It seems you can put a price on love. Or at least, the amount it costs to pay someone to find love for you. A single woman is suing an elite dating service for the hefty £12,600 fee, plus additional damages for failing to find her a partner.
46-year-old Tereza Burki joined Seventy Thirty, an 'Exclusive International Matchmaking & Introduction Agency', back in 2014 and paid for their 'gold' membership. She had hoped to find 'possibly the man of my dreams, the father of my child', The Times reports. Burki had hoped this man would be an high-earning international jet-setter, ideally.
However she claims that of the six men she was presented as matches, none of them fit her criteria. And so, she wants her money back.
Burki told the High Court that she was let down by the Knightsbridge-based agency and is suing for the return of her membership cost and damages for 'distress, upset, disappointment and frustration'.
The case evolves further, though, as Seventy Thirty, who advertise themselves as the 'ultimate network of influential and exceptional single people' are counter-suing Burki for £75,000. They're claiming libel and defamation after Burki allegedly posted a series of bad reviews online, which they say has deterred potential clients from signing up to their service.
Seventy Thirty representative Lisa Lacob said that at the time of Burki's membership, there were 9000 people in the database and 1000 of them will have been actively seeking matches. 'Based on the preferences expressed by Miss Burki, the company identified 70 men as possible matches for her. All were Gold members who had paid for their membership', she said.
According to reports, Burki told the courts that she signed up wth Seventy Thirty after being shown profiles of men she was interested in and hearing about the number of eligible men on offer. However, after paying for the service she claims she was not put in touch with any of the men she'd expressed an interest in before handing over the membership fee, and that the profiles that she was shown weren't fit what she asked for.
Burki's financial investment in professional match-making didn't pay off, it seems. 'You shouldn't promise people who are in a fragile state of mind, in their mid-forties, the man of their dreams. You are entrusting a service you believe is professional, who will take care of your interests and have your best interests at heart'.
A former female member of the dating agency supported Burki's claim and expressed that her issue was with the availability of some of the profiles. 'These people weren't engaged in wanting to meet somebody', she told the judge.
As it stands, Burki denies defamation and the judge has reserved judgement for a later date. Maybe love really is an expensive, losing game.
MORE: Throwback To The Celebrity Couples You Definitely Forgot About
Celebrity Couples That Youu2019d Forgotten - Grazia
1 of 10Ryan Gosling and Sandra Bullock
Before Eva Mendes, before Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling dated Sandra Bullock. The two met on the set of their 2002 film Murder By Numbers and hit it off despite the 16 year age difference. The relationship was short-lived though, with the pair calling it off after just a year.
2 of 10Ryan Reynolds and Alanis Morrisette
Canadians Ryan Reynolds and Alanis Morissette met in 2002 and dated for four years. The pair got engaged, but sadly split in 2006 before they made it down the aisle. Ryan has gone on to marry Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively, sharing two daughters with the latter.
3 of 10Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow
Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow were one of the hottest couples of the late '90s, dating on and off from 1997 until 2000, after her split from fiance Brad Pitt. Recently, Gwyneth has spoken about the reason behind their break-up, saying they were very different people: 'Ben makes life tough for himself,' she said. 'He's got a lot of complication, and you know, he really is a great guy. I just think we have a very different sort of value system.'
4 of 10Matt Damon and Winona Ryder
After the breakdown of her relationship with Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder moved on with another hot actor of the '90s, Matt Damon, dating him from 1998 for a few years until 2000. The couple were introduced by Gwyneth Paltrow, who was dating Matt's Good Will Hunting script-writing partner Ben Affleck.
5 of 10Jared Leto and Cameron Diaz
It's weird to think about now, but Thirty Seconds To Mars singer, Oscar-winning actor and Gucci fanboy Jared Leto, once dated Queen of Rom Coms Cameron Diaz, with the pair being an item from 1999 to 2003. The actor once spoke about how he abstained from sex with Diaz during filming of Requiem For A Dream to get into character.
6 of 10Jake Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst
Jake Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst were the cutest up-and-coming couple in Hollywood in the early noughties, dating for two years from 2002 onwards. The pair broke up suddenly, but have supposedly remained friends - unlike Gyllenhaal's other famous ex, Taylor Swift.
7 of 10Mila Kunis and Macaulay Culkin
Before she was married to That 70s Show co-star Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis was in an 8-year relationship with child star Macauley Culkin. Pretty weird, right? The pair dated from 2001, when Culkin was noticeably absent from the spotlight, and Kunis' career had stalled, but when her star rose, the couple split.
8 of 10Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz
Tom Cruise dated similarly surnamed actress Penelope Cruz in 2001-2004, after the two starred in Vanilla Sky together. The pair dated for three years, with Cruise reportedly devastated by their break-up. Scientology was apparently to blame, with Cruz saying it was the 'third wheel' in their relationship.
9 of 10Keira Knightley and Jamie Dornan
They're both happily married with children now, but in 2003, Keira Knightley and Jamie Dornan were Britain's coolest new acting couple. While Knightley's career was on the rise, Dornan's had barely taken off, and was still mostly known for being a Calvin Klein model. The two called it quits in 2005, with Knightley apparently devastated by the split.
10 of 10Britney Spears and Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell and Britney Spears never confirmed a relationship, but that didn't stop them getting flirty on the red carpet for his 2003 film 'The Recruit'. It was the height of Farrell's fame (or infamy, depending on how you look at it), and he was linked to several women at the same time, including Lindsay Lohan.
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