Be2

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be2

Type	LLC
Founded	2004
Owner(s)	be2 LLC
Website	be2.com

Be2 is an online matchmaking company.^[1] Internationally, be2 is represented in 37 countries.^[2]

History

be2 was originally founded as a German matchmaking service in 2004 by online entrepreneur Robert Wuttke. The German Service went live on April 1, 2004.^[3] The same year, the Spanish and Italian service were added. Since its foundation, be2 has expanded rapidly, mainly through a strategy of internationalisation.^[4]

Facts

be2 has almost 30 million registered members worldwide.^[5] Today, more than 20,000 new members join be2 daily.^[6] However, it remains unclear how many of these members are active and how many have a Premium membership. According to company data,^[7] the male-to-female ratio is balanced, with a slight surplus of women (57%). be2 conducts surveys among its members and publishes the results.^[8]

Membership

be2 is based on a scientific model of analysis that uses psychological, anthropological and sociological criteria to assess the compatibility of two personalities for finding not just any partner, but the one that is right for you. ^[9] The registration, personality test and the basic matchmaking service are free of charge. In order to write messages and see other members’ profile photos, members need to purchase a Premium Membership.

Criticism

The pricing of Premium Memberships are a regular cause for complaint.^[10]

The automatic renewal of Premium Memberships has also been criticised. The membership is, in fact, a subscription, which is automatically renewed, unless the membership is cancelled in due time.^[11] However, it is not possible to cancel the subscription because there is no email link on the site or fax number. Although the online address makes the company appear to be registered in the UK (be2.co.uk), it is actually based in Luxenbourg. For this reason the company has managed to get away with taking money out of subscribers' bank accounts without their consent and make cancellations of memberships nearly impossible to achieve.^[12]^[13]

In Denmark, the journalist Troels Jørgensen from TV station DR has rated BE2's matching system as flawed. Wildly different profiles were matched to exactly the same potential partners in a test performed for consumer rights programme Kontant. Also, membership is extended without consent which is illegal according to The Danish Consumer Council. ^[14] This is also illegal in Sweden according to The Swedish Consumer Council.^[15] All the questions raised by the Danish journalist in the programme have since been addressed by the company. be2 made several changes to its service in Denmark in response to the programme. ^{[citation needed]}

International

Internationally, be2 is active in 37 countries on all continents, in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, France, Finland, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Croatia, Colombia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Venezuela, USA^[16]

References

External links

corporate page

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