eHarmony - DFW Area Sending Fake/Inactive 'Profiles' Internet

Maybe it's a weird attitude, but if I wanted to meet just 'anybody' - I could do that at a local pub or event. You go to a dating site so that you can list specific items/issues that are important. 

That being said, I am a liberal, atheist living in Texas, (I know, hard to imagine) and that's a big deal; i also put a 100 mile MAX distance. I did not expect to get a lot of possible matches because of these things, but you never know. Note: I also recieved a lot of emails from them because I was "limiting my chances because of distance" - distance is a big deal for me, I did not pull random options out of a hat.

First i'd get matches, but many/most of them had not been active in weeks in some cases months! Basically, they were gone.

After a few months I realized every day brought matches but:

• They had no pictures
• They had 2-3 word response to any questions on the profile
• They answered no extra questions

If these were real accounts/people, i'm 25 years old again. After a lot of hunting I found an email and contacted eHarmony about this rip-off. Below is the first response (the rest were all variations on the same theme).

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Thank you for your response.

I can certainly understand your reasoning behind the desire to see a photo for each of your matches. While it's voluntary to post photos, we strongly recommend the practice to each of our members, as it helps to demonstrate some commitment to our process in addition to fostering communication. Some of our members prefer not to communicate with a match if there is no photo, and while this could potentially result in some missed opportunities, it's possible to close a match at any time and indicate the lack of photos as the explanation for closure. That being said, we are unable to deliver you matches who solely have photos.

Regarding your concern about your matches' profile content, we would like to reiterate that our matching process is based on the Relationship Questionnaire selections and not on the profile content. Although we emphasize to all our members the importance of completing their profiles, our members can create their About me section to their discretion. We do encourage to be as completely open and honest about themselves in order to receive positive responses.

I appreciate your time in this matter and hope that you enjoy the remainder of your time here with eHarmony.

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Of COURSE they can control this! It's called programming. As for the response to the 'profiles' - they CAN control that also! It's called a minimum of words, again programming. i realize that's a totally new concept, but who knows, it might catch on.

I flat out told them these were fake profiles either provided by eHarmony to keep me as a member, or by scam artists and there should be programming safeguards in effect to PREVENT it. 

Anyway you look at it, complete and total rip-off in my mind. Either provide real, active members or send another off your many emails simply stating no one meets the criteria.

In the middle of all this, I got 4 or 5 emails soliciting the 'Personal Matchmaker' Service. No refunds issued for any reason, and no fees listed.

No thanks. Buyer Beware here in a very big way.

PS: And yes I contacted them about the distance issue too - the response was they respect my 'positions' and wouldn't try to change it; despite the almost daily notices to the contrary.