Great Expectations Overview
Great Expectations has a 1.1-star rating, derived from feedback provided by 28 customers. In the Entertainment category, it secures the 49th position out of 387 companies.
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Great Expectations Reviews
Michelle
How do I get my money back?
I paid this stupid dating website $6,000 back in 2008 it was horrible what a scam!!! I sears I almost got trafficked. I am not kidding!! I was young and naive and wanted to fall in love ... but thank good I listened to my gut and didn’t go meet this guy they wanted to set me up with!!!! Now am reading that there was a law suit and people got a refund?? I want my money back!!!! How do I go about that I know it was like 10 years ago but I had no idea they was a law suit. I wish someone would have contacted me! My story is crazy about this place!!!!!
Angel
I was scam of $$
I was scam byjohn meriggi of $4.000 by his wife chaun of schaumburg,ill.woodfieldmall,l need people to file a police report caused they refused to help me may be becaused lam puerto rican or spanish we need to filed actiion law sued.
Anonim
Worked there back in the day
I managed a center back in the early 90's and it was very successful membership. Yes, you got some unhappy people who did not put in the effort, but typically, when people are willing to spend money, they are more committed and that part of it was a good thing. Then online dating came in and changed the game. I think as sales dropped, they started to do some things that were not too cool like setting different costs for different people. I helped 100's of people find love back in the day and it was fun and rewarding. Times are just different now. Being newly remarried, I can say that online dating is a lot less expensive but boy did I have to kiss about 100 frogs to find the one!
Anonim
SCAM SCAM SCAM
Chicagoland singles is a scam tracy trys to sell you 8000 dollars everyone does not pay the same this company is a scam
Anonim
Feel scammed
So unfortunate, I joined Great Expectations which is now Minneapolis Singles 23 years ago where I met my husband of 22 years. It's now 2017 and I'm divorced so I decide to give them another try. Big mistake!!! Today there are so many dating sites that the available men are spread very thin. 23 years ago G.E. had a large chuck of the market but NOT today. Their pool of available men is too small to warrant what they charge. Do Not Join! As soon as I saw their data base of many inactive members or men that were not what I was looking for I realized that I was dooped. Pursuing a refund now, wish me luck. Their methods are understandable, they don't want you to know that they don't and are unable to secure enough quality available men. Their time is over but they still take your money and as soon as they have it you can not get a refund. They need to change with the times and charge much less because they offer much less
Blayden
I realized I was not a good fit for their clientele
2017 Please be well aware not to join this service. You can't view who is on their roster prior to joining. More than likely You will find that those who you are told you would be suited for will not be interested in you. I have heard this from one other member and HE also heard this from another member. The amount of pictures lying around the office in no way reflects who are active members. Once they have your thousands there is a no refund policy. I was mislead and hope to help you avoid similar mistake in judgement.
Anonim
Martied but a widow now
Meet my husband 7 years ago but he passed away last September. I was lucky to have such a wonderful man.
Anonim
Careful -- Intro is just the beginning of grabbing your personal Info
I was interested in a cruise, and someone contacted me to come in for an interview. I did, filled out a basic questionaire, but skipped the personal info like birthdate and SSN and signed the form. MISTAKE. I handed it in and specifically told the receptionist, Linda, that I didn't want any personal information nor the background/credit check unless I decided to join. I spent about 90 minutes with Tracy, who asked for ID, 2nd MISTAKE. I think she copied down my drivers license number. I opted out of spending $8 grand to join and thought that was the end of it. 2 days later, they ran a credit check on me. I called, another receptionist wasn't sure, put me on hold, talked to someone, then came back and said I signed the form so it was legal, but a director would call me back. I still don't know how they ran a credit check without a SSN and possibly no birth date. They never called back, ran a credit check for no legitimate reason. This is not ok. If you are thinking about using them. Do not sign the form, do not let them copy any information down from IDs. They have to have some other nefarious reason to do the credit check -- are they selling the information? I wish I would have read these reviews first.
