It's Just Lunch

Spent thousands but went to no lunches. When I signed up, I was going on vacation, so they advised me to put my membership in hold. Unfortunately there was a limit to how long you can put your membership on hold. When an immediate family member died soon after that, my 6 months of hold ran out. They didn’t care, they didn’t offer me anything. They… Read more

just said too bad and kept my money. They don’t care about actually introducing you to anyone one. When I was actually active briefly, the sent me offers to go on dates with people that were far beyond my very lenient criteria (e.g., morbidly obese, elderly). Also if you decline such an offer it counts against you, as if you used up one of your total allotted dates. The pool of dates is bad. Even after giving my feedback, they continued to offer me similar dates

Highly NOT recommended – I highly DO NOT RECOMMEND this dating service by It’s Just Lunch (IJL). The contract is structured in such a way that you have no rights at all. You pay huge sums of money and never get any results. I also had an agent change over after the first was just not contactable. Two pictures were sent which didn’t match my criteria at all. Both dates… Read more

were cancelled by IJL before they happened. All you get is an email once a month that they are still searching for a suitable match. But these never arrive. For all I know is that I paid thousands of dollars for a product that will never be delivered. Further, even if one match did happen and you’re happy for ever after, you’ve still lost 11 other payments for possible matches you’ll never see. Huge waste of money all around.

HORRIBLE MATCHES - SAVE YOUR $$$$$ – IJL is such a joke. The sales woman, Jen M., went on and on about the amazing matches she had for me, including - of course- ha - the well traveled handsome doctor she had just signed up that day that would be perfect. Well, guess what I got? Don’t even bother. The guys were so bad, especially the one who looked like my dad and was wearing gray… Read more

sweats in his selfie. BTW, even though they are supposed to give you 2 pics for each match, they didn’t have another of him…wonder why?

Their contract is so broad that you don’t have much recourse, except for the fact that IJL is supposed to only give you Matches that meet your 3 parameters of age, religion and parental status. All 3 of mine did not meet those parameters.

Obviously that means THEY DIDN’T HAVE ONE MAN THAT WAS ACTUALLY A MATCH FOR ME!

Also, FYI, you get NO information about the match (except he’s a nice guy blah blah blah) so you are totally flying blind before your first date. At least with Match.com, you can learn a lot about the person so you can make your own judgement about compatibility etc.

SAVE YOUR MONEY!!

[Content Removed] – This company is a [Content Removed]. Please STAY AWAY. Tired of mobile apps, I've decided to give it chance to a matchmaking service. [Name Removed] introduce herself as a senior matchmaker who oversees others working with the clients. She was a true sale person: flattering and giggling; she went on telling me how they are true believers in love… Read more

for past 30 years, and they are different, and they have a team of trained matchmakers that work together to find the right match. Moreover, [Name Removed] continued, they only charge $1000 for 3 matches in 3 months that is "so affordable". But there is a process: you need to submit pictures, driver's license, payment and meet with the designated matchmaker for an 1 hr session so she can get to know you and complete the profile before they start their work on search for THE match. HERE's WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: After initial call with [Name Removed] on a Friday, I had first zoom with my matchmaker set up on a Wednesday. [Name Removed] stated this meeting is 15 min, said my profile was already made, asked no questions, AND she already has a match for me. I was confused, match already, without meeting with me?! She sends it at the end. I was stunned when I opened it. He was not even in the right ethnical, cultural group to stay the least. I immediately communicated to [Names Removed] that it is NOT what I was promised in regards to the process and that preparing a match without meeting with matchmaker is inappropriate and that this match is completely off (something legitimate matchmaker would know if they conducted an interview with their client). Then [Name Removed] called me, apologized and said she has a match that was hand picked by [Name Removed]. Again zero questions about me. When I opened the email with the match, I was shocked by how bluntly unattractive and off he was. I realized that I was [Content Removed] and I don't want YOU to experience this. 1 week turned into frustration and stress because I was taken advantage of. PLEASE READ THEIR REVIEWS and STAY AWAY!

