in the next one to two years. With all of this tremendous growth, then, it’s not too surprising that the online dating industry is one sector that has experienced (and continues to experience) steady job growth.

What most people don’t stop to think about is all of the “behind the scenes” stuff that goes on at an online dating website. From programmers to customer relations to marketing to web designers and more, there are lots and lots of jobs available for those who are interested in pursuing them. In most cases the jobs are clustered in whatever city or location is the headquarters (or major regional hub) of the dating site itself, but in some cases you may be able to work remotely.

For instance, Match.com and Chemistry.com have a number of jobs posted for their Dallas, Texas, location, while eHarmony.com lists several diverse types of jobs for their Pasadena, California, location. There are even a number of international online dating sites with plenty of job openings, including DatingDirect.com (France), Shaadi.com (India), Lavalife.com (Canada), and FriendScout24.com (Germany).

So if you’re looking for a job and feeling frustrated, it might be a good idea to check out job postings at a variety of online dating websites.

Dating Essentials Dating Business, Economy, Jobs