Erabella
Also known as Indianapolis Singles
This service is a complete joke. Ellie uses high pressure tactics to close the "deal" and establish membership. They provide NO kind of compatibility screening. Your profile is comprised of whatever information the customer wants entered. Ellie explained that they verify identity and do a credit check on people to *** out those with poor credit. It seems that the only benefit for doing a credit check is to make sure you are able to pay their financing fees for their service (and yes, it's set up as a high interest loan so they get their fee up front, and you are stuck even if they don't provide full services) with an airtight contract that strictly enforces a NO REFUND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES policy (even if they fail to provide full services). Customers aren't allowed access to the member's-only website until after a payment agreement is signed. The members-only website has outdated information (newsletter from February is still posted on the website, with no newsletters for March, April, or May 2016). There have been no "events" or activities for members scheduled since I have been a member. And there are not very many new members being added to their database. Honestly, sites like Match.com, eHarmony, etc., collect more information in your profile than IS does, and some of them provide some level of screening, too (probably more than what IS does). PLUS, memberships on other dating sites are CHEAPER than what IS charges, and you aren't locked into a year's commitment! DO NOT sign up with these folks. You will regret it, and waste your hard-earned money! This isn't just sour grapes, and I am not a malcontent. This service has a negative history, and there are additional reviews and complaints on the BBB website that indicate the same types of problems. I have also posted a similar review on yelp.com for public information. And by the way, the business has "disparaging clauses" in their contract, meaning that they can deny you services if you write negative things about them, and they prohibit you from discussing how much you paid for services, because they charge everyone a different fee, based on creditworthiness. My charge was $3,000 for one year's service. The contract does not allow any period of time to change your mind about signing up for the service and making a large financial commitment. Also, if you refuse to make payments, it negatively impacts your credit score.
Anonim
Scam, you're better off with eHarmony
I'm typically a savvy consumer. I asked all the right questions and I feel that WENDY was completely dishonest. It's true you can't get a refund after the 3rd day and here's the trick. They won't let you see the member base before the 3rd day because if you did you'd run screaming from the building. And the building is in Edina leading you to believe it's upscale and legitimate. I have yet to have a man with a higher than high school education contact me. It's like to social rejects are drawn to this service. I requested a refund and I was quoted contract language. It's a scam and I'm embarrassed that I fell for it. If they were a credible business they'd let you experience the service for 3 days before refusing a refund. Let the new member see the antiquated 3-ring binders or 1990 web site and search for 3 days. If not satisfied then refund a substantial portion. They can't do that because they know it's *** and everyone would want a refund. The member base is carp, and now I'm a member. So what can you do but be embarrassed and suck it up. I'm writing the attorney general and hope to get a fraction of the membership fee back. Anything is better than nothing. Right?
