YOUR
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
1. WHAT MAKES YOU SO SPECIAL?
It’s the quality and age of our members. We are selective in who we
accept. All members must be well mannered, articulate, intelligent and be
seeking someone special in their lives.
We are sure that we have the highest quality unattached professionals of any
agency. We have been around since 1985 over 21 years, most agencies last less
than 3 years.
2. HOW DOES YOUR SERVICE WORK?
Most unattached professional people have the same problem, where can you
go to meet other unattached professionals of the quality you would want
to spend your life with? Most of your time is spent searching, not dating.
We can change that situation by introducing you to the best selection of
unattached professionals in the U.K. You may also attend social events
organised by our sister organisation ‘Panache’. Social events
are a good evening out on your own and you will make good friends, male
and female, however the caliber of people attending social events are not
to the same standard as those you meet through the introduction service,
as many social members for a variety of reasons are not yet ready for a
committed relationship.
3. WHERE DO YOU ADVERTISE?
Our marketing sources have included The Saturday Times, The Sunday Times,
The Evening Standard, the top financial publications, most quality women’s
magazines, commercial radio, specialist magazines such as GQ, Time Out
and Tatler, The London Underground, poster sites such as at Clapham Junction,
as well as direct mail. Our most successful lead source however, (around
50%) is from the recommendation of previous members.
4. HOW DO I JOIN?
You will need to telephone 0207 930 5555, so we may check basic details about
you. We can then tell you honestly whether our service is likely to work
for you. If we feel comfortable with each other, we will invite you to
attend an interview in London or at your home. Our office hours for new
member enquiries are Monday - Thursday 9.30 am to 9.30 pm. And Friday 9.30
am to 7 pm (you can try at weekends but no promises!) for members dating
hot line (enquiries) call 01323 490666, 7pm to 9pm Mondays and Thursday.
5. WHO DO YOU NOT INVITE TO SEE YOU?
We must feel proud of you and know that our members would also be proud to
meet you. We must believe that you will benefit from our service and you
will be comfortable dating our members. We have found from past experience
that our service does not work for everybody, and we will be honest enough
from the outset to tell you and advise you of other agencies more suitable
for your needs. Our introduction service does not work for men under 26
years of age or less than 5’6” in height. Again from past experience
we have found the service does not work for ladies over 44 years of age
or over dress size 14. We expect all members to be intelligent, articulate,
socially skilled and well mannered. If a client’s longest relationship
was less than 9 months or they had just come out of a long-term relationship
it is unlikely they would be invited for an interview. You can call and
talk to us and we will be able to discuss alternatives for your specific
situation.
6. WHERE DO YOU INTERVIEW?
Clients are interviewed in London, Brighton or at your home. We spend around
4/5 hours together in a 'one to one' interview, where we endeavor to find
out what you require from a relationship. This is made up of factors from
your previous relationships in addition to what you need from the future.
We pride ourselves in providing the facility that enables you to find someone
very special with whom to spend your life. Interviews started during normal
hours 10.45am or 4.0pm are free of charge. Interviews held by special request
outside of these hours incur a charge (late start in the week £10
for every 30mins started after 4pm, Saturdays £55, Sundays and Bank
holidays £70. Interviews held at home are free in central London
and a small travel allowance is charged for further distances. In all circumstances
we take a deposit by debit/credit card when we book an interview, provided
you keep the appointment this payment is not processed. If you fail to
make the appointment for whatever reason including resetting the appointment
to another time or day you will then be charged a £30 non attendance
fee or if you give us less than 3 hours notice the fee is £60 as
we will incur costs.
7. HOW MANY MEMBERS DO YOU HAVE?
We have over 3,000 members in total. However total membership figures can
be misleading, if for example, they were all ladies aged over 50 or gentlemen
under 25 this may not be of any use to you. Some agencies claim membership
figures of the total numbers ever to join e.g. 10,000 in our case, but
active members are the real test. When you attend the interview we will
tell you how many introductions we can guarantee you and how successful
the service is likely to be for you. Active membership figures vary throughout
the year but are usually around 200/300 If we take on 30 new members and
28 of our current members pair up and leave we’re back to square
one. If we were less successful our membership figures would be higher.
8. CAN I SEE PHOTOGRAPHS?
Usually No. We attract the quality of people we do because of our absolute confidentiality. Do you think top people would join if we showed their photograph to people walking into our office? There are agencies that will show photographs of their members before you join, we will not. For our VIP clients however, we hand select ladies and gentlemen and if appropriate show photographs to them as they are under strict contractual obligations to maintain absolute confidentiality.
9. WHAT MEMBERSHIP LEVEL WILL I NEED?
The interview is completely without charge and without pressure to
join. If we offer membership, we are able to select from a choice of 6 membership
options. We have low cost memberships suitable for members requiring only
a basic level of service to memberships of £3000 for people who require
the best service that money can buy. The interview is partly to assess which
level of membership you would require. Joining fees are spent on marketing,
to maintain the quality of the members available to you. With all memberships
a monthly service fee extends the membership period and covers the administration
costs. We will not recommend an inexpensive membership if we do not think
it will work for you. We are more likely to suggest another agency. A guide
to which membership level you will require is given in the membership level
details see paragraph 10. Our consultant will recommend the membership
10. WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF MEMBERSHIP?
(for copies of our contracts and refund guarantees see www.execclub2.co.uk)
Executive Club Joining Fees
All listed memberships are lifetime memberships or as stated below. All prices
include VAT.
