Business high-f lier sues £12k elite dating site as she fails to find dream man
A WEALTHY businesswoman is suing an elite matchmaking agency she paid £12,000 to join after failing to find love.
Tereza Burki, 47, forked out to join Seventy Thirty Ltd hoping to find the ‘man of her dreams’ preferably with ‘multiple residences’.
But the divorcee claims she was left disappointed with the potential dates she was offered and wants her membership fee back plus damages for ‘distress, disappointment and frustration’.
The mother of three told the High Court she was enticed by marketing claims from Seventy Thirty, which is named after the supposed work- life ratio of successful people.
These boasted about how many ‘wealthy, eligible, available men’ it had on its books but Miss Burki alleged those she was matched with were not suitable.
The agency denies this, saying she was offered six potential matches, and is counter suing for £75,000 for libel and malicious falsehood. This follows derogatory online reviews by Miss Burki describing the London agency as a ‘scam’ and ‘fraudulent’.
Seventy Thirty, based near Harrods in Knightsbridge, describes itself as the ‘ ultimate matchmaking service’. Online it states its members are ‘high networth individuals from a variety of backgrounds, nationalities, lifestyles, industries...all of whom share a desire for a partner’.
Clients get a personal matchmaking specialist who can send them on dates with ‘entrepreneurs, senior businesspeople, hedge fund specialists’ and ‘those who come from wealthy and prestigious backgrounds’.
The court heard that Miss Burki, a management consultant, was looking for a man who was open to having children with her and whose lifestyle was similar or wealthier than her own.
Resources, the willingness to travel frequently and ‘someone with multiple residences’ were also preferred.
At an initial meeting with the firm, she claims she was shown profiles of men she thought fitted her criteria and, so in 2014, paid £12,600 to be a ‘gold member’.
But Miss Burki, a Dutch national, claims she was not put in touch with any of these men and those she was sent did not meet her criteria, the court heard.
Her barrister, Jonathan Edwards, said Miss Burki’s claim is based on the company’s alleged misrepbe resentations about the type and number of men on its books.
Miss Burki told Judge Richard Parkes QC: ‘You shouldn’t promise people in a fragile state of mind, in their mid-40s, the man of their dreams.
‘You are entrusting a service you believe is professional, who will take care of your interests and
‘Wealthy and prestigious’
have your best interests at heart.’ Miss Burki, who lives in a street in Chelsea where flats sell for over £3million, said she had spent thousands on joining and did not want to be matched to men who had not paid to be a member.
She said they were less likely to to finding a partner and might not be as well off as they claimed.
Miss Burki added she had also expected an ‘in-depth analysis of characters’ and ‘ scientific approach’ to finding a soulmate.
Barrister Lisa Lacob, for Seventy Thirty, said it has a 9,000-strong database, of which 1,000 would be actively seeking matches.
The firm identified 70 men as possible matches for Miss Burki, all gold members who had paid to join and could reasonably be described as ‘high net worth’.
Miss Lacob added six men were suggested, all ‘plainly successful in her preferred age bracket who were open to having children’.
Susie Ambrose, who founded the company in 2001, denied claiming the agency had 1,000 new members a year, saying discrepancies in statistics could be down to a hacker or computer crash.
‘This is not Match.com. There are not thousands and thousands of members,’ she said. ‘I said we had 1,000 active members, not members joining.’
Judge Mr Justice Julian Knowles quoted The Beatles hit Can’t Buy Me Love, in a written ruling ahead of the hearing last week.
He wrote: ‘“I don’t care too much for money/ Money can’t buy me love”. The parties in these two claims would agree and disagree.’
Judge Parkes reserved judgment in the case to a later date.
Miss Burki could not be reached for comment but a friend told a newspaper: ‘ It has been very stressful but she is confident of getting the right outcome.’