Entre-Nous back in court
IN BRIEF
Fred Kuhr / Toronto / Thursday, January 29, 2009
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Entre-Nous, the same-sex matchmaking company sued last year by a former client for not delivering on its promises, is back in court.

Representatives of both Entre-Nous Consulting Inc and the province’s Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services appeared in Provincial Offences Court in Scarborough on Jan. 19. This was the first hearing in connection with charges filed by the province last November. Under Ontario’s 2002 Consumer Protection Act the ministry laid six charges each against Entre-Nous and employee Patricia Salib as a result of two consumer complaints, according to Sue Carroll, the ministry’s issues and media relations analyst.

The ministry charged Entre-Nous with two counts of failing to deliver on a valid contract, two counts of failing to deliver a refund within 15 days and two counts of false, misleading and unfair practices. Salib was also charged with the same six counts.

The Jan 19 court appearance was a short preliminary hearing at which time the charges were officially read in court. The case was continued until the next court date, scheduled for Apr 20.

Salib and an attorney for Entre-Nous did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Although Patricia Salib is named in the ministry’s charges it is Carolyn Salib who has acted as the face of the company in court and in public since its legal troubles began. When interviewed last year by Xtra, Carolyn Salib would not say what role Patricia Salib plays in the company nor if the two are related. When asked if Entre-Nous is a family-owned business, Carolyn Salib would say only, “I can’t comment on that. The ownership of the company is kept private.”

In June of last year Terry Wong of Toronto was awarded a refund representing half of the almost $7,700 he paid to Entre-Nous for matchmaking services. In 2006 Wong sued the company in small claims court, alleging Entre-Nous misrepresented itself and did not live up to its contractual obligations. In a decision reached in November 2008 deputy judge Richard Priddle wrote, “In this case there can be no doubt that [Entre-Nous’] form of contract is, at least in some aspects, one-sided as alleged by the plaintiff.”

Another former client sued Entre-Nous in 2006, but that case was settled out of court.



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Reader Comments


 
Entre-Nous peeking my interest
Since moving here from Chicago a couple months ago I've been reading up on some of the stories about Entre-Nous. As a single gay man who is not accustomed to meeting gay men in a new city I've been looking at different avenues to meet and Entre-Nous is one I've considered. I've been reading all these articles being written about the company by Xtra and to be honest it only peaks my interest even more so. My wonder is, "are they as bad as these articles make them out to be?" or "are they just being targeted for negative press, because negative press is always more interesting than positive press?" As someone coming from the US I know all about companies being accused or sued for outlandish reasons. Trust me I've seen them all. And it seems that accusations made against Entre-Nous for pressure to sign an agreement or one-sided contracts is a little over the top. I'm pretty certain that the members who signed up for the organization did so of their own free will and that nobody was holding a gun to their head. And if Entre-Nous' contract seems very one-sided maybe reading the agreement and deciding not to join would be the best option. Just a thought. I've used a professional dating service before in the US and paid $8000 to be a member, some dates were good, some were bad. They can't all be the right one, that's just unrealistic. But overall i liked the experience. I would like to use another to meet people since I still feel very new to Toronto and don't know too many people outside of work. Entre-Nous looks like the only professional service in Toronto so I'm curious to get some feedback before speaking with them in person.
Kevin Maclean, Toronto Ontario
02/11/09 2:01 PM EST
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Your interested... But here is my experiance
Hey Kevin - Its definately your choice to persue working with Entre Nous, but I'm going to warn you away. My experiances with them have all felt enitrely duplicitous, and I have really felt taken advantage of. The way the company pitched themselves to me was all around thier personal approach by a gay matching team... And despite my specifically stated sexual preferences that I indicated I considered an important aspect of a relationship, they neglected to mention that they do no matching in regards to sex AT ALL, until after I had my first match, making any contractual refund impossible. Also after my first match, where all kinds of red flags about the company came up, I asked my representitve (which keeps changing) how they pitch me to potential matches, and it was pretty obvious he was reading off a screen of predefined fields, which were incomplete, and it was only at that time did they ask me for the information. I pressed on and asked, "Is that how you pitched me to my last match?", and the answer was no, that they probably read the profile I submitted - so I told him to read it - and it contained all the missing fields I was just asked to fill in.... I really have not felt any personal touch, and know they have no feel for who I am, let alone anyone else. There are so many other personal complaints, but I'll keep it brief. So, buyer beware, I wish I had looked further into the company before joining, and the bad press is certainly warrented, and echoed by anyone that I have discussed the company with.
D.R., Toronto Ontario
03/18/09 3:49 PM EST
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