SOCIAL ONLY MEMBERSHIP
This membership allows you to attend all the social events. You are also normally allowed to bring guests with you if you wish. Cost £125 for a two year membership
*SOCIAL & PASSIVE MEMBERSHIP
This membership allows your details to be entered onto our database, you cannot activate dates, but your details will be available to our clients who may ask to meet you. You may also attend social events. Cost £365 **
** This membership is only suitable and restricted by us to certain groups of people, usually ladies aged under 30 who are slim, attractive, non smoking, single, without children, 5.4 to 5.8 tall, and requires only a two hour interview. As this membership is subsidised, you will be required to make your decision whether or not to join at the interview, as it is not financially viable to interview clients twice. NOTE: if you are considering this membership you must discuss it with us first before attending an interview, as this only requires a two hour interview. If you have a full 4/5 hour interview an extra charge of £30 will be added to this heavily subsidised membership fee.
ACTIVE DATING MEMBERSHIPS
(all these memberships are for life and are inclusive of VAT)
A. BASIC MEMBERSHIP
A personal advisor will help you to select and arrange your introductions. Your active membership lasts for 12 months from your date of joining or the activation of 10 introductions of your choice. Your membership is then continued for your lifetime as a passive member where members can ask to date you but we no longer arrange introductions at your request. This is a membership specifically designed for someone on a very tight budget where the joining and service fees are of prime importance. (We would normally recommend “Standard Membership” as it is a superior membership both in quality of service and value for money). Cost £950.00
B. STANDARD MEMBERSHIP
We do not limit the active introductions you can make. This is a good level of lifetime membership. It is excellent value for money and will provide a good service for ladies aged 26 to 37ish and men aged 26 to 58. If you are in the financial position to afford it, we would usually recommend the Gold service as it gives additional benefits at a small increase in cost. Cost £1275
C. GOLD MEMBERSHIP
In addition to the benefits of Standard Membership. You will receive a pro-active service whereby your advisor will call you to tell you about new members as soon as they become available. In addition they are allowed to access a special data base on non members who have responded to specific advertisements placed for our VIP clients. You also have free access to meet with the owner who can give advice on getting the very best from the service and general advice on dating gleaned from over 21 years in the business. This is a superior membership for clients requiring a higher level of service and recommended for higher earning ladies (less men can match your life style), ladies aged over 37, ladies under 5ft 3ins or over 5ft 9ins or any ladies on a shorter time frame for finding a committed relationship. It is also recommended to Gentleman under 5ft 9 ins or wanting to meet with younger ladies.This is the membership we would usually recommend to most members we interview. VIP membership should also be considered if you are in a position to afford it. Cost £1450
E. V.I.P MEMBERSHIP
Your VIP advisor will visit you and spend half a day with you at your home, understanding you and your lifestyle. At your request she will visit you at your home or office bringing hand selected profiles and photographs to you from which to choose your dates. In addition your VIP advisor will monitor all new members joining and telephone you with details of those who meet your requirements. This means you could be meeting new members within days of them joining. Your VIP advisor also has access to other affiliated organisations and if appropriate will contact you. A superb service for people requiring one of the best services in Europe. This service is recommended for people wanting to get the best service we can provide. Who is it for? Generally very successful ladies aged from 33, and most ladies aged 39 or above, would require this service level (less men available who can match your lifestyle and you are competing with 32 year old so you need to jump to the front of the queue). Suitable for gentleman of any age who want the best service especially so if you want to meet ladies a lot younger than yourself. If you can afford it this is a superb level of membership. Cost £3250.00
F. PRESIDENTIAL MEMBERSHIP
This membership is our highest level and It is a service second to no other in the U.K. regardless of cost. It is similar to VIP but with many added benefits including Alun Jenkins (the owner) arranging your introductions. And we will carry out personal headhunting for you at no extra costs Cost £7500.
G. PRESIDENTIAL PLUS- GUARANTEED MEMBERSHIP
This is a guaranteed success service OR YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEE REFUNDED. It is a service second to no other in the U.K. regardless of cost. It the same service as Presidential with an absolute success guarantee, that should you fail to find a partner ( to marry or live with) within 2 years of active membership we will at your request refund your fee as follows - If you have had a relationship lasting 4 months or more with a member we will refund 50% of your membership fee if not we will REFUND ALL YOUR FEE. Cost £9500
H. REDUCTIONS
(We have discounts for members aged under 30 and a positive discrimination policy to offset the fall off in service for black 30% brown 20% Asian 10%)
AGE DISCOUNTS
For non smoking, single people, without children without any other complications
and aged under 30 the following reductions apply on Basic, Standard and
Gold memberships only: Under 25 - 40%, age 26 - 35%, age 27 - 30%, age
28 - 20% age 29 - 10%. (for social passive memberships half these rates
apply as the service is already heavily discounted)
SKIN DISCOUNTS
In addition to age discounts we operate a positive discrimination policy
on skin colour to offset any fall off in service. Black less 30% , Brown
20% , Asian/Oriental 10% .