More pathetic than online dating – Save your money. The person in sales painted a very nice picture was very responsive spent a lot of time with me but once they had my money it became a different story. I was explaining there'll be 24 matches. Later I found out it's match opportunities, so if I don't accept the match that they give me I just lost that match. The first guy was… Read more

really not what I was looking for just in photo and description. The second guy was better the date was set up and he no-showed. No response from anybody at the company two days later I finally found out he had a flight change. That matchmaker was not very good at communicating in fact I didn't hear from her for 2 weeks after I was stood up. I got a new matchmaker who was better, the first date they gave me was okay but I went on it because I knew I would lose that match if I didn't and I had to trust the process. However that date also failed to show, said he was stuck in traffic. I asked for a refund and was told someone to get back in 48 hours, however it's been exactly one week and I finally spoke with someone who said a refund's not possible because they can still give me opportunities. They are escalating me to someone who might be able to help me but said they don't do refunds. Did I mention the service cost $5,000? So I'm currently disputing it with my credit card company. More pathetic than online dating ever was

Scam, "extension" of previous introduction agency – This "agency" was around many years ago but under a different name. They had a "branch" in North-east of Melbourne. They would arrange "dates", only for the man/woman not to turn up. I see from reviews they still operate EXACTLY as they did back then.

SCAM !!! – I paid $1000 to this scam company back in 2010, and they only found one so called match who was pregnant and was terminally sick!!!! Stay clear and don’t waste your hard earned money on these thieves

Terrible service. False promises – From the start, I had to urge them to act as they said, they would. Took 6 weeks and got one date that was cancelled without telling me. Met that date, only to discover that he had not one quality of what I desired and stated. Shocking service afer that. Then came covid and no dates. Then when informed them that it was OK to date again, they took… Read more

another 4 weeks with nothing and we got locked up again. I found the whole experiance really demoralising and it cost me a lot. They only offered to return 200 and 4 months of not charging me because of the virus. No compassion or care. I felt very upset and violated. I can't take actions. This experiance left me ill. Failed miserably.

Sadly it doesn't work – Paid 3k and after 4 years I'm still waiting for a second match. They have offered in the meanwhile only a couple so called matches that were nothing close to the broad parameters they had agreed to when taking my money. I understand it is hard but they will make any promises just to get your money with no track record of being able to deliver.

Scammers and Liars - Don't sign up – Spent 3k on this service which I was promised dates with '[name removed]' the imaginary man who never materialised. They take advantage of vulnerable people new to dating. Terrible customer service and then they make out they are in America so you can't get a refund.

Unethical and illegal - DON'T JOIN – Joined on Friday 9th Dec. Yes, paid approx $1100. Due to family change of situation, had to cancel. Cancelled later that day. Sent to same email address. Used forms from their web page. No response. Phoned and emailed on every possible number/address. No response. Next day - got a 'congrats and welcome' email, talk soon. Emailed back… Read more

straight away. No response. Have rung and emailed for the following week. Still nothing. Now have launched a formal complaint through my bank. Hoping to get my money back. Their cancellation/cooling off period is 3 business days. I did it the same day. Now cannot find that page on the web.

This is pretty much what happened to me as well. IJL is an absolute hoax and a scam! Be aware and pl – They are an impersonalized service with standard responses and absolute scammers taking advantage of innocent people looking for a relationship

Disrepectful – An employee from the company harassed me over the phone and was very rude because I didn't want to pay for their services! There are a lot of matchmaking companies, don't waste your time and your money with unprofessional people.

It's Just Lunch in Australia - Too Good to be True? – I have changed my rating. For reasons, see "Updated". After a friend's recommendation about 3 years ago (she had a friend who used the IJL service in US), I decided to try it recently. Things that made me uncomfortable about IJL's sale pitch included: (i) it seemed "too good to be true", and (ii) the sale person insisted that I signed the… Read more

contract and provided payment via my credit card immediately without giving me sufficient time to think over the whole deal and read the contract carefully. As the sales person was really charismatic, against my better judgement, I ended up signing the contract which I thought was really quite expensive - a bit over 3,000 for 6 months or a min of four dates.

Due to a nagging discomfort, I googled for reviews on "It's Just Lunch" and really regretted conducting the due diligence only after signing the contract. There were many negative reviews (please conduct a search and read the reviews including those on this website). What really got me worried was that the descriptions of other customers' initial experience matched mine perfectly, especially with regard to what was said to me. This was exacerbated when I found out that IJL was being sued in US.

