Some Singles Say Bellevue Dating Service Stood Them Up

That dating service, Great Expectations, was investigated by the Washington State Attorney General’s office back in the 1990s. The current Attorney General, Rob McKenna, said that office records don’t go back that far so it’s not known exactly what was uncovered in that investigation, but he says the local Great Expectations office was allowed to stay in business.

However, in the past few years, 35 new complaints against Great Expectations have been filed with the state AG’s office.

Dan Lourie of Kent is one of the Northwest singles looking for love who contacted KIRO 7 with his complaints about Great Expectations. He told me, “I don’t want to be alone.”

Lourie and three others Great Expectations clients met at KIRO 7 to discuss what happened to them. All say they went to Great Expectations in Bellevue and paid thousands, in one case nearly $8,000, hoping to end up half of a happy two-some.

They all claim that if they had met their soul-mates, the thousands they spent would have been worth the cost. But the four singles and many others in dozens of AG complaints claim Great Expectations' promises were not delivered. They said because of an apparently iron-clad contract that they freely signed they couldn't get their money back when they were disappointed with the service.

Suzi Elton of Mukilteo said, “You don’t know what you’ve bought until it’s too late.”

The four also claim that the high-pressure sales pitch they received when they first visited the office made it sound certain they'd find a mate. Especially since they claim they were told Great Expectations had thousands of active members to choose from.

“She brings in this humongous book full of pictures. These are the people that will be ready for you,” Mici Meyer of Renton said. “Hunks of all ages. Of every category.”

Julie Ingalls of Ferndale says the Great Expectations saleswoman told her “They had over 2,500 members. Then they said that there were a lot of men in my age bracket.”

Dan Lourie claims he was given the same sales pitch. That, in the specific age group and type of women he would be interested in, there would be "somewhere around 2,500" members. He was also told there were many "doctors, attorneys, helicopter pilots" for him to choose from.

Elton says the verbal promises were even location and age-specific. She says the Great Expectations saleswoman told her the company had “thousands of single men living really near me."

"Thousands. In Mukilteo?" I asked.

"Thousands who were members in my age group," the 60-something woman confirms.

Elton claims the reality was far different, "I ended up with two that said yes and one person called me."

For her nearly $4,000 membership fee, Elton says she received one phone call from a prospective date.

The four Northwest singles admit they were so eager to start the service that they signed the contract on their first visit. But they claim they weren't allowed to read the contract: as other AG complaints reveal.

The four also say the sales associates distracted them, hurried them, and asked them to initial the back of the contract before they even knew the total cost of the program, which was written on the front.

“Then she turned it over,” Ingalls says of the contract, “and that’s when I saw the prices.”

“I would call that deceptive and unfair at the least,” Attorney General Rob McKenna said. “Hiding the rest of the contract until after they’ve signed it is really unethical.”

McKenna admits what KIRO 7 Consumer Investigators have uncovered about Great Expectations' business practices could be in violation of the state consumer protection act.

“It could be deceptive to tell your customer we have thousands of options for you, but in fact it turns out there are only a couple. It would be like signing up for a timeshare condo, being told you would have access to thousands of condos around the world, but it turns out that you only really have access to a condo in Hoboken and one in Fargo. That would be deceptive,” McKenna said.

During my visit to McKenna’s Olympia office, I showed him a copy of the contract Great Expectations asks its new members to sign. One clause reads: "No oral representations by either party shall in any way effect this agreement."

McKenna’s take on that clause: “That means that the agreement is only what is in writing. Now that can result in abuse of course if you’re being told one thing over and over, but you sign something that says something different. That can be deceptive, but it’s not illegal to put that kind of language in a contract because what it’s saying is, regardless of the conversation that we have, what we’re agreeing to is what we’re putting down in writing.”

Another clause reads: “You acknowledge that a disproportionate portion of the fee for G/E’s services is earned by the end of the initial interview.”

“They’re saying in writing, 'Yeah, I agree. This has been really helpful to me and I’m going to pay you $3,700, most of which I’m going to owe you because you’ve just had this wonderful conversation with me about how great your company is.' It is, I would say, unethical,” McKenna said.

McKenna says it’s imperative that consumers read every word of any document they ever sign. He says if they can't read it or take it with them, they shouldn’t sign it.

Our state's top attorney also advises, if you want to make sure a verbal promise is delivered you should add it to the contract in writing and see if the other party will sign the updated version. If not, it’s a sign he or she has no intention of following through with what you’ve written.

McKenna also says consumers should do their research. Had the four who I met with surfed the Internet before signing-up with Great Expectations, they would have learned the Bellevue office has a D- rating with the Better Business Bureau. In addition to Great Expectations' own Web site, there are many other sites warning potential customers away.

Mici Meyer learned that after she had signed the contract, “I get home, pull up Great Expectations, I pull up everything and I go, ‘Oh my gosh, look what I’ve done. Okay. I’m doomed.’”

McKenna said a contract can be enforceable even if you’re not satisfied with what you’re getting. He says the best option for the people I interviewed is to file lawsuits, which is what they’re planning to do.

Meanwhile, I tried to get Great Expectations’ side of the story. KIRO 7 Consumer Investigators stopped by the Bellevue office nearly two weeks ago, and left phone messages asking for someone to explain what’s going on there.

The day the story was scheduled to air on KIRO 7, the manager, who would only identify herself as “Christen” called back. She refused to give her last name, but said she took over the business last October and claims she has had many happy customers since then.

One of those happy customers also called Clancy to say how much she enjoyed the service. Clancy has asked both of them to discuss Great Expectations on-camera later this week but they have since denied that request.

The Bellevue office isn’t the only Great Expectations franchise in trouble with consumers. The state of Pennsylvania is currently suing a Great Expectations there for "falsely inflating the number of singles available for dating in its network," according to a press release.

The state of Arizona's on-going case is based on the same claim.

In Kansas, Great Expectations has already been ordered to reimburse $215,000 to 86 clients.

In New York City, refunds have also been ordered.

McKenna says while very interested in what KIRO 7 Consumer Investigators uncovered, he cannot comment on whether his office will now take action against Great Expectations in Bellevue.