Parship - Online Dating Site - now getting Debt Collection Letters

fiddlechic

Hi,
I signed up for a reduced rate 3 month trial this time last year of parship - a rather rubbish online dating site.
I used paypal.
When I realised it was rubbish, I thought I cancelled it on their website - am not sure about this, and can't find an email, but remember in my head getting rid of it - and I cancelled it on paypal too.
I got an email on March 2nd this year saying they didn't renew my membership and I have got occasional emails advertising the service.
I didn't pass any heed on them, and haven't logged into the site for a year.

Yesterday then, I got a debt collections letter from a UK company for 197 euro.

What should I do?
Should I just pay it?

I emailed parship to complain that I had thought I had cancelled service, and clearly hadn't used it. They haven't replied yet.
Plus, I had no communication since March from them at all.

I'd appreciate any advice!

fiddlechic

It was my fault.
I never actually cancelled it fully on their website.
The dating site said they made multiple efforts to contact me - they did not.
Bewarned!

emeldc

You're not going to pay them are you
How many dates did they get you.

fiddlechic

I think I will pay it.
I don't have a cancellation confirmation email, they said i never cancelled it. Surely that is my fault, and I'm unlikely to win any argument.

The site itself wants me to pay 197 euro, but the debt collection agency only want 111euro when I rang them today.

ballsymchugh

it's a UK debt collection agency. i think if you look elsewhere on this site, you'll find they've no standing in this country.

Staplor

What can they do really, and all over €197?

Hardly worth their while even sending the letter!!!

I'd file it under ................B for bin.

MagicMarker

You'd be absolutely mental to pay this.

keithclancy

Just bin the letters, no company in their right mind would follow that up in Court.

Other companies such as Netfix, Spotify etc just terminate the service when payment isn't made.

emeldc

fiddlechic wrote: »

I think I will pay it.
I don't have a cancellation confirmation email, they said i never cancelled it. Surely that is my fault, and I'm unlikely to win any argument.

The site itself wants me to pay 197 euro, but the debt collection agency only want 111euro when I rang them today.

Do you have an email confirming you were a full member.
Do you have any email offering even one date.

People often ask here if they should pay a debt or not. IMO this is one case where you should definitely not pay. It's a dating site, what did/will you get for your money. Spend the €200 on a makeover. Feel good about yourself. Bin the letters.

ElNino

They would have to get a judgement against you in an Irish court to in anyway damage your credit rating so just ignore them.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

fiddlechic

Thanks for all your advice.
Will hold off paying for now and see what happens.

EIC

I received a letter today from a company UK Collections Ltd. stating that I am in debt to Parship IE for €112.85. I cant remember the last time I used the service or do not know how I could be in arrears as I recall you pay by credit card before using the service. I contacted Parship by email asking them to correct the error. They replied as follows:

"Unfortunately, I am not able to assist you in this matter as PARSHIP has passed your outstanding payment to a collection agency.
We had contacted you repeatedly in order to settle your open payment; however we have not received a response which could have led to a mutual agreement.
Since I have no access to the data and systems of the Debt Collection Service, I cannot provide you with information about the current process. Please contact the collection agency directly."

I received no other notification from Parship re any outstanding amount due to them. I have never had a debt collection notice issued to me before and am very uncomfortable about it. Anyone any idea how I should deal with this ? Is this some kind of scam ?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Ask for copies of the contact material.

fiddlechic

As the original poster, I didn't pay it. Told the debt collection company I'd get back to them. And they didn't contact me again.
I wrote parship a stinker of a letter demanding copies of all correspondence they sent me asking for money (I never received any letters or emails) and no reply there either.
I planned to pay it to avoid hassle in case I moved to the Uk and it would affect my credit rating, but given they never bothered contacting me I ignored it. And had completely forgotten until this post was resurrected!

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

JoeySully

I had a similar problem with a "bulk buy" website that i signed up to.
never cancelled after the month free trial. The letters got more and more threatening and more and more official but eventually stopped coming.

