N.Y.C. Man Sues Match.Com for Cyberspace ‘Bait and Switch’
A Brooklyn, N.Y. man has sued Match.com for $5 million, accusing the popular on-line dating website of fraud for posting profiles of purportedly eligible singles who can’t be reached through the site.
Sean McGinn, 37, says Match.com lists photographs and profiles of singles who cannot respond to emails sent to them by others seeking a date because the singles are not subscribers to the site. Only people who pay a monthly fee ranging from $19.99 to $39.99 can respond to emails or “winks” sent to them by potential suitors on the site, McGinn’s suit alleges.
In his lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court, McGinn said he suffered “humiliation and disappointment” when women he tried to contact through Match.com did not respond to his cyber-advances.
“They are left feeling they’ve been completely ignored and rejected,” his attorney, Norah Hart, said of frustrated singles like McGinn. “For some people, it could affect their romantic future.”
Love Fraud Alleged
Anyone can browse the website or create a profile to receive emails and other messages sent by others, but the website’s operators don’t tell posters like McGinn that only paid subscribers can access or respond to those messages, the lawsuit said.
“(Match.com) misleads paying subscribers by charging them for the ability to write e-mails to members who can’t reply to their e-mails or even read them,” the lawsuit charges.
McGinn is accusing Match.com of engaging in “deceptive practices” and he is seeking unspecified damages from the website’s owner, IAC/InterActiveCorp. He wants $5 million in damages and also is hoping a judge will grant his federal lawsuit class-action status, which would allow other cyber-daters who claim they were similarly scammed by Match.com to join in the case, his attorney said.
“Despite the emotional vulnerability inherent in the dating process, fraught as it is with fear of rejection and anxiety, Match defrauds the consumer of his/her time, labor, and emotional investment” by not telling them that someone they are contacting does not have a subscription, the lawsuit alleges.
Match.com Responds to Allegations
Match.com boasts about 100 million members since 2000 and operates in 24 countries. The site is available in 15 languages. A spokesperson for Match.com responded to McGinn’s suit, saying “we believe this lawsuit is without merit and we will defend it vigorously.”
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