Anonim
Great Expectations Dating Service Review
Isn't it in their policy that if you starting dating someone you can't be a member of Great Expecting right
Anonim
Rip off
Misrepsented the service. They claim it is an exclusive dating service, and promise to "look for matches" for you. Many members are actually inactive, and the dating pool is very small comparted to other dating sites. Paid $3000. Promised to pay $1800 more in two installments. Realized it was scam. They made an unauthorized $900 to my bank card, which I could not get back. Then I cancelled my card, at which time they cancelled my account. So, I paid $3900 for NOTHING. I have filed a complaint with the BBB (which didn't really help because they still have an "A+" rating. I plan on pursuing this with FCC and Attorney General. I feel *** and decieved
Elinda
Great Expectations Dating Service/Chicagoland Singles Dating FRAUD
BUYERS BEWARE OF GREAT EXPECTATIONS/CHICAGOLAND SINGLES I just want to make everyone aware of the fraudulent business ethics of this dating service. In 2012 after being a widow for over 3 years, I fell victim to this predatory business. I had a terrible encounter with them and would like other consumers to be aware of the following: 1. Great Expectations (GE) is a nationwide scam dating service that goes under a variety of aliases (including Chicagoland Singles). They are constantly changing their name/webpages so that consumers cannot read the over 500 complaints filed against them. 2. They illegally solicit your personal information from ANY/ALL dating services and Craig’s List 3. Once they obtain your contact information, they will harass you through email, phone calls, etc. Their harassing phone calls are relentless and often times the number is blocked out and occur at all hours day/evening 4. If you are venerable (like I was) and agree to an interview, they use high power sales tactics to “bully” clients into signing a contract 5. At the interview, the following duplicitous tactics are used by their corrupt sales persons: a. High powered aggressive sales tactics and distractions to lure you into a contract b. Capitalizing on your emotional needs and even DISABILITIES c. Run credit checks on you and based on your credit, will charge you the maximum they can (sometimes over $5,000) d. Misrepresent the services they offer and the hidden fees e. Misrepresent the success rate/services 6. The basically utilize any strategy to fraudulently persuade you to sign. 7. They purposely and defiantly briefly go over the contract. If you question initialing by any of the contract, they claim “it’s just a formality” and distract you further 8. Federal and State Dating Service laws indicate 3 business days to cancel a dating service contract. 9. GE/Chicagoland Singles sales persons are conveniently unavailable those 3 business days (not allowing you to cancel) 10. If you contact them immediately after signing the contract (even the next day), they will not give you accurate information on how to cancel 11. Ultimately if you attempt to cancel even within legal guidelines, they will refuse to let you cancel/or refund your money 12. I contacted them several times in an attempt to cancel my contract and Sharon M. (Chicagoland Singles representative) made vicious statements such as “too bad, so sad we have your money”, “go ahead and sue, you will lose”, etc. She was cruel and verbally abusive 13. If you attempt to contact their manager, Tracy W. You are completely denied access. She outright refuses to work with you to resolve the issues. 14. If you take them to small claims court, they will only agree to refund you ¼ of your money. In addition, they will threaten you with lawsuits 15. Great Expectations (again a nationwide fraud dating service) has had over 5 class action law suits filed in various states and over 100 small claims lawsuits 16. There have been numerous investigative reports including Dateline, 20/20 on their fraudulent business In summary, during one of the most difficult times of my life (widowed single father), I fell victim to the predatory shyster tactics of Great Expectations/Chicagoland Singles. It cost me over &7,000, attorney fees, heartache, emotional/physical suffering. Nothing was resolved. Sharon M & Tracy W., Karma will catch up to you eventually.
Anonim
Great Expectations - Dating Site Review from Edina, Minnesota
I do not remember how long ago but would say in about 1999 or 2000, I joined Great Expectations. They now go by Real Singles. They do charge way way to much money for the available singles. When I joined, they wouldn't tell me how many single female members they had in my preferred range, say an 8 year span, but after joining, I found out there were four (4) available women!!! Two were not my type at all and the other two never replied. Yes, they had a professional photographer but it's not worth your money. It's not an illegal scam, it's just not a realistic way to spend your money. They don't represent themselves in a fair way to a potential member. Do Match or E harmony. I hear people get married from those sites, not ever have I heard a person speak of Great Expectations (Real Singles) or even a marriage from them. You might as well gamble with your money you would spend with them.