For Social & Passive membership (as they are already heavily subsidised) , we offer 50% of the above discounts only.
I. SERVICE FEES
Lifetime memberships are kept active by payment of a monthly service fee, you may drop in and out of active membership. see paragraph 37 for details.
J. PHASED PAYMENTS
If you join at your interview (you have a three day cooling off period to change your mind at no cost) then we will give you an option to pay your membership fee in three parts. On joining 50% of the fee is payable with 25% being paid 1 month later and the remaining 25% a month after that. We also allow single parents or low earners to spread their payments over longer periods. Also members joining at their interview ( other than if we offer you VIP membership where we waive 1 months fee of £135 ) we will start the service immediately but the service fee will be suspended for three months saving around £90 as it saves us having to make a second appointment to complete the paperwork and take a photograph.
11. HOW DO I CHOOSE MY DATES?
Your personal advisor will recommend members to you. Your advisor will tell
you more about the members including their appearance from their photographs.
You make the final decision whether you would like to meet them, if so
we contact them to tell them of you. If they agree we’ll call you
back with any positive results. When we pass over a members’ telephone
number, your ‘date is on’, and you can only talk yourself out
of that date. The member has agreed that, on the information they were
given, you are the sort of person they would like to meet over a coffee,
to see if it could develop further. Remember, if we contact you with a
member’s details you are under no pressure to say ‘yes’,
but if you do, we expect you to meet, albeit for a 15-minute coffee. We
discourage our members requesting people who provisionally accept dates
and then decline to meet for a coffee without very good reason.
12. HOW DO I MAKE THE ACTUAL DATE?
Telephone your date at a time you think is reasonable for them. Before 8
am on weekdays or 9.30 am on weekends or after 10. pm, we consider unreasonable.
Ask for your contact, remembering that the person may be our member’s
daughter with the same name or the baby-sitter, so always be as discreet
as we are and never mention The Executive Club. Use ‘a friend of ‘codeword’ or ‘from
The Club’, if you have to. They, of course, are expecting a call
from you and already know your first name. Your date however may be in
the middle of a children’s party or with a nosy neighbour, so always
ask if it is convenient to talk, if not arrange a more convenient time.
In case of difficulty in making contact, call your advisor for help.
13. HOW DO I ACT ON MY DATE?
Your first and second date with members is a ‘club date’, this
means that you are our representative and we demand that you act in such
a manner that we can be proud of you. Try to relax and don’t talk about
your ‘ex’! If any member makes you feel uncomfortable in any
way, telephone your advisor, so we can monitor the situation. If a member
starts talking about his/her obsession for orange suspenders on a first or
second date we would check their previous dates for any problems and we may
decline to date that member. We investigate all complaints of poor manners.
14. HOW ARE THE MATCHES PRODUCED?
You are allocated a personal advisor who searches for and recommends members
to you. Who you choose to date is always your choice. You are at liberty
to decline any person for any reason, although we ask that you tell us
why honestly, as it helps member to adapt to get the best from our service.
15. WHAT DETAILS DO YOU GIVE OUT TO MEMBERS?
Here is typical description we would give to you.
She lives in the swiss cottage area of London she says she’s a simple solicitor in a top international law firm, specialising in commercial law, aged early 30’s, 5ft 5ins tall weighs 8stone 9 pounds dress size 10 with an excellent figure. We would rate her as very attractive with short brown hair very trendy, with very good skin, slim build shapely. She’s well spoken classy and always bubbly to talk to, single never married without children and is a non smoker. If you’re into star signs she’s an Aries. She has British and USA.nationality lived in the USA until 1990 but loves the UK and wants to live here for ever she says . Her personality is kind caring hardworking maybe too hardworking, confident bubbly and fun to be with. She drinks occasionally and is educated to degree level and has a MBA. She enjoys her work and is reasonably well paid but spends it all on clothes and holidays she says. She enjoys trips to the cinema and theatre, occasional concerts from pop to classical loves the proms. Great days out Ascot, Henley or visiting stately homes around the UK. Enjoys the countryside, walks in the country or renting a cottage in the Cotswold's at Christmas. Loves log fires and snow. Moderate skier poor golfer but good at tennis. Enjoys travel been all over South America, Canada and the USA would like to explore Europe and Africa. She’s renown for giving dinner parties or just having friends round for good conversation (not about work!) and sharing a good bottle of wine. She would like to meet someone aged 33 to 46ish kind intelligent able to tame me as I know I am a little too independent for my own good so willing to learn.
16. DO I ONLY MEET MEMBERS OF THE SAME MEMBERSHIP LEVEL AS MYSELF?
No. The fee you pay is for the level of personal service you receive from
us and the ability to access the new members more quickly and in no way
affects who you can meet
17. WILL PEOPLE ASK TO DATE ME?
Perhaps, tall, interesting gentlemen over 35 years of age often get dated
by ladies. Attractive girls under 33 are often requested by gentlemen.
