Spending £7,500 on a matchmaking agency was a dating disaster

I am a tall, fit, articulate, educated, and now retired, professional woman.

After my husband died in 2018, I took some time to rebuild my life. But after enjoying two cruises, and planning three more, everything ground to a halt in lockdown. I was lonely and decided to join a dating agency.

In April last year, I signed up with the County Register agency and paid £7,495 for the executive package. This included 15 months’ membership with a guarantee of ten ‘introductions’.

Someone from the agency visited my house to interview me and write my profile. I felt optimistic, but since then it’s been nothing but disappointment.

I was sent two profiles of men – both of whom rejected me, which I could not understand. Then a man I had lunch with disappeared.

A call with another man was set up, but his irrational opinions made me uneasy, while I had nothing in common with the next.

Some of the profiles I was sent were unsuitable — for example, they were too old or lived too far away — while another (a ten-pin bowler from Blackpool) — was so far removed from my criteria, I could not believe it.

All I wanted was to find a companion to enhance the quality of my life. I am not desperate enough to settle with any man just for the sake of it. I wanted a social, intellectual and financial equal.

I am trying to come to terms with the fact I have wasted an awful lot of money.

K. D., Cumbria.

Amelia Murray replies: You say you were honest with the agency about what you were looking for — including a non-smoker with similar interests and a professional background — and it assured you it could help.

However, as the months wore on, you became convinced it did not have enough men on its books — or at least who met your criteria.

You expressed your concerns on a number of occasions and each time the agency tried to reassure you.

With the bowler, you thought your professional and personal interests were too different, but you were told opposites can attract.

I put your allegations to the agency and it came back with a detailed response. It insists it has met its contractual obligations and in eight months carefully selected nine potential matches.

But despite my efforts, the County Register has refused to offer even a partial refund. 

It says it has since shown you three more potential partners, two of which you accepted, but unfortunately those gentlemen declined to proceed.

A spokesman says: ‘We are delivering the service and there is no facility for refund under the terms of the agreement we are working to.’

Amazon tent fraudsters stole £550  

Amazon failed to refund £550 fraudsters stole from a customer’s account

At the end of 2020, six fraudulent transactions totalling more than £600 were charged to my daughter’s debit card stored on her Amazon Prime account. 

These were related to tents sourced in China. Amazon was notified immediately and confirmed these were fraudulent.

It promised to refund any payments taken. It stopped one transaction but five, to the sum of £550, went through.

Amazon has since been evasive and issued contrary advice. It seems to be telling us to simply accept this loss.

P. M., via email.

Amelia Murray replies: From your email I could see you had tried every course you could, including the Financial Ombudsman Service, which does not cover retailers, and complaints tool Resolver, to which Amazon does not subscribe.

You say Amazon’s own complaints procedure was non-existent.

Shortly after I contacted Amazon, you received a call from its complaints team promising to refund your daughter £550 on an ‘exceptional’ basis.

It claims it told you to ‘chargeback’ the payment with your bank, but you did not do this within the 120-day time frame.

It has also offered a £50 voucher as goodwill. It did not explain to me nor you why it took nine months to sort out, nor how the fraud occurred in the first place. Unfortunately, big companies such as Amazon often seem like they are too big to care.

Barclays wouldn’t change my coins into notes 

Last week I went into my local Barclays branch in Southampton, where I have held an account for 50 years. I wanted to change £15 in loose change, bagged and counted from my piggy bank.

Staff at the branch informed me I could not change the money because it could be linked to money laundering.

I am a 75-year-old pensioner and I have done this about three times a year. I am no money launderer.

J. G., Southampton.

Amelia Murray replies: What a terrible example of customer service from the staff at Barclays.

When I raised your case with the bank, it said you were told the coinage could have been put into your bank account and you could have then withdrawn it yourself. 

But there appears to have been some confusion and you decided not to do this.

Still, it seems ridiculous that you should have to go through the rigmarole of having the coins credited to your account when they could simply have exchanged them for notes.

Barclays says this is to ensure all transactions are auditable.

However, you say when you went into another bank on the High Street, they happily exchanged the coins for notes, despite you not even being a customer.

‘Thank goodness there are some sensible banks around,’ you say.

I wholeheartedly agree.