Dating service
A woman said she paid thousands for a service she never got after a dating service Target 8 investigated shut down its Grand Rapids branch.
Millions of people across the country use some kind of dating service. Here in West Michigan, one woman turned to a dating service after her husband died. Another did the same after a nasty divorce. Both say they lost thousands of dollars — and the company’s phone is now disconnected.
Lisa Wheaton started looking for a dating service after she divorced a man she said abused her.”Came home one night and beat the crap out of me and he was gone the next morning,” Wheaton recalled.
Wheaton then found out her ex-husband had a criminal history, including an incident of assault.So after her divorce she chose a dating service that ran background checks. She chose Two of Us in Grand Rapids, the same company Target 8 investigated.
“I went ‘Oh! Oh my God, they’re on the news!’” she said.Last year, Target 8 met Elizabeth Labine, who sued Two of Us and got half of her money back. “I just remember feeling very pressured,” she said at the time.
Labine paid nearly $3,000 and only went on two dates.Wheaton paid more than $4,000 and only had one date in the past year.
Last year, Two of Us Vice President of Operations Ethan Baker said the company was not running a scam.
Now, at the office where Target 8 interviewed Baker in May 2012, the Two of Us logo remains on the window, but the office is cleared out.
“I thought, ‘Holy crap, I have a whole year on this contract to go and they ripped me off,’” said Wheaton.Baker emailed a statement confirming the company’s Grand Rapids office closed and that “all members were notified via email or mail, and instructed to contact Matchmaker Michigan,” another local dating service.
The full statement.
“Two of Us Grand Rapids closed its doors and transferred all members to Matchmaker Michigan, another local dating service. Matchmaker Michigan has taken over the servicing of these members. All members were notified via email or mail and instructed to contact Matchmaker Michigan.”
When asked why the office closed and if patrons would get their money back, he wrote back: “No further comment.”
“I’m flabbergasted that they ripped me off of all that money, and I want it back,” said Wheaton.The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is looking into Wheaton’s complaint.
Swiftly
Swiftly done! Now Taylor is dating Ed Sheeran.
TAYLOR Swift and Ed Sheeran are dating – according to US reports.
The couple, who secretly dated last March before breaking things off to focus on their careers, have rekindled their romance.
They are said to have grown close after 23-year-old Taylor split with One Direction star Harry Styles – and Ed, 22, got a tattoo on his arm in tribute to her album RED.A source said: “Taylor’s always loved Ed to bits, he’s just an adorably, sweet guy who makes her laugh and feel really confident whenever they’re together.
“Yes Harry had that irresistible bad boy thing but Taylor’s realised she’d rather give it a go with a guy who makes her laugh.
“Taylor and Ed spent the night together before the Brits at her hotel. They stayed up talking and putting the world to rights until 4am and by the end they were a couple again.”
Ed, who is supporting Taylor on tour in the US this year, has had the utmost respect for Taylor – praising her in interviews at every opportunity.
He rushed to her side when she and Harry split in December.A source added: “She made it very clear that when they go off on their tour she wants him to be her boyfriend. He’s thrilled because he’s always thought she’s amazing.
“When they split last year he always hoped if he played his cards right and just kept being her friend they’d get back together.”They’ve both vowed not to have a nasty break-up and no matter what happens they’ll stay best pals like last time.”
Dating US
Harry Styles denies dating US model Emma Ostilly.
Harry Styles has denied rumours he is dating US model Emma Ostilly after he was pictured kissing her in New Zealand after a night out.
The One Direction girl magnet spoke out after the Victoria’s Secrets model, 18, was hounded off Twitter by envious Directioners.
Fans of the curly-haired heartthrob will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief as it was assumed they were seeing each other following pictures of the two kissing surfacing earlier this week.
But the 18-year-old has said: ‘She’s just a friend. She’s working over here…I prefer not to talk about it.’After pictures emerged of the pair locking lips during a night out in New Zealand, jealous 1D fans took to their Twitter accounts to post abusive messages to Ostilly.
Emma, who first met Harry during filming for One Direction’s Gotta Be You music video, had previously posted a snap of her with the curly-haired singer online, with the caption: ‘Dinnnaa with harry styles’.
But after the taunts became too much, Emma deleted her Twitter account to avoid any more abuse.
Some users labelled her a ‘b**** whore’ who deserved to ‘die in a hole’, and others even set up Facebook pages called ‘Anti Emma Ostilly’ and ‘I hate Emma Ostilly’.
Styles has also been linked to 19-year-old US singer Lily Halpern in recent weeks.
Earlier in the year he broke up with 32-year-old Xtra Factor presenter Caroline Flack after online dating for three months.
She also feel victim to cruel taunts on Twitter from One Direction fans.
Opening up about the abuse afterwards, she told The People: ‘I suppose they’re entitled to their opinions but it was really tough. I learned the hard way. I learned a very difficult lesson but I suppose looking forward it isn’t a bad lesson to learn, is it?’