Some former customers angered by Christian dating service

Owner points to other success stories as evidence that it works

03:43 PM CDT on Thursday, May 20, 2004

By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV

Matchmaking is now a $1 billion-per-year business in the United States.

Some singles services charge thousands of dollars to help people find that perfect date.

One local company markets itself as a Christian introduction service - but some customers say it's a marketing ploy.

The women we interviewed represent a fraction of those who have complaints about Ultimate Singles. Their experiences have led to anger, disappointment and fear; some of them asked us to disguise their identity.

"It makes me mad, offended, scared - really a combination of things," said dating service member Lupe Brunneman.

"The word Christian, and the way they portrayed the organization to me, was something I felt like I could trust," said member Sharon Cox.

"I trusted what they said because they said they were Christian, or at least represented themselves to be so," said member Kristin Pearce.

They were wary of the singles-bar scene, new to North Texas and attended church. Then, they heard radio ads about a matchmaking service called Ultimate Singles.

"It said Christian singles, and I wanted to meet people who were Christians in my area," said one member who did not want to be identified.

Joining would allow them to put their picture profile on a Web site, and get in contact with Christian men. From a bookshelf called the Love Library, they could see pictures of potential dates.

"They were pretty good looking gentlemen ... I'd say drop-dead gorgeous," member Sydney Sambrano said.

Neither the women, nor the company, pin down what they mean by Christian.

"I went there with the mindset of them being trustworthy," said another member, who did not want her identity revealed.

So, each signed a two-year contract costing about $2,500, including interest. However, they said the service produced no dates - and staffers, far from being Christian, were rude.

When they complained, they were reminded their contracts couldn't be cancelled. When they quit paying, their credit was permanently damaged.

"The financial piece of it is a huge impact," Cox said. "None of us like to have our credit destroyed."

Now in North Dallas, Ultimate Singles began business as a so-called professional introduction service. Now, it bills itself as a Christian introduction service.

Either way, on the phone, owner Jason Breakey told News 8 they were out of business. When News 8 went to their office and found Breakey still in business, he responded, "what do you want to talk about?"

Breakey said Ultimate Singles is run by him and his wife, Zuma.

"He's got some complaining ladies who are complaining about the dating service," Breakey told Zuma.

Replied Zuma, "So what else is new? You get that with all dating services."

They said most of their 6,000 members in Dallas-Fort Worth are happy customers, if they invest the energy to make the service work. But, according to the Better Business Bureau, customers can't tell much about a service before they join because they can't get access to the system.

"You really can't, because you aren't given any identifying information until you are a member," the BBB's Jeanette Kopko said.

"Not everybody's going to have the same experiences - that's the unfortunate part," Breakey said.

Breakey said relatively few of his clients complain to the Better Business Bureau, which the BBB confirms. Breakey said Ultimate Singles sponsors monthly parties and annual cruises, and offers pictures of newly-married members as evidence of success.

However, the women who talked to News 8 said he owes them money.

News 8 asked Breakey, "Two or three of the women have been to small claims court and gotten judgements against you?"

"Not against me personally," he replied.

"Against Ultimate Singles ... have you settled those cases?"

"I have no idea," said Breakey.

Another side to matchmaking is the nerve center of Dallas-based Match.com. Totally Internet-based, it's the largest business of its kind in the world, claiming over 1 million members - all of them online. It costs about a third as much per month as Ultimate Singles, and membership can be renewed monthly.

Match.com president Tim Sullivan said a matchmaker must be big to work.

"It is hard to offer people a quality experience like Match, without having hundreds of thousands, or perhaps even millions, of participants," Sullivan said.

Back at Ultimate, as Jason Breakey calls it, they're becoming a 100-percent Internet operation, and although they've had problems he said his business is growing.

But again, the difficulty with a dating service is you don't know whether it's growing or not until you join. What you can know about, though, is the contract you sign. What are the financial obligations, and is it cancellable? Knowing these facts is the best way to protect yourself.