Shorter gentlemen and ladies over 37 will need to request their own dates
to get the best from the service and should consider higher membership
levels.
18 + 19. WHAT IF I AM SHORT OR OVER WEIGHT?
From previous experience we have found the service works less well, especially
so for shorter gentlemen who should normally be at least 5ft 6ins tall.
You will be given an indication of any problems associated with height
at your interview. Being overweight will reduce how well the service will
work, more so for ladies. Members outside of the normal range would usually
require a higher level of membership
20. DOES IT MATTER WHERE I LIVE?
Yes. The service works best for people living or working within 20 miles
of the M25. However people of a certain caliber living outside of London
have little option but to travel to London to meet people of the quality
they require. It is a condition of membership that all clients will meet
initially in central London.
21. HOW FAR SHOULD I TRAVEL FOR MY DATES?
Generally, the higher the quality of the people you require to meet, the
further you should be prepared to travel to meet them. We consider 15 miles
to be a realistic minimum, although we would recommend 25 miles, as members
will often meet you halfway and after all, for that special person to spend
the rest of your life with, how can anywhere within reason be too far?
We have members who fly from Europe for their dates! Your first two meetings
however should be in central London unless you both agree otherwise. Gentlemen
we find it rather bad form to ask that a women travels to meet you locally
for your first date so please do not ask.
22. HOW MANY INTRODUCTIONS WILL YOU OFFER ME?
That depends to a large extent on who you are, where you live and how old
you are. After assessing you at the interview we will give you a minimum
guarantee in writing. . We are the only dating service in the UK we know
of that guarantees you a minimum number of introductions in a specified
time period and gives you right to a proportionate refund of your joining
fee. See www.execclub2.co.uk for details. We will arrange up to two introductions
at a time provided you have not more than one member still to see.
23. WHAT IF I SMOKE?
Over 90% of our members will not date a smoker, so being a smoker will obviously
reduce your choice of dates. Do not be tempted to lie about your smoking.
Remember, many members have joined us specifically requesting a non-smoker.
If you have deceived our members or us, we may ask you to compensate the
member for a wasted evening and we will consider removing your membership.
We insist that you tell us the truth. IF YOU START OR INCREASE YOUR SMOKING
YOU MUST TELL US. If you stop or reduce your smoking, tell us, as it will
improve your choice of contacts.
24. DO YOU INTERVIEW ALL MEMBERS?
Yes. We interview all new members prior to them being offered membership
of The Executive Club. We have also taken over other introduction agencies
(Together Introductions, RSVP, Personal Touch etc). Their members were
also interviewed by their respective agencies prior to being offered membership.
We also have access to a database of non members who responded to specific
advertisements we have placed for individual VIP members. If we allow you
access to this database they are not members and have not been screened
in the same way as members, however you would always be informed of this
situation.
25. DO YOU CHECK ON PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOUR?
Indeed we do. It is a contractual condition upon you that we expect every
member to act in a manner that does not bring discredit to themselves,
a fellow member or our organisation. We investigate every complaint. On
your first two meetings with a person you are regarded as ‘our representative’ and
we expect you to be courteous and well mannered. To stand up a member without
good cause will usually result in us terminating your membership without
refund. We encourage members to phone and talk to us if they experience
anything other than a pleasant time.
26. DOES AGE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
It certainly does! There are TWO unattached professional females aged 35
to 50 for every ONE unattached professional male in the UK ( source government
census)
MALES
Under 25 We do not accept you, as we cannot attract enough girls under 26 to give you a good service.
27 to 32 You will need to do most of, if not all of the dating, as attractive single girls under 30 are usually dated frequently.
33 to 41 Ladies may date you as well, especially if you are interesting and tall. Generally, in this age group, the service works very well as we have more ladies than gentlemen.
42 to 58 The older you get, the more in demand you become, tall, interesting guys over 42 are usually spoilt. Quality gentlemen in this age group nearly always get snapped up very quickly.
Over 60 We suggest you phone us, as we discourage ladies over 44 joining
NOTE as unlike other organisations as we do not take ladies over early 40’s or size 12 so we have no pressure to push unsuitable dates on gentlemen just to make up their number of dates.
FEMALES
Under 24 We do not usually accept ladies under 24.
24 to 29 Attractive single ladies in this age group are in demand, hence we discount your joining fees. See para 10G.
30 to 37 The service usually works very well indeed.
38 to 42 To get the best from the service you will need to request dates for yourself, but you should still have a wide choice of people. Also consider a higher level of membership, Gold or VIP , as the success rate is very age dependant.
43 to 45 As successful gentlemen given the choice, tend to date younger ladies. The service starts to slow down and you are likely to have to initiate most of the dates to get the best from the service. You are likely to need at least our Gold or VIP level of membership
Over 45 We have found from experience that our gentleman are very reluctant to accept dates from ladies in their late 40’s so we feel it would be a waste of your money joining regardless of how young you may look. Feel free to call us and we will give you advise on better ways of meeting people than joining us and we can tell you of other agencies that cater for ladies up to late 60’s.
