Dating Agencies
If personal ads in newspapers, magazines or on the Internet are not for you, take a look at 'luncheon' or similar clubs where people get together to meet others. Dating agencies have the same aim but on a more formalized footing. For a more permanent partnership, a marriage bureau is likely to be your best bet. Adverts on the Internet are censored to a degree by those who maintain the websites, (otherwise Heaven and Hell only know what might turn up - and occasionally does), but though there are trade associations, dating and similar agencies are not legally regulated. If they go under, customers may lose large sums, as happened in 1994 when three big agencies collapsed with debts totalling £1m. They left in limbo some 2,000 customers who had paid over £1,000 as joining fees. In the dating game, as in every other walk of life, cowboys operate. Make sure they don't take you for a ride.
When contemplating whether to join a dating/introduction agency or marriage bureau use the same principle as when buying a house (which might also have to last a lifetime), namely, caveat emptor or buyer beware. The organisation you choose will depend on your point of view, and depth of your wallet.
Some agencies charge dearly for a few introductions, none of which may prove suitable. At the outset ask for a printed list of the fees. Do not sign any contract which is not clear to you. Ask also whether all clients are interviewed or the agency relies largely on the filling in of forms. How many introductions will you get and what exactly is meant by an introduction? Will you be able to contact somebody in authority after you have joined? These are some questions you need to ask before signing up.
Check whether the agency belongs to a professional association such as the Association of British Introduction Agencies (enquiries@abia.org.uk, telephone 0845 345 2242). Ask for a list of their members. Lax security checks may mean lonely hearts dating with danger. Just as adverts attract the good and bad, so do agencies. Not all of them have experienced, honest managers. Caution is needed by people wanting to make genuine contacts.
Datelines
This agency is reputed to be one of the oldest introductions agencies in Britain. Launched with 100 clients and a £l membership fee, the escalation in numbers is reflected in today's price of £99 plus a monthly fee of £15. A week's trial membership is available. Dateline (www.datelinegold.co.uk) is not a marriage bureau but over 94% of the clients apparently join with a view to marriage or a long-term relationship, rather than to widen their circle of friends.
Sirius
Sirius (www.siriussynergy.co.uk), is unusual in having a voice message system. Users are given a number where they can leave a message for their prospective date. The organisation has branches in various parts of the UK and charges £495 plus VAT for one year's membership and £15 a month.
Match.com
Match.com has 1.2 million registered users in the UK and 9 million in Europe. It is free to join and post details about yourself, your hobbies, interests, and the desiderata you seek. Personal details are kept confidential and when you send an email, are taken out of the message. Payment begins when you want to start contacting people. Membership costs about £17 a month with discounts available for three or six month packages. Match.com calculates that more than 200,000 members met the person they were seeking on the site in 2003 and outside. North America receives news of more than 100 marriages or engagements each month. Crunch question - how long did they stay with them?
Drawing Down the Moon
This agency caters mainly for professional people, of whom there are around 1,400 on its books. It started in 1984 in a bookshop near the British Museum and has since moved to Kensington, where staff can be phoned from 10am to l lpm seven days a week ( www.drawingdownthemoon.co.uk ). Dinner dates (www.onlylunch.com), as well as the free site (www.loveandfriends.com) are part of the same organisation, run by Mary Balfour, reckoned by some to be the UK's number one matchmaking guru.
Classical Partners
An interesting and unusual agency 'restricted to unattached men and women... interested in music and the arts' is Classical Partners (www.classicalpartners.com.uk). Combining the functions of a dating agency, friendship circle and music club, it boasts some 1,400 clients, claims an average of six marriages a year and a 40% chance for clients of finding a soulmate. The fees vary according to the options taken, the most popular being the social membership (£495).