Funny enough I'm still getting emails from them advertising their new products :rolleyes:

Vector56

Hi, I am having an identical issue with the Parship site threatening me with debt collectors for an automatic renewal of a service I haven't used in close to a year. Would the OP be able to let me know what their outcome was?

Sam Mac

Vector56 wrote: »

Hi, I am having an identical issue with the Parship site threatening me with debt collectors for an automatic renewal of a service I haven't used in close to a year. Would the OP be able to let me know what their outcome was?

If you read the thread you would see they did not pay them. Bin the letter and forget about it.

EIC

fiddlechic wrote: »

Hi,
I signed up for a reduced rate 3 month trial this time last year of parship - a rather rubbish online dating site.
I used paypal.
When I realised it was rubbish, I thought I cancelled it on their website - am not sure about this, and can't find an email, but remember in my head getting rid of it - and I cancelled it on paypal too.
I got an email on March 2nd this year saying they didn't renew my membership and I have got occasional emails advertising the service.
I didn't pass any heed on them, and haven't logged into the site for a year.

Yesterday then, I got a debt collections letter from a UK company for 197 euro.

What should I do?
Should I just pay it?



I emailed parship to complain that I had thought I had cancelled service, and clearly hadn't used it. They haven't replied yet.
Plus, I had no communication since March from them at all.

I'd appreciate any advice!

Hello

I got a debt collection notice 24th September re Parship and I did nothing with it based on advise received on this site. No further word since.

coylemj

Vector56 wrote: »

Hi, I am having an identical issue with the Parship site threatening me with debt collectors for an automatic renewal of a service I haven't used in close to a year. Would the OP be able to let me know what their outcome was?

Three posts above yours (in post #16) is your answer.

Shavon18

coylemj wrote: »

Three posts above yours (in post #16) is your answer.

I've been sick to the stomach with worry too cos the same has happened to me and I'm getting constant emails from them looking for payment. They're looking for 160 euro and really I can't afford it at the min, being a single parent it is my grocery shopping for me n my kids . Really tho Should I just ignore these emails or can these people land on your street looking for payment. I actually feel scared silly as it may seem but I nearly feel I'm being bullied. Has anybody paid? And if you haven't has the emails stopped? I'd really appreciate a reply. Thank you to whoever takes the time, I'm so stressed about it all 😥

Sheldons Brain

Do not pay these things. Do ask the original company for all records your account, citing the Data Protection directive (and the relevant UK act). This will no doubt reveal that they did not make multiple efforts to contact you.

dobsdave

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

Do not pay these things. Do ask the original company for all records your account, citing the Data Protection directive (and the relevant UK act). This will no doubt reveal that they did not make multiple efforts to contact you.

If you read the post again you will see they are sending constant e-mails, which is different to the OP.

emeldc

dobsdave wrote: »

If you read the post again you will see they are sending constant e-mails, which is different to the OP.

What about it, she still shouldn't pay it. It's €160. What are they going to do. At the moment I'm chasing a business client for €2k through a debt collector. The agency (Stubbs Gazette) have told me there is no way they would go to court for an amount that small. It just wouldn't be worth it.

Shavon18

dobsdave wrote: »

If you read the post again you will see they are sending constant e-mails, which is different to the OP.

What does OP mean ðŸ˜.
I have contacted Parship and they said it's out Of their hands and that to contact the debt collection agency who have sent me this.... (I copy and pasted)

We have informed you several times of the outstanding balance that you have with our client, Parship GmbH. Due to the lack of response to our previous attempts to collect, we are now informing you that in the next few days we will conclude the amicable actions taken by us.

Once we have finished the amicable actions, we will return your file to the creditor, and they will decide the next actions to be taken to collect the balance due. This could include legal action.

In order to avoid the actions described above, it is mandatory that you make the payment of your debt or that you make contact with us to make an arrangement satisfactory to both parties.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

CREDIT CARD, you can call us and we can make the charge to your bank card.