27. HOW SUCCESSFUL IS THE SERVICE?
This obviously depends on many factors, but be guided by our ‘10’ rule.
For every 10 people you choose to meet through our service, experience tells
us 2 will be a complete waste of time, 6 out of 10, will be very interesting
but without enough in common to take it further. Two out of the ten, you
will date several times and they will become friends. When you have 4 good
friends one is likely to become so special that you leave us. NEVER JUDGE
US BY MEETING ONLY TWO OR THREE PEOPLE. Providing you meet members twice,
the ‘10’ rule always works.
28. WILL THE SERVICE DEFINITELY WORK FOR ME?
No. We cannot make people like you. We can only introduce you to a much wider
selection of people than you are ever likely to meet without us. We would
not however, offer you membership if we did not believe that our service
was the best option for you. If you are in doubt, call and talk to us.
If you have a nice personality and are presentable then generally the service
works very well indeed. It will not work for people who are mean, unfriendly,
cold or closed etc. At your interview we will give you an estimate of the
probability of success given your circumstances along with an estimate
of how many dates and in what time period you are likely to require to
find a partner. If we do not honestly believe we are the best service for
you, we will, given your circumstances recommend better agencies for you.
Why would we do this? – simple if you have a poor experience with
us or another agency, it tarnishes the whole reputation of our industry
(as happened to time share). However if an agency is successful for you,
then you become our life long ambassadors, recommending our services to
your friends. As 50% of our new members come through personal recommendation
you can see how important it is we avoid failure.
29. WHAT HAPPENS IF I TELL A LIE?
We expect every member to be honest with us. If you lie about your age, height,
smoking, etc. we will remove your membership without refund. If, for example,
you were married and still living with your wife, we would remove your
membership AND press for criminal charges of obtaining our services through
deception. All members have to sign a legal declaration that everything
they have told us is the truth and they have not withheld any information
that may have prejudiced our decision to accept them as members
30. WHAT DO WE EXPECT OF YOU?
We expect you to be courteous, well mannered, reliable, respect fellow members
and to have integrity. If a cheque is dishonoured when presented to your
bank, all our refund guarantees becomes void under these circumstances.
We shall insist on the payment being made good. If you join at your interview
you have a three day cooling off period to cancel your membership at no
cost whosoever providing your payment clears.
31.& 32 CAN I SUSPEND MY MEMBERSHIP?
Yes. On all lifetime memberships you may reactivate your membership at anytime
by paying the appropriate service fee. On a fixed term membership it will
expire at the end of the fixed period.
33. HOW SAFE IS YOUR SERVICE?
We meet every new dating member, we insist on home addresses and telephone
numbers, and we have photographs of every member. We look into any complaints
so we can build up ‘intelligence’ on members who could be a
problem. We remove membership from people we are not happy with. Remember
the ‘floating’ single may be someone we have already declined
to accept or removed from membership. To stay a member with us, we have
to be proud of you. In twenty one years we have not had any serious problems
with any member.
34. HOW CONFIDENTIAL IS YOUR SERVICE?
Very. We have top business people and world famous names, so your confidentiality
is essential to us. We never use our trade name on outgoing calls; messages
on answer phones are left in such a way that they may be replayed in company
and your guests wouldn’t have an idea what it was about. Nosy secretaries?
No problem, we won’t even leave our telephone number (B.T. call return
service won’t get it either). Some agencies will show your photographs
to anyone who comes to their offices, we never do. We consider that to
be a serious beach of confidentiality. Even in the event that we were burgled,
we do not keep records of your name, address, telephone number or photograph
at our London offices. All waste paper at our service centre is incinerated
on our premises and London’s waste paper is shredded. All members
are required to sign a legally binding confidentiality agreement (See a
copy on www.execclub2.co.uk)
35. IF I WAIT, DOES IT GET CHEAPER?
Never. Special offers! We know of agencies that charge £800.00 to join
and then charge people who wouldn’t join straight away the same service
for £99.00 or less! (they’ve gone bust again). Some agencies
drop supposedly drop the price as a pressure to join on the day. We never
discount our fees to new members other than the published special discounts
for the under 30’s and skin colour discounts as we want the members
we introduce you to have been decisive and have joined for the right reasons.
We treat all members as friend so we give you this promise, no new members
pay less than you do.
36. WHAT IF I AM NOT HAPPY?
Tell us! Discuss any problems with your advisor. If you are still not happy
talk to our owner Alun Jenkins. Our job is to make you happy. We care about
the success of our service and always strive for excellence. To be a member
of our organisation is a privilege, as it is, to be of service to you.
We are “family”. As a last resort you could always make use
of our famous refund guarantee, where we will pay the joining fee of any
other introduction agency in the world. We do not know of any other agency
in the U.K. that will match this offer.
