Sales patter and marketing claims are all very well, but if they stray into the realm of deceit there can be severe consequences. An elite dating agency found that out to its cost after misrepresenting to a client that it had amongst its members a substantial number of wealthy men actively searching for love.
A divorcee who was seeking a well-off partner who would be willing to have children paid £12,600 to become a member of the agency. The agency provided her with five potential matches in the first few weeks after she joined, but she did not find a soulmate amongst them. She subsequently launched proceedings against the agency, claiming that she had paid the membership fee on the basis of misrepresentations.
In upholding her claim, a judge found that the agency’s then managing director had assured her that it had on its books a substantial number of well-heeled men who were actively looking for partners. That statement was deceitful and false in that a maximum of about 100 men were active members. By no stretch of the imagination could that be viewed as a substantial number.
Ordering the agency to reimburse the woman the whole of her fee, the judge found that she would not have paid it had she not relied on the false statement. Worried about running out of time to have another child, she had felt very let down by the agency and she was awarded £500 for the disappointment and distress she endured. Her total award came to £13,100.
The judge also upheld the agency’s claim that it had been defamed by a review that the woman posted online. Although she had publicly described the agency as a scam, she had failed to prove that it was not an effective matchmaking agency, still less that it was a fundamentally dishonest or fraudulent operation. Had the managing director told her the truth, she would have had little cause for complaint. She was ordered to pay £5,000 in libel damages.