AveMariaSingles

[badegine]

Hi - wonder if anyone can advise me on something…

I’ve just signed up to the above site, but when logging in after payment, the site just asks me to pay again! I’ve sent them a couple of support emails, but no-one has replied.

The thing is, I’ve only ever heard good things about the site, so I’m a little puzzled…any advice? It’s ridiculously expensive to ring them from where I am, and - well - I was just expecting better.

I’m sure it’ll all sort itself out in the end, what with it probably just being a technical hitch and all; I just wondered if anyone else had had similar experiences and could give me some idea of how long I’d have to wait before being able to log on correctly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JugglingReferee]

Another quip about AMS is that you have to log in at least once per month, otherwise your account becomes “dormant” and to be fully active again will cost $15. IMO, this is a very bad customer service policy. I would downgrade their service 2 or 3 whole points out of 10 for this policy.

 

[agapewolf]

First of all, they recently had a server crash. I suggest waiting a week or two,then follow up.

To the 2nd poster, I think it very wise of them to make accounts go dormant. That way, the people who are active aren’t wasting their time by writing people who haven’ t logged in in a year.

They send a warning email to the dormant accounts before making them inactive. The cost to become active again is merely a motivational cost to keep up on the site…which is what you agree to by signing up in the first place.

 

[1ke]

They are very reputable. My husband and I met via Ave Maria Singles and we were very blessed to have this site as an opportunity to meet orthodox Catholics.

I only emailed them once or twice with technical problems when I was active on their site and they were always very responsive. If, as the ther poster said, they had a server problem then just give them some time and if they don’t respond email again.

 

[kevinsgirl]

I was a member on AMS for 3 years and met my husband through the site. I agree with the PP…they are very reputable. However in my experience there were a couple of technical glitches through the years and it sometimes took a little bit longer to clear it up than I had hoped.

Anyway, best of luck with everything on there and don’t let distance keep you from writing to someone! My husband was over 2000 miles away and he ended up moving down to my state and we’ve since lived happily ever after!

 

[Nanny_PK]

I agree with what several of the previous posters said. I’ve been a member of AMS for almost a year now. They did send an e-mail advising that if you don’t use the site regularly that they will charge you that fee to reinstate. I think it’s fair. It’s very frustrating to send someone an e-mail and not even get an “I’m not interested” reply.

I don’t remember if they have a toll free number, but maybe you should check the site and see and call that. If not, I’d give them a few days and try them again.

Paula

 

[gam3rchic]

My hubby and I also met on that site. I remember when I first wanted to join, my credit card wasn’t being accepted on the site , so I emailed them and I don’t remember them taking very long to respond. They were very nice and let me pay by mailing a check instead. No other problems other than that. Good luck to you!

 

[JugglingReferee]

First of all, they recently had a server crash. I suggest waiting a week or two, then follow up.

I’m rather disappointed to hear this. I worked in disaster recovery. I could have had a network up fully in 24 hours after a server crash: hardware or software.

To the 2nd poster, I think it very wise of them to make accounts go dormant. That way, the people who are active aren’t wasting their time by writing people who haven’ t logged in in a year.

All a sender has to do is look to see when a potential recipient last logged in. If it’s too long to the sender’s preference, they can choose not to send the e-mail.

They send a warning email to the dormant accounts before making them inactive. The cost to become active again is merely a motivational cost to keep up on the site…which is what you agree to by signing up in the first place.

I have a friend who does missionary work overseas, and quite often is hard-pressed to find any internet access whatsoever. He is usually gone for 3 weeks at a time. If that work ever ballooned to a month, he is now forced to spend $15 to re-activate his account. There is no argument to say that this is fair. There should not be a burden on a client to “plead his case” that his case is special.

Bottom line is AMS’ policies are as they are because they have somewhat of a monopoly on the market. I’ve often thought of starting my own website for Catholics: all for free. Call it a Catholic Plenty of Fish.

 

[ack]

I have a friend who does missionary work overseas, and quite often is hard-pressed to find any internet access whatsoever. He is usually gone for 3 weeks at a time. If that work ever ballooned to a month, he is now forced to spend $15 to re-activate his account. There is no argument to say that this is fair. There should not be a burden on a client to “plead his case” that his case is special.

If your friend is “hard-pressed to find any internet access whatsover”, then why in the world would he be interested in internet dating?

Bottom line is AMS’ policies are as they are because they have somewhat of a monopoly on the market. I’ve often thought of starting my own website for Catholics: all for free. Call it a Catholic Plenty of Fish.

AMS does not have a monopoly on the market – there is plenty of competition. In fact, AMS’s major competitors each have 5 times as many members as AMS does! (source).

The Catholics I know who have used AMS liked it because the stricter rules attracted more serious users to the site. Customers who aren’t interested in a site with these rules are free to use Catholicmatch, Catholicsingles, Catholicmingle, or one of the other Catholic dating sites…

 

[agapewolf]

Referee,

You are WAYYY off on this.

First of all, AMS does not show how long it has been since someone has logged in. YOu can’t see that anywhere.

2nd all, There IS an argument to say that this is fair, because you can choose to set your account to either “passive” where it will stay open for you even if you do’nt log on, OR you can choose to go “inactive” yourself, and reactivate without paying.

Learn the system before criticizing it.

 

[Nanny_PK]

I have a friend who does missionary work overseas, and quite often is hard-pressed to find any internet access whatsoever. He is usually gone for 3 weeks at a time. If that work ever ballooned to a month, he is now forced to spend $15 to re-activate his account. There is no argument to say that this is fair. There should not be a burden on a client to “plead his case” that his case is special.

I respectfully disagree. The nice thing about AMS is it is geared towards serious-minded Catholics who are looking for a serious relationship that could lead to marriage. When you have people that do not respond to e-mail requests, it makes it very difficult. In the e-mail they sent, they gave you the option to not be actively looking and then you wouldn’t have to pay the $15. Maybe your friend should put his status on hold until he’s in a situation to devote the time to developing a relationship otherwise it’s not fair to the people he’s corresponding with.

Paula

 

[Sierrah]

Hi - wonder if anyone can advise me on something…

I’ve just signed up to the above site, but when logging in after payment, the site just asks me to pay again! I’ve sent them a couple of support emails, but no-one has replied.

The thing is, I’ve only ever heard good things about the site, so I’m a little puzzled…any advice? It’s ridiculously expensive to ring them from where I am, and - well - I was just expecting better.

I’m sure it’ll all sort itself out in the end, what with it probably just being a technical hitch and all; I just wondered if anyone else had had similar experiences and could give me some idea of how long I’d have to wait before being able to log on correctly.

Thanks in advance.

Join Catholicmatch…you’ll get more for your money.

 

[Nanny_PK]

I’ve looked at those different sites – not catholicmatch specifically – and I’ve found that a lot of the people that join them are not devoted, practicing Catholics. They’re more cafeteria Catholics or Catholics in name only – of course, I’m generalizing. AMS is one of the few sites I’ve found where it seems those on there are serious about finding someone with like values, religions, morals.

Just my two cents.