No refunds, last-minute call-offs and constant rescheduling of cancelled events.
These are some of the tactics used by Unified Dating to take money from singles seeking love in Inverness.
The matchmaking website claims to “enable single people to easily meet in person via offline events”.
But an investigation by The Press and Journal has uncovered how the Oxford-based firm is mis-selling £17.99 date nights to lonely hearts in the Highlands, Aberdeen and Elgin.
According to dozens of one-star reviews on Trustpilot, the majority of these events never take place as they are cancelled and then rescheduled – with customers left out of pocket due to their strict no-refund policy.
Our reporter attended two events in Inverness.
Based on their experience, it appears to be common practice for the company to take people’s money for events that are not really events at all – and that are never likely to go ahead.
Unified Dating, owned by Oxford businesswoman Ghazala Umar, has denied all accusations.
Unified Dating accused of cancelling and rescheduling events with no refunds
Customers claim on Trustpilot that events were cancelled and rescheduled, with some rescheduled after the start time.
They claim Unified Dating refuses to offer a refund after events have been rescheduled.
Out of 62 reviews, 91% are one-star, giving the company a total of 1.4 of 5.
One angry customer wrote: “They do not offer refunds and what they do is take your money and at the last minute they will tell you the event is postponed.
“They will tell you that you can use the ticket for the postponed event and guess what, that event won’t happen too! These are basically non existing events!”
Meanwhile, there are 30 Google reviews about Unified Dating, with 24 (80%) being one-star.
The company responded: “We have had hundreds of attendees and events that have gone ahead.
“The 62 or so reviewers are a minority.”
Press and Journal books Inverness date night
The Press and Journal purchased a £17.99 ticket for the Meet Singles in Inverness (Ages 18-30) event advertised on Eventbrite from 7:30pm to 10pm on Friday, November 1.
In Inverness, Unified Dating advertises up to 12 events a week.
How the night unfolded
2:25pm The reporter was sent a QR code ticket via email which said the location of the event was “Inverness, Inverness IV2, United Kingdom.”
Between 5:30pm and 6pm: As the company states in their terms and conditions, the company emailed the location of the event – Number 27 Bar and Kitchen on Castle Street.
6:22pm: Our reporter arrived about 10 minutes before the event’s kick-off time and told an employee they were looking for the Unified Dating event.
He turned out to be the owner and seemed a bit puzzled at first, but confirmed there was a table booked for four under Unified Dating.
The table had been booked for 7:45pm, 15 minutes after the event’s supposed start time.
7:34pm: A man in his 40s came in and asked for the Unified Dating event.
He had booked a ticket for the Meet Singles Inverness (Ages 28+).
He introduced himself as Rob, before grabbing a drink.
Rob asked: “Is it just you?
“I thought there’d be girls.”
He revealed that he had travelled by bus from Strathpeffer, which takes about an hour, and had booked a room at an Inverness hotel to attend the event.
7:54pm: Nearly half an hour after the start time, our reporter received a call from a Unified Dating worker called Gabrielle.
She claimed the other two people who had bought tickets were not responding to her calls, and that the event would be rescheduled.
Rob and the reporter made the most of their evening and stayed for a couple of drinks – with the staff at Number 27 kindly offering a round on the house.
The owner said it was the first time they had heard of Unified Dating and that they would no longer take bookings from them.
9:41pm: Our reporter messaged Gabrielle for a refund, but was told “customer care has a no refunds policy.”
Rescheduled event gets rescheduled
10:29pm: Our reporter received an email, stating: “This event has been rescheduled.
“This event will now take place on Friday 8th November, 7:30pm.”
Our reporter recounted this experience to Unified Dating, who said: “By booking and attending one event does not show that events do not go ahead. Inverness is a fairly new location for us.
“It was the first time that we had used this venue. We are looking to improve our training with venues.
“We cannot control if not all attendees arrive.
“Events are advertised. Not all events will go ahead if they do not have bookings or confirmed attendees on them.”
“We only reschedule events after the start time if the attendees that have arrived at the venue have said to us that other attendees or not many attendees have arrived, therefore we will offer them another event to attend for free.”
However, one week later, at 5:33pm, our report received another Unified Dating email saying: “This event has been rescheduled.
“This event will now take place on Friday 15th November, 7:30pm.”
‘No refund policy’
Even when an event is cancelled, singles are not entitled to a refund and instead are offered “a reschedule or event credit”.
Effectively, this means customers are paying Unified Dating to book a table at a restaurant.
Unified Dating said: “You can by all means go to a venue aside from our event.
“However, we are bringing single people together and that is what the charge is for.
“If you go to a venue by yourself, how will you know who is single?
“We always book separate tables – sometimes a venue might initially put people on one table.
“The event page summarizes clearly our key terms.
“We are not the only events company to have a no refunds policy (which is stated in several places prior to ticket checkout).
“We try to be as flexible as we can with people, we will always honour what they have paid for even if it means offering a different date that suits them.”
Unified Dating refunds ticket after story threat
Unified Dating refused a refund after the first failed event and did not reply to an email sent on Monday evening insisting on a refund after the event was rescheduled for a second time.
The P&J sent them an email on Tuesday morning explaining our investigation, and that a story would be published.
Later that afternoon, our reporter received the following: “Your refund of £17.99 is on its way!
“Your refund should appear in your account by 22 November 2024.”
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