37. WHY SERVICE FEES?
Your joining fee is spent on marketing to attract the quality of members
we do. Lifetime memberships pay a monthly service fee which is their contribution
towards the running costs of the organisation, office rents, postage salaries,
etc. Monthly Service fee are: Social & Passive, and Basic - £12.50
Standard £25 Gold £30, VIP & Presidential £135
38. DOES NATIONALITY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Yes it can. It is also dependent on your fluency with English, as can your
skin colour or religion. (did you notice our discounts for different skin
colours? See paragraph 10H) If you phone us we will tell you honestly what
prejudices exist and how it affects the service to
39. ARE YOU A MEMBER OF A TRADE ASSOCIATION?
Yes. For your added security we are full members of the Association of British
Introduction Agencies (ABIA). We have agreed to abide by the industries
Code of Practice a copy of which is given to all members along with this
information, although of course we operate to standards far in excess of
these minimum standards set by the ABIA.
40. WHAT DEFINES AN INTRODUCTION?
We define an “introduction” as when we have obtained the permission
of the other member for you to call them, or you have given your permission
for them to call you. It is a condition of membership that you should meet
each other even if it is for 15 minutes over a coffee. If for some reason
you cannot contact each other, call us and we will investigate. If after
talking on the telephone the member is reluctant to meet you, call and tell
us. If this happens to you more than 1 in 10 times it’s likely you
are doing something on the telephone to put them off. If this is the case,
call your advisor who will assist you and if need be, arrange an appointment
with one of our staff to advise you on how to improve your success rate.
Remember we cannot make people like you, at the time we told you of each
other, you must have both wanted to meet, otherwise we would have stopped
the introduction if we felt the member was not keen to meet you.
41. WHAT IS THE COMPANY STRUCTURE?
The Executive Club is the trading name of several trading organisations.
Members of The Executive Club of St James’s join ‘E.C. St James’s’ and
this is the name that shows on ALL credit card transactions. Payment of
your service fees and the dating service is carried out by ‘E.C.
Seaford Ltd’. VIP members are serviced by ‘VIP Services’ to
whom your standing order is paid.
42. CAN I SEE A COPY OF THE CONTRACT AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS I HAVE
TO SIGN AND A COPY OF YOUR REFUND GUARANTEE?
Yes of course, log onto our special site www.execclub2.co.uk
43. HOW DO YOUR FEES COMPARE WITH OTHER AGENCIES?
Reputable introduction agencies who interview their members have certain
overhead cost that have to be met. The main cost of all quality agencies
is the marketing costs to attract the right quality people. Other costs
are office and staff wages costs to service their clients. Fees of other
agencies operating at the "professionals" level similar to our
Standard membership at £1275 (although they may be for a fixed period
of 12 or 15 months unlike ours which gives a lifetime membership ) Drawing
Down the Moon at £1650/£3,500, Sara Eden at £1300, Berkeley
International FROM £7000, Gray and Farrar at £8800, Fiona Smyth
at £1500, County Register at £5,875, Rhodes Harvey from £1500+,
Seventy Thirty at £10,000 plus. For the members we choose to accept
we guarantee our service is superior to any of these other agencies by
backing it up with a money back refund guarantee. We are the only agency
in the U.K. to do so, and have done so since 1985 and may account for why
we can stay so selective and obtain so many members through personal recommendation.
44. WOULD A MORE EXPENSIVE AGENCY GIVE ME A BETTER SERVICE?
We doubt it, providing you fall within our criteria for us to offer you membership,
we know of no other service regardless of cost that can match our service.
Ask any other agency if you can try them for four weeks and have ALL your
money refunded towards any other agency in the world without any reason
other than you ask for it. We know of no other agency regardless of cost
that offers even one of our refund guarantees let alone the three we are
proud to offer our clients, in writing , and have done so for 22 years.
45. THE WRITTEN GUARANTEES
a. We will refund your joining fees towards any other agency in the world should you even think someone else can provide you with a better service.
b. We give every dating member the minimum number of introductions they will receive in one year (in writing) or the right to a proportionate refund (others may NOT specify time periods then extend your membership until you reach the minimum number promised – that could add up to two dates a year and you could die before your number of dates are achieved.
c. All dating members joining at their interview may change their mind within 3 days of joining and have ALL their money refunded.
d. For Presidential members, should we not find a partner that you decide to marry or live with within two years we will refund all your membership fee.
All this is in addition to the four/ five hour interview we give to clients
at no cost, whether you join or not.
46. HOW CAN YOU PROVIDE A TOP LEVEL OF SERVICE AT THESE LOWER FEES?
The reason we can keep our membership costs lower than others is:
a. We have been around since 1985 and have many thousands of happy ex clients recommending our service to their friends hence over 50% of our new members join through personal recommendation. Without this we would need to double our membership fees as we would have to spend well over double on marketing to obtain sufficient new members, and
b. We only interview clients in London, our main service centre is in Sussex where rent and rates are 75% cheaper than central London and our labour rates are 50% less than London. In addition we are able to cream off really caring employees (with the extra confidentiality advantage that they live 70 miles from London so they are unlikely to know you or your friends). (We are far better suited for some people, indeed we often recommend other agencies as most other agencies will accept ladies up to their late 60's or of larger dress sizes or gentlemen looking for a less than serious relationship etc ).