BANK TRANSFER:

BENEFICIARY: Harvest Credit Management Ltd
ACCOUNT NUMBER (BANKIA SPAIN): ES03 2038 6299 18 600001 5803
REFERENCE: <snip>

We will appreciate that you contact us to solve this issue.


Could somebody tell me what this means? Should I just pay it? And thank you for your help.

bajer101

Shavon18 wrote: »

What does OP mean ðŸ˜.
I have contacted Parship and they said it's out Of their hands and that to contact the debt collection agency who have sent me this.... (I copy and pasted)

We have informed you several times of the outstanding balance that you have with our client, Parship GmbH. Due to the lack of response to our previous attempts to collect, we are now informing you that in the next few days we will conclude the amicable actions taken by us.

Once we have finished the amicable actions, we will return your file to the creditor, and they will decide the next actions to be taken to collect the balance due. This could include legal action.

In order to avoid the actions described above, it is mandatory that you make the payment of your debt or that you make contact with us to make an arrangement satisfactory to both parties.

PAYMENT OPTIONS

CREDIT CARD, you can call us and we can make the charge to your bank card.

BANK TRANSFER:

BENEFICIARY: Harvest Credit Management Ltd
ACCOUNT NUMBER (BANKIA SPAIN): ES03 2038 6299 18 600001 5803
REFERENCE: <snip>

We will appreciate that you contact us to solve this issue.


Could somebody tell me what this means? Should I just pay it? And thank you for your help.

Just ignore them. Mark their emails as spam and they will just go to your spam/junk folder. They are just chancing their arm as some gullible people will pay. Seriously - just ignore them.

dobsdave

Where did I say she should pay?
I was replying to someone who said to ask for proof that the agency had been trying to contact for payment.

emeldc wrote: »

What about it, she still shouldn't pay it. It's €160. What are they going to do. At the moment I'm chasing a business client for €2k through a debt collector. The agency (Stubbs Gazette) have told me there is no way they would go to court for an amount that small. It just wouldn't be worth it.

dobsdave

Shavon18 wrote: »

What does OP mean ðŸ˜..

Original Poster

And personally, I wouldn't pay.

martinr5232

Neither would i they are chancing theyre arm ignore them and enjoy youre weekend.

Shavon18

Thank you, I really do appreciate your comments and help. I was so distressed last night thinking about it.. Was asking a few close friends about it which is embarrassing too to say the least. :-(. I will let it go n forget it, I'll post back here if I hear any more word from them or if they do land on the street. Have a lovely weekend yourselves, and thank you again .

Shavon18

dobsdave wrote: »

Original Poster

And personally, I wouldn't pay.

Lol I googled it then :-! But thanks,

Shavon18

martinr5232 wrote: »

Neither would i they are chancing theyre arm ignore them and enjoy youre weekend.

Thank you, same back at ya, enjoy.

fearrchair

Hi there sorry for opening up an old thread but l'm on the mobile. I had a profile with Parship and l paid a 6month to answer someone that never came to anything in the end. I don't think there was was any more communication with anyone maybe 1 but just a message or 2.

Anyway l just let the subscription run away however as my credit card changed they emailed demanding and overdue amount saying l didn't give 24 hours notice.

I suppose l should just pay it than have someone threaten me with debt collection or damage my credit. I realise l am wrong and think l had to pay something like this before due to T & Cs


Parship by Email on 29.12.2016 13:15
Dear Mr. F,

Thank you for your notification.

In response to your query, please be advised that you purchased a subscription which automatically renews at the end of the term subscribed to unless cancelled in writing. A written cancellation must be sent to us by fax, letter or e-mail.

Please note that all cancellations must be made no less than 1 day before the end of your current subscription.

The auto-renewal function is clearly stated on three different occasions:

- On the 'Become a Premium Member' and payment pages
- In bold text in the Terms & Conditions (Clause 5) which you have to 'Agree' to when completing the subscription transaction
- In the confirmation of purchase e-mail which was sent to you

As we have not received a written cancellation request from you in time, your subscription has automatically renewed. This can not be retroactively deactivated, for this reason you currently have an outstanding payment of £ 119.40.