Interestingly, the sales person whom I talked to pretended to be unaware of this issue until I proved beyond any reasonable doubt that I knew all details.

The other issue troubling for me was that the termination clauses incorporated in the contract all indicated that the contract could be terminated on IJL's side, but not on the consumer's side (in my opinion, it was unfair). When this issue was subsequently highlighted to them, I was informed that ALL customers received the same contract. This contradicted the information provided by some client reviews where a few clients indicated that they had a 3 day cancellation clause (admittedly these reviews could be dated).

*Important* Please also be aware that you will be signing a contract with a US company and the IJL business is not registered in Australia. As such, it may potentially be more difficult for regulators in Australia to assist Australian client with any complaints.

Another worrying issue relates to the sourcing of potential dates from outside the membership database (I would feel a lot more comfortable if the other party was willing to pay the same amount). However, I was informed that they could basically be anyone whom they approached at various functions or people who failed to sign up with them. One of the reasons provided with regard to why they did not sign up included "they may not be financially stable". That was certainly inconsistent with my image of a "busy professional".

When I expressed my desire to cancel, the sales person tried to to convince me that I had some personal issues that prevented me from buying their service.

Having said that, the pros about the experience include: (i) they have brilliant sales people - the one who talked to me could sell ice to Eskimos (and as of now I am still believing half of what the sales person said), and (ii) I was told that I could cancel the contract. So far my credit card has not been charged, and I will be keeping track of this. If they do not end up charging me, then they do have a little integrity.

So I have taken actions promptly to prevent potential losses. However, given that I have not gone on any actual dates, what I have learnt from my past experience with IJL is that make sure you do your research on this company before deciding whether to trust them or otherwise.

Updated

Just a follow up - my credit card was charged (I wasn't too surprised to be honest). After a few emails, I received a "no-reply" email indicating that I had been "informed" my membership would be on-hold and there would be no refund due to there being no cancellation clause in my contract. I was informed of no such thing and had received a verbal agreement that the contract would be cancelled. After sending an email to that effect, I received another voicemail saying that the sales person had rescinded the offer made because the promise of termination with no penalty was made before conducting proper due diligence - that my contract had no termination clause. Even giving the sales person the benefit of the doubt, it reflects poorly on the sales person who is unaware of the contractual terms of services that s/he sells, especially since the same contract applies to all customers.

Some information that I found useful is that someone in dispute with a US based company can seek legal advice/resource with community legal centres, the usual solicitor, and the Federal Trade Commission in US.

Don’t use their services whatever you do for your sake – I email an inquiry off to It’s Just Lunch. A day later my phone rings with a phone number from their corporate office in Florida!! [Name removed] is quite the talker and up seller at IJL. [Name removed] tells me that they have personalised service, they've been in the business for 23 years, have 1000s of marriages and we have heaps of people… Read more

in your age group that you can date right now.

[Name removed] asks me how did I find out about IJL in the USA (never mind that I’m Australia!) [Name removed] had an in depth and engaging conversation with me and asked things like what I was after in a partner, what hasn't worked in past relationships and what was my story etc. This call went for just under an hour and at the time of the call, it was about 630pm US time. Thank goodness I wasn't paying for the phone call!

I asked some questions of [name removed] and 1, she didn't know if IJL was a registered introduction agent under the Introduction Agents Act 2001 and 2, didn't know if IJL had a physical office in Queensland so that I could speak to someone in person.

The next day after the phone call, I check my inbox and [name removed] sent me a copy of the contract with very overpriced membership options as well as a discount. Prices were quoted in US dollars. The discount was only applicable if I signed up for the membership within 72 hours of receiving the email.

After this phone call I also did some of my own research to satisfy myself that this service wasn't worthwhile pursuing. Google found me some interesting information. I wasn't able to locate an Australian positive review for IJL. Also, in 2009 IJL came to the attention of the Office of Fair Trading in NSW after the IJL Sydney office phones started diverting to an American voice mailbox and emails started bouncing back. Google “desperate dateless and now lunchless” if you wish to read the full story.

The negatives of this service far outweigh the positive of [name removed] promptly attending to my inquiry

I don't recommend using the service of IJL because, for a start, they are not an Australian let alone Queensland based organisation, can’t speak to anyone in person, Australian phone numbers as listed on their website continually go to message bank even if you call during normal business hours.

