ACCC.GOV - Feb 25 - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has joined an international initiative to protect consumers by sweeping dating sites for misleading offers, unclear pricing policies or consumer contracts with unfair terms. The ACCC also looked at what measures dating sites have in place to protect consumers against scammers. Here is the latest Online dating industry report.
Key findings:
- 61% of websites had some form of scam warning while 39% had no information at all.
- 66% of dating sites operate an automatic subscription renewal policy and continue to charge users for their subscription until they cancel. However, many of them use free trials that are subject to terms and conditions that are only detailed in the fine print agreement.
- 89% of sites allow members to cancel online
- Less than 2% of websites provided specific information about the costs of the service before becoming a member.
- 46% of sites state in their terms and conditions that profile information may be used for advertising and referral to third party affiliates.