(Presidential a service guaranteed to find you your long term partner or all your fee refunded at £7500)
47 WANT EVEN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DATING AND AGENCIES IN GENERAL.
See www.tipsforsuccessfuldating.co.uk this site can link you to wealth of knowledge from details about dating agencies to understanding the opposite sex.
NOTE: these notes are given for guidance only. We have so many different membership levels certain factors may not be applicable to every level of membership. If a specific factor contained in these notes is important to you, call and seek our advice before joining. We constantly seek to improve our service, the situations these notes apply to may change and therefore these guidelines do not bind us contractually.
CONTACT INFORMATION
HEAD OFFICE & DATING CENTRE
(please send all correspondence to here)
The Club
Data House
Princess Drive
Seaford
East Sussex
BN25 2TZ
E:mail alun@execclub.net
TEL: 01323 490666
Mon and Thu 7pm—9pm
LONDON OFFICE
(Interviews only)
2nd Floor
Portland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5RS
Tel: 0207 930 5555
New members enquires and urgent calls
Web site
www.execclub.net
&
www.execclub2.co.uk
Contracts, confidentiality agreements and guarantees
web site
www .execclub2.co.uk
Tips about dating in general and all dating agencies
www.tipsforsuccessfuldating.co.uk
E:mail alun@execclub.net
Owner
Richard Alun Jenkins
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR INTRODUCTION AGENCIES
A Code drawn up by the Association of British Introduction Agencies
Forward by Council of A.B.I.A.
In October 1981 the Association of British Introduction Agencies was created,
at the instigation of the Office of Fair Trading, in response to genuine
concern about the conduct of dating and introduction agencies. The ABIA
is now recognised generally as the authoritative voice of the introduction
industry with its members providing a reputable and ethical service. In
the absence, so far, of any official legislation, we strive to create a
greater public and media awareness of our service, to raise standards across
all of the industry and enhance the image of our industry. Whilst it would
be quite wrong to infer that all non-member agencies are questionable,
it is a sad fact that many are – not so much through lack of integrity
but through a lack of resources and commercial acumen. The industry is
plagued by the growth of short-lived agencies whose founders expect rich
returns from poorly researched and funded businesses, with many lasting
no longer than a few short weeks. The services provided by agencies are
particularly personal ones, and it is very helpful that consumers having
problems with the services can have access under the code to procedures
for resolving the problems, including independent arbitration if necessary.
This is an area where consumers have the strongest need for adequate and
clear information about the services being offered before any commitment
is entered into. The code provisions addressing these are valuable. Consumers
need to have confidence that a code of practice will deliver what it promises,
and the independent mechanism set up to enforce this code is able to do
this.
Association of British Introduction Agencies. Suite 109, 315 Chiswick High
Road, London W4 4HH
Tel: 0208 742 0386 www.abia.org.uk
Aims of the Association
1. To monitor, regulate and improve the standard of service offered to members of the public.
2. To act as an intermediary between the industry and the public (including, for example, the media) in respect of agencies’ practice.
3. To represent the industry in dealings with Government.
4. To collect and evaluate information concerning United Kingdom Introduction
agencies, whether members or otherwise. This Code of Practice is
designed to further these aims and will be updated as occasion demands. The
Principles set out here are not intended to interpret, qualify or supplant
the law of the land. They apply only to transactions with consumers. The
Association considers that its members have a duty to accept the Code in
its entirety. If clients feel dissatisfied with their treatment by a member
they have a right to take this up with the Association and, if not resolved,
to
an independent scheme set up in conjunction with an independent panel of
arbitrators.
Standards of Practice
(All members of the Association have accepted these Standards of Practice)
Before any fees are paid or interviews conducted, or any binding commitment entered into, a prospective client shall be given a copy of this Code of Practice, together with a clear and Introduction and Dating Agencies: These agencies must make it clear that their primary objective is simply to facilitate introductions. It must be clearly stated whether or not an interview is to be conducted with the clients and whether or not all clients are
(A) OBJECTIVE AND METHOD OF INTRODUCTION USED
a1. Marriage Bureaux: At the outset, marriage bureaux must make it clear
that their primary objective is to help clients find marriage partners.
It must
be clearly stated whether or not an interview is to be conducted with the
client and whether or not all clients are interviewed.
a2. Introduction and Dating Agencies: These agencies must make it clear
that their primary objective is simply to facilitate introductions. It must
be
clearly stated whether or not an interview is to be conducted and whether
or not all clients are interviewed.
a3. ‘Lists’ Method: this must be described in detail to prospective clients.
(B) ELIGIBILITY FOR MARRIAGE. Bureaux must state whether or not membership
is restricted to those current unmarried. Where membership
is so restricted applicants should be asked provide a signed statement that
they are legally free to marry
(C) CRITERIA USED FOR MATCHING. The criteria used for matching clients must
be fully explained. Clients must be told whether stated
preferences will be fully adhered to or whether they will be treated as general
indicators only.