Anonim
Great Expectations - Dating Service Review from Boynton Beach, Florida
We are gaining strength and have quite a few lawyers working with us now so if your contract with any of the 3 dating services has Not been met please contact: jensenkaren95@***.com
Anonim
Great Expectations/John Meriggi SCAMS SENIORS
If you have been scammed by John Meriggi's company Great Expectations I urge you to file a complaint with the FTC, your state Attorney General, the BBB, and your local news station investigative reporters. You should also file a dispute with your credit card company if you paid for their fraudulent services on a credit card. Great Expectations Scammed me out of $6450 and I know they are scamming thousands of other Americans. We need to stop them! If you have been scammed take action right now by filing complaints with these authorities below. If you are from Ohio you can file a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General here: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/consumercomplaint.aspx If you are outside of Ohio do a google search for ("your state" attorney general) and you should be able to find your state attorney general website. You can file a complaint through there. To file a complaint with the FTC go to: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#&panel1-1 To file a complaint with the BBB go to: https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/get-started You can also file a complaint here: http://www.stopfraud.gov/report.html If you have been scammed by this company I strongly urge you to file complaints through all the websites above. If you paid for their fraudulent services by credit card I suggest you call your credit card company and file a dispute. You may be able to get your money back. Make sure to provide your credit card company with a list of all the complaints against this company along with referencing the lawsuit by the Arizona Attorney General against the company. If you paid by check I suggest you find out what bank they deposited the check into and write a letter to their bank informing their bank that they are helping to facilitate fraud by allowing this company to bank with them. The owner of the company is a guy named John Meriggi. He is the mastermind behind everything. If you have been scammed by John Meriggi and his company Great Expectations and you want to call his office to speak with him you can call 214-389-****. If you want to write John a letter and let him know how his company has harmed you. Write him a letter and send it to his office at: John Meriggi 14180 Dallas Parkway, Suite 210 Dallas, TX 75254. This company targets seniors who are in an emotional state and uses high pressure sales tactics to sell their fraudulent dating services. There are hundreds if not thousands of complaints about this company and their bad business practices. Several years ago Great Expectations had to pay $500,000 to the Arizona Attorney General. However this is a drop in the bucket for them because they are defrauding people like us out of millions of dollars. See here: https://www.azag.gov/press-release/terry-goddard-announces-500000-settlement-scottsdale-dating-service We need to stop them! You can help stop them by filing complaints with all the authorities listed. They are defrauding consumers out of their retirement and life savings. I tried to resolve the issue I had directly with the company, I even hired an attorney who contacted the company on my behalf. They told my attorney "we have a signed contract" and basically to go take a hike. They were not willing to issue a refund even though their services were not as advertised. They had a high pressure sales person who basically forced me into signing the contract and promised me the world only to not deliver. False advertising. This company has been defrauding consumers for years and I ask you to please help stop them. They are going to continue targeting emotional seniors like you and I and stealing money from us. This is not a good company and they need to be stopped. It's going to take all of us standing up against them and filing complaints with our State Attorney General and the FTC. These are the two government agencies that actually have the power to stop them. I received a call from this company after filling out an online form. The sales representative asked me to come into their office for an interview. The first thing they did was ask for my drivers license, social security number, and credit card. They said they needed this to "verify" who I was. I came to find out they used this information against me by running a credit check to see how much available credit I had. Then after their high pressure sales tactics they presented me with a package that cost the same amount as I had in available credit. I later found out that they sold other people the exact same thing for far less money and others even more. They charged me $6450 for basically nothing more than access to a dating website. They promise you all kinds of things in person during their sales pitch. After I paid this amount they told me that if I wanted to send a message to anyone on the site I needed to pay an extra $400. I assumed sending a message to someone on a dating website was included as it would be with any other legitimate service. This company finds out how much you have available on your credit cards and then charges you that much. I was deceived into signing their contract and signing up for their services which are not as advertised. When I tried to get a refund they told me you only have 3 days to get a refund and that I signed the contract. I only signed the contract because of their high pressure sales tactics. They refused to issue a refund. I paid $6450 split up on 2 credit cards and paid the rest with a check (money I had been saving for retirement). I have already issued a dispute with my credit card companies for the amount paid on the two cards. We need to stop this company from scamming other hard working people. If you have been scammed by John Meriggi and his company Great Expectations I urge you to file complaints right now with your state Attorney General and the FTC. The only way to stop this company from scamming others is to take action.