So dissapointing – I paid $2500 12 months ago and I have not had a date. When [name removed] at IJL contacted me to join she advised me they had a lot of men in my age range and with my interests so they would be able to get me out on a date very quickly. I was offered a date with a man who was several years older than my ten year age range given. I refused this… Read more

date as [name removed] had said they had exceptional candidates in my age range on joining and I felt I would like to meet someone in that age range to begin with. On refusing this date the IJL representative, [name removed], was very defensive and rude to me. Although I have made contact on many occasions to see where they are up to with setting me up on a date there has never been a date - I was offered a date a few days before Christmas which was unsuitable for me as I was heading off on holidays and that has been it. I have made contact previously with their management however they also had the same attitude. I have sort legal advice and the best thing they have suggested is to go to the police in California and report it as theft. Does anyone want to join me? American Express were also unhelpful

Stay Away from Its Just Lunch – I joined for 6 months. Took 12 months for me to get 6 dates, problem is 2 of the guys were no-shows! So really I had 4 dates- all rubbish not compatible with me. IJL are in Florida. I am in Sydney. They met none of the dates. no screening. No matchmaking done. Poor service. No feedback. It's a huge scam. I have been dating online and its heaps… Read more

better, than this. Dating agencies are for people who Are Undateable! Who knew?

no matchmaking just random dates who may not even turn up.

Waste of money – They siad they had a large number of men around my age group, but it took them three years, (and only then because I pushed them very hard), to arrange six dates. None of them were at all suitable. Wrong age group, no intellectual match, etc etc. I am totally convinced that there is absolutely no individual profile screening done by this company.… Read more

The last of the six, (two weeks ago), was totally rude. I am certain he was married, and may even have been a, "plant," to make up the number to six, just to get me off of their books.

It's the biggest scam I've been trapped in!! – IJL is the biggest scam I've been trapped in! In June 2010 I joined this awful service. Before I paid them the money, their customer representative, someone called [name removed], claimed that IJL would find someone who matched my criteria within a week! So I paid $1100 and bought a subscription. After that I received no calls from IJL for more… Read more

than 40 days. Then I called them and complained about the situation so they sent me to meet a woman who was nothing like the one I looked for!! They arranged 5 or 6 dates overall (they were supposed to arrange 8 dates). None of them were even a match in terms of age or education or whatever. Although I had said to them that I did not want to meet someone who was divorced or had kids, they sent me to meet a woman who had two kids with mental disorders and had cancer and was likely to die! The woman asked me to marry her to save her children!

IJL was supposed to find me a perfect match in a week but after almost 16 months they only managed to find 6 woman who were confused, had loads of problems or desperate. None of them matched what I had asked for. IJL has not contacted me for over 7 months. They don't answer emails or calls.

Don't even think of paying your money to them. Pay your money to charity, it pays off more!!

I don't understand why such a fraudulent company can operate in Australia. Somebody should stop them!! Pros? You kidding me?! Extremely expensive, they don't pay attention to what do you want, they don't have enough people to match you, they don't answer your calls once they get your precious money, it does not work at all!

Very disappointing – They tell you they have so many members suitable for you at the immediate moment and push you to join straight away. Later you get a phone call from USA ! your matchmaker is in the States and you are in Australia seems unusual. I met 1 person in 2 months and now no contact .... not hopeful of anything further. Very disappointing.

It's a scam... don't fall for it! – Absolutely shocking, do not join this agency. After mis-representing my preferred age range for matches, then the local Sydney representative advising that I do everything I can do cancel my membership and get my money refunded as they did not have suitable guys on their database, they haven't been able to set me up on any dates in the 4 months… Read more

that I have been a member and wouldn't refund my money. When I initially spoke to the consultant they promised me that they had plenty of men who would be perfect for me, that they were excited to get started, and they even had men who owned horses (one of my interests that I shared with them). They have tried to schedule dates with [name removed] and he has cancelled 3 times due to being unwell, I even turned up at the restaurant to be told that he couldn't make it. This is a complete scam, I can't believe that I have wasted $2.400. If anyone else has had a similar experience please contact me, I am planning to take this further. Nothing - absolutely terrible. They haven't set me up on any dates and I've been a member for 4 months.