(D) NUMBERS OF INTRODUCTIONS, ETC. Agencies shall give individual applicants,
upon request, a realistic indication of the number of
introductions they are likely to be offered during their period of membership,
given their particular circumstances and stated preferences. Upon
request, the agency shall tell the client how many people they have available
for introduction in the client’s age group and area at any time. If
a
bureau offers other services (e.g. social events for single people) a realistic
indication of the likely extent of these must be given, subject to
individual agencies terms and conditions listed in their contracts.
(E) FEES CHARGED. All fees charged should be clearly stated, including any
additional charges, which might be
made for interviews, further introductions, etc., or upon marriage. It should
be made clear whether or not such
fees include VAT
(F) REFUNDS Agencies should offer clients the choice of either a refund
proportionate to the amount of service received or an
extension of membership if they are unable to provide the level of service
indicated initially. This criteria will apply at the end of the
membership period only.
2. All agencies must have an office set aside for the exclusive use of the
agency that clients and other interested members of the public can easily
identify, locate and visit. Each agency must have a listed telephone number
that the public can, during normal working hours, use to speak to
someone in authority within that agency.
3. The agency must show to the satisfaction of the Council of the A.B.I.A.
that the agency has a client base, which is reasonably balanced in terms
of
age and sex to enable them to realistically offer clients an adequate selection
of introductions.
4. All information obtained from clients shall be treated in the strictest
of confidence and all legal provisions governing the protection of data will
be
followed. It is incumbent upon all member agencies to give guidance (and
advice) to their clients regarding standards and codes of behaviour. The
lists of names and addresses of clients must remain the property of the member
company and must not be sold, lent, hired, or used for any purpose
other than as part of their introduction service. Bureaux shall ensure that
clients are removed from their lists of members immediately they so
request
5. All information supplied by the client to the agency shall not be divulged,
without the prior consent of the client, to any other person or party except
those of the agency’s members who have agreed beforehand to have their
details given to other members of the agency.
6. In the unlikely event of an agency belonging to the Association ceasing
to trade, the agency will, with the client’s consent, arrange for the
unexpired
portion of any membership to be transferred, free of charge, to another member
agency that offers a comparable service.
7. All members shall prominently indicate in their literature that they are a member of the Association and show its address alongside.
Advertising
1. No member shall publish advertisements that are inaccurate, ambiguous, exaggerated or liable to be misconstrued. All advertising by members must comply with the codes and standards set by the Advertising Standards Authority and the ITC and Radio Authority, and with the requirements of any legislation currently in force. It must be realistic and avoid arousing expectations that cannot be fulfilled.
2. Advertisements must not contain the words ‘guarantee’ or ‘guaranteed’ unless the full terms of such undertakings as well as the remedial action open to a customer are either clearly set out in the advertisement or are available to the customer in writing before any monies are paid.
3. The price quoted shall be the price at which the client can participate fully in a member’s services. Members must therefore quote the relevant price for their service, plus any additional charge that may reasonably arise (including VAT). If the quoted price excludes any part of the service, such exclusions must be clearly specified.
Handling Complaints
1. Members of the Association must ensure that effective and immediate action is taken to achieve just settlement of a complaint. To this end there will be an easily identifiable and accessible arrangement for the reception and handling of complaints from clients.
2. All members should maintain an analysis of justified complaints in relation to any of the provisions of the Code of Practice and should take action based on this information to improve their service to the client.
3. When complaints are raised through a third party (e.g. Trading Standards Officer or a Citizens Advice Bureau), willing guidance must be given to that body and every attempt should be made to re-establish direct communication with the complaining client and to reach a satisfactory settlement with them.
4. In the event that a complaint is not resolved, members of the Association must make it clear to clients that they have the right to refer the complaint to the Association.
5. Members will give every assistance to the Association whilst it is investigating a complaint.
6. Where the A.B.I.A. considers the conciliation procedure has failed to resolve the dispute it will give the member company 14 days’ notice of this decision, in which time the company may take steps to resolve the issue. In the absence of its being resolved within that period the A.B.I.A. will inform the client of their right to seek resolution of their complaint under special low-cost arbitration arrangements administered by the independent arbitrators. This independently run scheme, however, is not suitable for more complex disputes; the arbitrators or the A.B.I.A. can advise on whether or not a case is appropriate. Under these arrangements, arbitration will normally be on the basis of documents only. The award of such arbitration is final, legally binding and enforceable. The client will be advised also that they can, alternatively, take legal action through the courts.
Compliance with the Code of Practice
1. Regular random checks are made by Officers of the Association on members
to ensure that literature given to the public confirms to the Code
and does not use language or arguments, which might well lead to unrealistic
expectations on behalf of the prospective clients.
2. All complaints, or other incidents involving non-compliance with the
Code, are recorded and examined by a Sub-Committee of the Council, which
consists of a majority of independent persons co-opted to the Council. They
are empowered to censure member agencies for non-compliance, to
direct compliance and, if necessary, to terminate the member agency’s
membership of the Association.
3. An analysis of all complaints under the Code shall be made on an annual basis.
Updated 31st October 2008