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The suit against Sun West Video, doing business as Great Expectations for Singles, alleges the service used coercive sales tactics, misrepresentations and other deceptive practices to sell memberships costing thousands of dollars.
Also named as defendants in the suit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, are Sun West Video President John R. Meriggi, Great Expectations director Michael Buhler and sales representative Geri Schencker.
When asked by the Tribune for a reaction, Buhler said the case has "no merit" and the company "looks forward to trying it in court."
He declined further comment Wednesday.
According to the suit, the company engaged in illegal practices such as misrepresenting to prospective customers the number of Great Expectations participating members and the number of new members joining each month. Great Expectations also told consumers that two to three marriages occurred between members every month "when it had no credible basis for such statements," the attorney general's office said.
The complaint also alleges the dating service used high-pressure sales tactics during one-on-one, hours-long presentations. Prospective members were shown written profiles and photographs of people who were supposedly current Great Expectations members and available for dates. In fact, many of the profiles and photographs were not of members or were of members on inactive status and unavailable, the suit said.
Sales representatives also urged potential customers to contact their credit card companies to get an increased credit limit sufficient to pay for a membership and encouraged consumers who wanted time to think about purchasing a membership to put down a deposit to hold a discounted "first visit incentive" price, when doing so obligated the consumer to pay for a membership, the suit said.
The suit also said representatives falsely told consumers that Great Expectations' staff would help them prepare their profile and select other singles and misrepresented that it had conducted a criminal background check on all of its members.
Finally, the attorney general said the company unlawfully obtained consumers' credit information as soon as they arrived at the sales office, before they received a presentation or agreed to buy a membership.
According to the attorney general, the company offered three types of memberships -- one year for $6,995, three years for $7,195 and six years for $7,495. Discounts were available for each type of membership that were $1,000 less.
The suit asks the court to require the defendants to return to consumers any money acquired illegally and impose a penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation of the consumer fraud act.
The attorney general's office has not calculated the total amount of the penalty, which would be determined by the court, said Andrea Esquer, spokeswoman for the attorney general.
To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.eastvalleytribune.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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