The next renewal has been deactivated, therefore your membership will expire on 25.06.2017

Please be advised that you are able to settle this amount by accessing your PARSHIP account and updating your payment details.
Furthermore, please note the deletion of your profile has no influence on the invoice and should we not receive the pending payment your case is forwarded to a collection agency.

Thank you for your cooperation and should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
With kind regards,

Clémence Fréchette
Parship Customer Service

SkinnyBuddha

<SNIP>
Dont pay it..they'll off load to a debt collection agency who you dont have to deal with at all. They wont bring you to court over 119 euro and your credit rating wont be affected.

dudara

Honestly, you know that you owe the money and they are entitled to it.

What you'll have to decide for yourself is how much of a risk do you want to take if you don't pay, and if you think they won't persue it. They do not have the power to affect your ICB rating, but any other non-Irish rating systems could be impacted, or you could even have a court judgement secured against you. These may be extreme, but simply advising you to not pay the debt would be irresponsible.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

dudara

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

As I said, it would be extreme. But it is an option available to them, and the OP should be aware, even if it is unlikely.

Quackster

dudara wrote: »

As I said, it would be extreme. But it is an option available to them, and the OP should be aware, even if it is unlikely.

'Unlikely' is putting it extremely mildly. The OP is more likely to win the lotto than be taken to court over an alleged debt this small.

Also, I would question whether the OP even owes this money as the requirement to cancel at least 24 hours before subscription renewal would seem to be in breach of EU distance selling regulations which require a minimum cooling-off period of 14 days, which is extended to 12 months if the retailer did not properly inform them of their legal right to cancel during this cooling off period.

fearrchair

TBH l know what your saying about that it would be unlikely if for them to follow me but it was there in the T&C. I think l just take the hit and pay it. If they wanted to they could just cancel it as it should be visible that there is little activity on the account (l think they do promise a miminum number of contacts but l can see anything now) but l'd say technically their correct l think on the overdue amount...

dudara

Quackster wrote: »

Also, I would question whether the OP even owes this money as the requirement to cancel at least 24 hours before subscription renewal would seem to be in breach of EU distance selling regulations which require a minimum cooling-off period of 14 days, which is extended to 12 months if the retailer did not properly inform them of their legal right to cancel during this cooling off period.

IIRC the 14 day cooling off period only applies to the purchase of physical goods, as the option to inspect in person is not available at the time of purchase. The OP purchased a service.

Quackster

dudara wrote: »

IIRC the 14 day cooling off period only applies to the purchase of physical goods, as the option to inspect in person is not available at the time of purchase. The OP purchased a service.

It applies to contracts entered into for services too, such as insurance (as long as you haven't used the service in the interim - ie claimed on said insurance).

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Quackster wrote: »

It applies to contracts entered into for services too, such as insurance (as long as you haven't used the service in the interim - ie claimed on said insurance).

I don't think it covers auto renewal as in the OP's case though.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Quackster

Alison Gray Self-incrimination wrote: »

I don't think it covers auto renewal as in the OP's case though.

The renewal of a contract is, in essence, the commencement of a new contract and the same cooling-off period again applies.

My health & home insurances auto-renew but that doesn't stop me making changes or cancelling without cost up to 14 days after the renewal dates.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Quackster wrote: »

The renewal of a contract is, in essence, the commencement of a new contract and the same cooling-off period again applies.

My health & home insurances auto-renew but that doesn't stop me making changes or cancelling without cost up to 14 days after the renewal dates.

Sorry for being pedantic but they weren't within 14 days by the sound of it.

Quackster

Alison Gray Self-incrimination wrote: »

Sorry for being pedantic but they weren't within 14 days by the sound of it.

Yeah, but if the company doesn't properly inform you of your legal right to cancel within a 14 day cooling-off period, then you become entitled to a 12 month cooling-off period.