Entrepreneur Theresa Gattung launched a 40+ dating service. Photo / Babiche Martens
Entrepreneur Theresa Gattung launched a 40+ dating service. Photo / Babiche Martens
Some users of the “premium” matchmaking service Compatico are not getting dates or matches despite thousand-dollar fees.
Compatico says it’s delivering on its promises and the business has “terrific momentum” with members collectively having more than “a hundred dating experiences.”
One woman labelled a legal letter she received this week from lawyers for the service as “ridiculous”.
A disgruntled customer of an elite Kiwi matchmaking service has been sent a legal warning to not share the contact details of a man she went on a date with.
The customer is one of two women who contacted the Herald about their displeasure with Compatico, a “premium, curatedtarget="_blank"> matchmaking service” for Kiwis aged 40+.
The business is fronted by high-profile entrepreneur Dame Theresa Gattung and charges up to $6000 annually.
It says its customers have been on more than 100 “dating experiences” since its launch in February.
But both women told the Herald they were unhappy with the profile written for them, the quality and cost of the events being hosted, and what they felt was a lack of actual “matchmaking” being provided.
One user said she felt the platform was a “rort” and believed there weren’t enough men willing to use the service.
The woman signed up for a “Gold” Compatico membership in February and claimed to not have enjoyed a single “match” or date so far.
“It’s just like a money machine. I feel really ripped off.”
A Compatico event at the "iconic and exclusive The Northern Club" posted on social media. Photo / File.
The service’s website says that paying for a membership does not guarantee a match but promises to offer a “qualified team of matchmakers offering wraparound professional relationship advice”.
The $795 annual Gold membership fee does not include the cost of the compulsory dating profile photography session, which starts at $245 and can be as expensive as $465.
Clients aren’t allowed to supply their own photos and all pictures must be taken by Compatico photographers in a paid session.
On top of the annual membership fees, Compatico member events, which are optional, cost customers extra. One “mixer” event, which was held at Gattung’s Ponsonby home, cost members $140 to attend.
A movie night this month costs $75 plus an unspecified booking fee. Compatico said it had held six member events between May and September 2024, with priority access given to “Platinum” customers, who pay $5995 a year in membership fees.
Another Gold subscriber, who also asked not to be named, said she was only offered a date via email once she complained several months after she signed up - and claims the “match” was out of her specified age range.
“I’ve had to cough out $1000,” she said.
In her view, Compatico wasn’t “a match-making service, it’s a money-making service”.
After the Herald contacted her date for comment, Compatico sent a legal letter telling the woman to “immediately desist” from using or sharing the details of other members.
“Your disappointment with the service is one thing. The hurt you may cause to others is another,” Tauranga lawyer Denise Arnold said in the letter.
“We are most concerned that you have used private information in breach of the terms of the agreement you have with the company,” Arnold said.
The woman described the letter, which Compatico also shared with the Herald, as “ridiculous”.
Compatico said its members “expect and are entitled to the highest level of privacy”.
“Unfortunately, the sharing of personal and private information has breached the terms and conditions of membership and betrayed the trust of fellow members. This is a condition we take seriously and regrettably we have had to send this letter,” a spokeswoman for the service said.
An email sent out to Compatico members inviting them to a movie night for $75. Photo / File.
‘If I read it, I wouldn’t date me’
One of the unhappy users described her initial Compatico dating profile, written by a “specialist matchmaker”, as “disgusting”.
“She was interviewing me, and I said, ‘I don’t want this kind of thing in my profile’. And next thing, it’s all in my profile, even about infertility ... it said how many relationships I’d had in the first sentence.”
She said the business felt like a recruiting company rather than a matchmaking service, and her profile looked like a CV.
Unlike global services like Tinder or Bumble, Compatico users can’t access anyone else’s profile on the platform, the women told the Herald.
Compatico also doesn’t provide a login for members to see their matches, they said.
“They control everything, and you don’t know if anyone’s even looked at you,” one customer told the Herald.
The second woman who spoke the Herald said the initial consultation she had for the service was “very detailed” and gave her “a glimmer of hope,” but the profile that was created for her afterwards was disappointing.
“It was absolute crap. I sent it back to her ... it [as if it was] almost written by a child, so I wasn’t happy with it all. So I redid it myself.”
“If I read it, I wouldn’t date me.”
Compatico said it took “great care in crafting” profiles and that “no detail is included without the member’s explicit consent”.
“Some members approve their profiles immediately, while others request minor edits.”
‘Champagne’ v ‘sparkling wine’ service
A spokesperson for Compatico said the differences between “Platinum” and “Gold” memberships are clearly explained on the website and the subscription model is “designed to be fully transparent”.
“Platinum members receive more hands-on attention, while Gold members still benefit from being in the matchmaking pool.
“Some have paid for champagne and others have signed up for sparkling wine.”
The spokesperson said each Platinum member has been presented with dating opportunities, and “many” of the Gold members have.
Compatico said the ratio of men to women varies by age group, ”some are evenly balanced at 50:50, while others are around 35:65.”
They would not reveal the overall gender ratio of subscribers.
Compatico provided a testimonial from Auckland subscriber Peter, whostarted on a Gold membership and upgraded to Platinum.
“I have been a Compatico member for over five months it’s a great service, I am very happy with the dates I have had. The people are great and they actually care about my relationship journey,” he said.
Since launching seven months ago, the community now has “several hundred members,” a spokesperson for Compatico said.
“We are now well north of 100 dating experiences between members.
Responding to concerns around the quality and cost of Compatico events, the spokesperson noted, “For transparency, event participation is an optional add-on to our memberships.”
“Event fees, such as the $140 mentioned, are based on covering costs and are clearly communicated in advance.
“As confirmed in our FAQs, there are no hidden fees, and all charges are outlined before any commitment is made.”
Compatico, which was focused on Auckland when it launched, plans to expand into Wellington and Christchurch.
The business has also expanded its age bracket, with its website saying, “Our service is designed for people aged 40 and above, but if you’re younger and believe it could benefit you, we encourage you to reach out to us.”
The spokesperson for Compatico said the response to the matchmaking service had been “overwhelmingly positive”
“We believe we are delivering on our promises to our customers”.
“While some members may not have experienced a match yet, collectively, Compatico members have enjoyed over a hundred dating experiences, with several progressing to their third and fourth dates”, the spokesperson said.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
